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Description
Here's my first actual work for 2018, and hopefully the first of many more to come. And in this case, it's a first in another sense.

This is a map commission for , which concerns an alternate history where not only does the ancient Hohenstaufen/Staufen dynasty (of which the famous Holy Roman Emperor Barbarossa was one) survive, but so does their rule over the Holy Roman Empire...with a twist, as seen above and below. While I've made some artistic touches of my own (including a call-back to some of my earlier works), the main bulk of the map is his idea.

Just to clarify, this is a work of fiction. And that said, I hope you enjoy this as much as I have in making this.

----

The Holy Roman Empire, as one French philosopher infamously put it close to its demise, was neither Holy, Roman nor an Empire. In the myriad possiblities of alternate worlds, that wasn't or rather, isn't the case. In one such timeline, the Germanic-dominant Holy Roman Empire did not, after a fashion, fall into the dustbin of history. Neither has its centuries-old sovereigns, the Hohenstaufen dynasty.

The Hohenstaufens (known in older archives as the Staufens) first emerged into the annals of history in A.D. 1079, becoming rulers of their native Duchy of Swabia. It wasn't until 1138, however, with the coronation of Conrad III as "King of the Romans" that this noble house would be thrust into leading the Holy Roman Empire. His successor, the famed Friedrich Barbarossa (and first of his line to be formally crowned Holy Roman Emperor) would spend much of his life restoring the prestige and power of the realm, in the process sparking an age of German expansion and cultural growth. But unlike another course of events - wherein Barbarossa met his end before arriving at the Holy Land - he survives to help lead a successful Third Crusade. Neither do his successors lose the Imperial elections to rival Prince-electors and usurpers, let alone fade into oblivion. Indeed, the Throne eventually became hereditary in all but name, with the Prince-electors voting for which Hohenstaufen to support and the Imperial elections themselves evolving to suit the increasingly prominent role of the Reichstag. The H.R.E's fortunes meanwhile would wax and wane over the centuries, but nonetheless stay constant. inasmuch as it's possible. At its height, the Empire held influence over much of Continental Europe, its German core expanding to include parts of Scandinavia. The Hohenstaufen also placed an increasing emphasis on a wider Germanic identity united by common cultures and heritage, allowing for the Dutch Reconciliation in 1763 and a golden age for the realm.

By the turn of the 20th Century, however, the notion of the H.R.E. as an everlasting fixture in Europe would be shattered. Neither diplomatic, cultural, industrial or military prowess could have prepared the Empire for the Great War of 1910. A conflict that began over dynastic rivalries and republican competition devolved over the course of over a decade into a bloodbath that consumed much of the Continent, eventually resulting in the bloody Socioglobalist Revolution in 1922. In the "Hohenstaufen Exodus" that ensued, the deposed dynasty and their loyalists (noble and common citizen alike) would embark on a nigh-heroic venture to bring themselves as many of their countrymen as they could to their prized colonial domains in the Pacific. It's there that they and their descendants remain to this day.

It is A.D. 2020. A time of technological and social marvels, which would at once astound yet terrify. A time when mankind is at once more connected than ever, and more divided.

The Holy Roman Empire in Exile continues to endure, encompassing Southeast Asia and much of the Pacific, just as it has for centuries. Indeed, its history's as fascinating and peculiar as its present. One consequence of the Third Crusade's success was greater, and clearer knowledge of what lay further East beyond the Islamic lands, eventually resulting among other events in the founding of the H.R.E's first settlement in Asia, Albertshaven in 1441. Early Imperial colonization in the region was haphazard to say the least as myriad chartered companies and bold adventurers tried to stake their claims in the name of the Kaiser; any indigenous kingdoms and tribes encountered that weren't friendly or had sworn fealty were considered fair game. This scattershot arrangement, however, gave way to a much more organized enterprise as the Hohenstaufens took direct interest in the "Imperial East Indies" (as the colonies collectively came to be known) by the 17th Century, which proved to be beyond simple trade or exploiting resources. As influence and frontiers expanded (be it through diplomacy. compromise or force), much was made to both develop those lands into proper Imperial domains and encourage settlers from across the Empire to move across the seas; in the case of the Scandinavian Resettlement Treaty of 1654, this also extended to an active relocation of various Nordic peoples affected by what another world would call the Little Ice Age. Coupled with preferential treatment to loyal natives, the integration of the "Dutch East Indies" during the Reconciliation, the gradual emergence of the mixed-race Euro-Mestizens, these efforts changed the face of that corner of the world irrevocably. It's little surprise then that by the time the Hohenstaufen Exodus was underway, the underlying foundations were well-established, tensions notwithstanding.

As of the present, it can be said that the worst times are far behind. The H.R.E. in Exile remains a major world power in its own right, known for its Old World culture, stable economy and powerful industry. Since the Imperial Reformation of 1940 (which also reorganized the various provinces, duchies and colonial territories into the present States), the realm is at least on paper a constitutional monarchy where the Reichstag is prominent though the Hohenstaufen Kaiser in practice still wields considerable power, albeit much more under pretenses of serving "the Reichsvolk" than the traditional Divine Right of Kings; in spite of its at times contradictory system - especially given the competition within the Reichstag among the Estates representing the nobility, Exiles, common citizens, clergy, etc. - the legacy of the old Imperial election endures in a remarkably robust democracy. In addition to the mass influx brought by the Exodus, generations of colonial settlement and demographic shift has resulted in Euro-Mestizens and "pure" Europeans of mainly German, Dutch and Scandinavian origin (the distinction between two having blurred given the former tending to identify with the latter) comprising a combined majority across the realm; even in native-majority territories, Europeans comprise at least 10% of the local population. Coincidentally, the vast majority of the population can speak or at the very least understand the official languages of German, Dutch and Norden-spiel (the collective grouping for the Scandinavian tongues); various creoles and pidgins have also emerged over the centuries incorporating old languages like Malay and Polynesian, albeit Germanized after centuries of rule. While natives, meanwhile have long had equal rights and representation, there remain six loyal "Asian Kingdoms" among the States representing the sovereigns and peoples like the Thai and Viets who had sworn fealty to the Throne if functionally similar, a vestigial remnant of the old vassalage system from the early days of colonization; the "Kingdom of Tsawarak-Brunei" though is unique in that its rulers are descended from Frisian merchants. Of course, the realm continues to oppose the Socioglobalists - especially the United Communities of Eurasia, which had emerged from the old H.R.E. - and officially claim the old Imperial territories, though there's growing confusion as to whether to finally let go of said claims or finally put generations' worth of plans to fruition.

The Hohenstaufens are also among the co-founders of the Pacific Crowns League, an evolution of the Swabian Congress of the 19th Century. Since the Socioglobalist Revolution, the deceptively truncated League is made up of the most prominent Old World (primarily European) monarchies that remain, with holdings across Asia. Among their co-partners is the Polish-Hungarian Union, a long-time rival turned fire-forged ally that rules much of the continent of Auztralia and continues to hold firm in Europe under the Habsburg dynasty; originally from the Empire, the Habsburgs instead ascended to both the Crown of St. Stephen and that of the Kingdom of Poland, eventually abandoning their Germanic origins as they assimilated. The Kingdom of Portugal, meanwhile, still holds sway over a sizable portion of the Indian Subcontinent with fervor reminiscent of the crusaders of old, albeit with mixed results especially with regards to the Aviz-Braganzas' support to the "Order of Kashmir." A notable exception by their very inclusion, though, are the Japanese and their Nikkei Union. Whether by sheer desperation or a stroke of sheer luck, sailors and nobles escaping the turmoil in their home islands stumbled upon the coasts of eastern Auztralia (which they still call Shin Nippon) in the 14th Century, opening the floodgates for Japanese colonization and eventual contact with the H.R.E. Despite the competition and fierce rivalry - to say nothing of the sheer xenophobia of both against the other - it speaks volumes how Japan's membership into the League signals a major shift, which has opened the possibility of monarchist North China and Persia likewise joining.

This isn't to say that they don't have enemies outside of the Socioglobalists or that all's well. The French Republic in particular survived the turmoil of the Great War and even the Revolution to continue being a major rival to the H.R.E. in Exile; even to the present, there are rumors that some rabble-rousing instigators and republican activists have some ties to Paris. South China, which had a puppet Imperial pretender regime before momentary fling with Socioglobalism, remains a tumultuous mess compared to its northern neighbor and the European realms. The Republic of Bharata Bengal (the self-styled embodiment of Free India) continues its efforts to "liberate" Portuguese India while attempting to spur "anti-colonial" sentiment with even more mixed results. The neighboring realm of Manipur-Assam still fancies itself as the last "pure" Southeast Asian state and a rival, although increasingly even its rulers have begrudgingly acknowledged Imperial aid as well as the proliferation of German-derived pidgins.

And then there's the Republic of New Holland, situated in the northeastern portion of Auztralia. Founded by Dutch farmers, religious dissidents and republicans, the Voortrekkers (later on known simply as Voeres) defied the Reconciliation by declaring independence, in the process attracting more European settlers dissatisfied with "power-mad kings" and seeking to shape their own future with their hands, if increasingly at the backs of what another world would call "Aborigines." Despite some setbacks from both the Japanese and Polish-Hungarians, the Voeres held their ground and with some French support their descendants have fostered a potent powerhouse that could challenge the Pacific Crowns League in a way that the Socioglobalists could only dream of. But it's a powerhouse that may be built on straw as generations of social and ethnic tension are boiling over. With the various interests at stake in trying to shape events to their liking, almost every major power has their eyes on what happens next. For the Hohenstaufens and their realm, however, the stakes couldn't be any higher. For if the wrong "side" wins, it could lead to another Great War or worse. And that this time, the Holy Roman Empire may have no chance of escaping from.

----

For some added trivia, a good deal of the names used for the H.R.E. in Exile are either Germanized transliterations or archaic forms of their real life locations and counterparts, be it obvious ones like "Maurenstadt" for "Bangsamoro" and "Batavia" for "Jakarta," or more subtle ones like "Eilandgoud" being a Dutch transliteration for Sumatra and "Marienberg" being a reference to Mandalay, Burma.

In addition, among other things the Kingdom of Tsawarak-Brunei is a nod to the "White Rajahs" of British Sarawak, while the Republic of New Holland is modeled after the Boers of South Africa.

Description
Here's my first actual work for 2018, and hopefully the first of many more to come. And in this case, it's a first in another sense.

This is a map commission for , which concerns an alternate history where not only does the ancient Hohenstaufen/Staufen dynasty (of which the famous Holy Roman Emperor Barbarossa was one) survive, but so does their rule over the Holy Roman Empire...with a twist, as seen above and below. While I've made some artistic touches of my own (including a call-back to some of my earlier works), the main bulk of the map is his idea.

Just to clarify, this is a work of fiction. And that said, I hope you enjoy this as much as I have in making this.

----

The Holy Roman Empire, as one French philosopher infamously put it close to its demise, was neither Holy, Roman nor an Empire. In the myriad possiblities of alternate worlds, that wasn't or rather, isn't the case. In one such timeline, the Germanic-dominant Holy Roman Empire did not, after a fashion, fall into the dustbin of history. Neither has its centuries-old sovereigns, the Hohenstaufen dynasty.

The Hohenstaufens (known in older archives as the Staufens) first emerged into the annals of history in A.D. 1079, becoming rulers of their native Duchy of Swabia. It wasn't until 1138, however, with the coronation of Conrad III as "King of the Romans" that this noble house would be thrust into leading the Holy Roman Empire. His successor, the famed Friedrich Barbarossa (and first of his line to be formally crowned Holy Roman Emperor) would spend much of his life restoring the prestige and power of the realm, in the process sparking an age of German expansion and cultural growth. But unlike another course of events - wherein Barbarossa met his end before arriving at the Holy Land - he survives to help lead a successful Third Crusade. Neither do his successors lose the Imperial elections to rival Prince-electors and usurpers, let alone fade into oblivion. Indeed, the Throne eventually became hereditary in all but name, with the Prince-electors voting for which Hohenstaufen to support and the Imperial elections themselves evolving to suit the increasingly prominent role of the Reichstag. The H.R.E's fortunes meanwhile would wax and wane over the centuries, but nonetheless stay constant. inasmuch as it's possible. At its height, the Empire held influence over much of Continental Europe, its German core expanding to include parts of Scandinavia. The Hohenstaufen also placed an increasing emphasis on a wider Germanic identity united by common cultures and heritage, allowing for the Dutch Reconciliation in 1763 and a golden age for the realm.

By the turn of the 20th Century, however, the notion of the H.R.E. as an everlasting fixture in Europe would be shattered. Neither diplomatic, cultural, industrial or military prowess could have prepared the Empire for the Great War of 1910. A conflict that began over dynastic rivalries and republican competition devolved over the course of over a decade into a bloodbath that consumed much of the Continent, eventually resulting in the bloody Socioglobalist Revolution in 1922. In the "Hohenstaufen Exodus" that ensued, the deposed dynasty and their loyalists (noble and common citizen alike) would embark on a nigh-heroic venture to bring themselves as many of their countrymen as they could to their prized colonial domains in the Pacific. It's there that they and their descendants remain to this day.

It is A.D. 2020. A time of technological and social marvels, which would at once astound yet terrify. A time when mankind is at once more connected than ever, and more divided.

The Holy Roman Empire in Exile continues to endure, encompassing Southeast Asia and much of the Pacific, just as it has for centuries. Indeed, its history's as fascinating and peculiar as its present. One consequence of the Third Crusade's success was greater, and clearer knowledge of what lay further East beyond the Islamic lands, eventually resulting among other events in the founding of the H.R.E's first settlement in Asia, Albertshaven in 1441. Early Imperial colonization in the region was haphazard to say the least as myriad chartered companies and bold adventurers tried to stake their claims in the name of the Kaiser; any indigenous kingdoms and tribes encountered that weren't friendly or had sworn fealty were considered fair game. This scattershot arrangement, however, gave way to a much more organized enterprise as the Hohenstaufens took direct interest in the "Imperial East Indies" (as the colonies collectively came to be known) by the 17th Century, which proved to be beyond simple trade or exploiting resources. As influence and frontiers expanded (be it through diplomacy. compromise or force), much was made to both develop those lands into proper Imperial domains and encourage settlers from across the Empire to move across the seas; in the case of the Scandinavian Resettlement Treaty of 1654, this also extended to an active relocation of various Nordic peoples affected by what another world would call the Little Ice Age. Coupled with preferential treatment to loyal natives, the integration of the "Dutch East Indies" during the Reconciliation, the gradual emergence of the mixed-race Euro-Mestizens, these efforts changed the face of that corner of the world irrevocably. It's little surprise then that by the time the Hohenstaufen Exodus was underway, the underlying foundations were well-established, tensions notwithstanding.

As of the present, it can be said that the worst times are far behind. The H.R.E. in Exile remains a major world power in its own right, known for its Old World culture, stable economy and powerful industry. Since the Imperial Reformation of 1940 (which also reorganized the various provinces, duchies and colonial territories into the present States), the realm is at least on paper a constitutional monarchy where the Reichstag is prominent though the Hohenstaufen Kaiser in practice still wields considerable power, albeit much more under pretenses of serving "the Reichsvolk" than the traditional Divine Right of Kings; in spite of its at times contradictory system - especially given the competition within the Reichstag among the Estates representing the nobility, Exiles, common citizens, clergy, etc. - the legacy of the old Imperial election endures in a remarkably robust democracy. In addition to the mass influx brought by the Exodus, generations of colonial settlement and demographic shift has resulted in Euro-Mestizens and "pure" Europeans of mainly German, Dutch and Scandinavian origin (the distinction between two having blurred given the former tending to identify with the latter) comprising a combined majority across the realm; even in native-majority territories, Europeans comprise at least 10% of the local population. Coincidentally, the vast majority of the population can speak or at the very least understand the official languages of German, Dutch and Norden-spiel (the collective grouping for the Scandinavian tongues); various creoles and pidgins have also emerged over the centuries incorporating old languages like Malay and Polynesian, albeit Germanized after centuries of rule. While natives, meanwhile have long had equal rights and representation, there remain six loyal "Asian Kingdoms" among the States representing the sovereigns and peoples like the Thai and Viets who had sworn fealty to the Throne if functionally similar, a vestigial remnant of the old vassalage system from the early days of colonization; the "Kingdom of Tsawarak-Brunei" though is unique in that its rulers are descended from Frisian merchants. Of course, the realm continues to oppose the Socioglobalists - especially the United Communities of Eurasia, which had emerged from the old H.R.E. - and officially claim the old Imperial territories, though there's growing confusion as to whether to finally let go of said claims or finally put generations' worth of plans to fruition.

The Hohenstaufens are also among the co-founders of the Pacific Crowns League, an evolution of the Swabian Congress of the 19th Century. Since the Socioglobalist Revolution, the deceptively truncated League is made up of the most prominent Old World (primarily European) monarchies that remain, with holdings across Asia. Among their co-partners is the Polish-Hungarian Union, a long-time rival turned fire-forged ally that rules much of the continent of Auztralia and continues to hold firm in Europe under the Habsburg dynasty; originally from the Empire, the Habsburgs instead ascended to both the Crown of St. Stephen and that of the Kingdom of Poland, eventually abandoning their Germanic origins as they assimilated. The Kingdom of Portugal, meanwhile, still holds sway over a sizable portion of the Indian Subcontinent with fervor reminiscent of the crusaders of old, albeit with mixed results especially with regards to the Aviz-Braganzas' support to the "Order of Kashmir." A notable exception by their very inclusion, though, are the Japanese and their Nikkei Union. Whether by sheer desperation or a stroke of sheer luck, sailors and nobles escaping the turmoil in their home islands stumbled upon the coasts of eastern Auztralia (which they still call Shin Nippon) in the 14th Century, opening the floodgates for Japanese colonization and eventual contact with the H.R.E. Despite the competition and fierce rivalry - to say nothing of the sheer xenophobia of both against the other - it speaks volumes how Japan's membership into the League signals a major shift, which has opened the possibility of monarchist North China and Persia likewise joining.

This isn't to say that they don't have enemies outside of the Socioglobalists or that all's well. The French Republic in particular survived the turmoil of the Great War and even the Revolution to continue being a major rival to the H.R.E. in Exile; even to the present, there are rumors that some rabble-rousing instigators and republican activists have some ties to Paris. South China, which had a puppet Imperial pretender regime before momentary fling with Socioglobalism, remains a tumultuous mess compared to its northern neighbor and the European realms. The Republic of Bharata Bengal (the self-styled embodiment of Free India) continues its efforts to "liberate" Portuguese India while attempting to spur "anti-colonial" sentiment with even more mixed results. The neighboring realm of Manipur-Assam still fancies itself as the last "pure" Southeast Asian state and a rival, although increasingly even its rulers have begrudgingly acknowledged Imperial aid as well as the proliferation of German-derived pidgins.

And then there's the Republic of New Holland, situated in the northeastern portion of Auztralia. Founded by Dutch farmers, religious dissidents and republicans, the Voortrekkers (later on known simply as Voeres) defied the Reconciliation by declaring independence, in the process attracting more European settlers dissatisfied with "power-mad kings" and seeking to shape their own future with their hands, if increasingly at the backs of what another world would call "Aborigines." Despite some setbacks from both the Japanese and Polish-Hungarians, the Voeres held their ground and with some French support their descendants have fostered a potent powerhouse that could challenge the Pacific Crowns League in a way that the Socioglobalists could only dream of. But it's a powerhouse that may be built on straw as generations of social and ethnic tension are boiling over. With the various interests at stake in trying to shape events to their liking, almost every major power has their eyes on what happens next. For the Hohenstaufens and their realm, however, the stakes couldn't be any higher. For if the wrong "side" wins, it could lead to another Great War or worse. And that this time, the Holy Roman Empire may have no chance of escaping from.

----

For some added trivia, a good deal of the names used for the H.R.E. in Exile are either Germanized transliterations or archaic forms of their real life locations and counterparts, be it obvious ones like "Maurenstadt" for "Bangsamoro" and "Batavia" for "Jakarta," or more subtle ones like "Eilandgoud" being a Dutch transliteration for Sumatra and "Marienberg" being a reference to Mandalay, Burma.

In addition, among other things the Kingdom of Tsawarak-Brunei is a nod to the "White Rajahs" of British Sarawak, while the Republic of New Holland is modeled after the Boers of South Africa.