The Neo Byzantinian Empire of Stropon

[Russell]

Spectacular.

The gardens are truly inspirational - one wishes one could create similar things of such beauty.

Astounding work. 

[Strechnitz]

belfastuniguy Thank you very much. I'm glad that you find it so inspirational.

kwakelaar I'm glad you like the gardens. The interior pic's are taken from 4 different palaces.

The first two come from the Residentz Palace of Regensburg in Germany, the third from Schloss Augustusburg also in Germany.
The throneroom is situated in the Palacio Real in Madrid, Spain.(The spanish crest is replaced by the Stroponese, or else it would be easier to tell  .
The long gallery pic and the private drawing room are from Syon House in England.(decorated by Adams no less)
And finally the last one is taken from the Palace of Versailes in France.

Quite an eclectic bunch, are they not? Did you guess some right?

bat Thank tou very much bat.

Snaper Im glad you love the luxuriousness. I like that too in a palace. And there are so many great palaces made by BATters. but I missed properly sized palacegardens. so I made these

Badsim Thank you very much for that great compliment. I was also very happy of the result of the combination of pic's and photo's.

thundercrack83 I'm happy that you and belfasuniguy agree on the matter no serious, I'm very happy that you like it.

CabraBuitre Thank you. I find "realistic" a very rewarding comment. I hope that the future updates I have in store will have the same level of quality.

Russell As always these comments of the regime are greatly apreciated. But surely the Regime is all powerfull? So It should be possible to force...So sorry,...slip of the tongue...stimulate the Blissians to create such a thing.

On the other hand. there are an awfull lot of messy and dangerous trees in it. and fountains to drown in, and statues to fall on people, and not to mention the staining grass...and one could easily trip over the gravel paths and brake ones neck. The chapel is already a death trap for crowned heads, imagine wath harm the other buildings could do to passers by.  just kidding




Ah well. I'm afraid I don't have a new update ready. I have to devote a lot of time to my exams. but soon enough I will bring you something new from the Stroponian Empire.

BTW I did start a CJ thread over at Simtropolis. For now it is only catching up with this thread. And over here at sc4D all the premieres will be celebrated, if only because I enjoy this site more than any other. So their won't be anything new on Simtropolis on the Stropon account that wasn't featured here first. But I thought I should let you all now about it.

STRECH.

[kwakelaar]

Ah yes, I had one right; the room from Versailles. The second and third I thought they'd come from a Russian palace. Throne room I had really no idea, the English ones I had at least the country right

[Yoder7652]

Wow...now that is what I call a hunting retreat  Wonderful update Strech...I really liked the mix of real world palace pics for locations in the Palace (although I didn't see any Ikea furniture  ). The various formal garndens are very well done, I particularly like the idea and execution of the Asian Garden. All in all, a great update and I look forward to more.

[mattb325]

Srechnitz - amazing stuff indeed. The way you've captured the baroque decadence in the knot-gardens and structures (including the chinoese garden) is really inspiring. And, I see you've even built a ha-ha!

[nova vesfalo]

as usual, it's so huge ! Like all the comments, the mix of pictures and in game shots, and the differents inspirations of the garden fit very wel with the context you're describing : bravo

[Strechnitz]

kwakelaar Well one ain't that bad. the german pics do resemble the winterpalace decor somewhat. they are all three decorated in the same Baroque style. I'll make a nice guessinggame of the next palace tour

Yoder7652 Thank you. If you like this palace, you haven't yet seen the Summerpalace. Those Palacegrounds ar aproxemately 4 times as large. woehahahaha. but that's for a future update.

mattb325 Thank you for your encouraging comments Matt. But mght I ask what a "ha-ha!" is. For I don't know what I have built if that's included in the garden.

nova vesfalo Thank you very much. I also really like the use of real pictures. I think I'll use that more often, but moderately, not overdone. ingame pics are more important in the end.



Stropon Times, we even tell the Emperor what to read!
Welcome to the international edition of the Stropon Times. This edition holds excerpts of the most important issues of last week's edition.

Emperor appoints Ambassador to Stropon.
Strechnitz, by our political correspondent,

The Lord High Chancellor, Frits Clauwenbach, has publicly announced this morning that Lord Francis Dragomirov Blauheim, member of the House of Peers of the Realm, Chairman of the Nargoon Trade Commission, member on the board of directors of the Imperial Commerce Bank, and younger brother to The Duke of Blauheim will be appointed as Ambassador to Osturland By the Emperor later today. Lord Francis declared to the assembled press in the Pressroom of the palace of the Peers that he was honored and delighted to be the first Stroponian ambassador to Osturland since the adopting of the Doctrine of Autocracy and the withdrawal of al her ambassadors in 1919. He intends to do his utmost best to ensure good relations between both States.

"I was contacted last week by Lord High Minister Renkelstein to see if I had any interest in this top job. And I said, but of course Rudy, I would be delighted to go to Payens. To defend our governments positions. Uphold the honor of the Empire and have a jolly good time, what? Well naturally when I heard the names of my competitors. I knew the ambassadorship was in the bag. I say! Von Buglemayer for instance is from a very new family you know. 2 silly generations of Viscounts. I tell you! Instead of my 23 generations of full blooded aristo's damn you. Silly Question if you ask me. We came with old Augustus H. over from Italy in1472 you know. Well besides, I knew Fritsy, the Chancellor you know, wouldn't let an old college chum down, now would he? Not the proper thing to do. So this old boy new he could order his domestics to pack for Payens. Damn the overpaid lazy bastards, what! I'll leave tomorrow. Will miss the House though. Good chaps. Every bloody one of them. Especially the Lord Bishops. Capital chaps. Drink like commoners they do. Hahaha what?...So, yes, I will present his royal majesty with my letters of credence. The king is the right sort of chap you see. Our kind of people, I mean. I expect no problems there. Defending the Empires good relations and all that. Well thank you for your time Chaps. Make some proper and sound articles, out of this what? I like to read about myself in the papers during breakfast. Make me sound statesman like will you? The wife likes that you know." And with these words he left the pressroom. For an audience with His Holy Imperial Majesty before leaving to Osturland.

We wish him all the luck!


Lord Francis Dragomirov Blauheim leaving the Palace of the House of Peers of the Realm.

Queen of fashion sets trend once again.
Wörlitzen Badt, From our fashion Correspondent.

Lady Arabella Brantzig. The Queen of exuberance has presented Stropon with her new Summer collection. The show was held in the Casino Imperiale in Wörlitzen Badt. Exotic feathers satin are the words the season. No self respecting fashion adept can be seen without them in public. "For these creations exotic and rare birds from all over the globe have been plucked. So that the Stroponian High Society can share in their beauty" said Lady Arabella.
The mannequins wore light and airy garments adorned with feathers and tails wings of the birds. "Any exotic bird with pretty feathers you can think of has been used for this show." Answered the PR manager of Lady Arabella. To the question if the use of these feathers were endangering wildlife he answered "What a fuss. This summer collection is in the light of preservation of ecological habitats and endangered species while aiding the poor and destitute population in those exotic areas. For instance, the areas where we collected a lot of "material" we also provided good poultry and fowl meat to the indigenous people free of charge. We filled their bellies on the expens of Lady Arabella. Because we are committed to preserving nature." On the question if any bird died during the plucking the Press conference was ended.
Well. It is clear that the High flyers will flap and flutter through the summer season with these stunning creations shown here. Lady Arabella has no doubt struck gold with her summer collection.


"Furs and feathers, every lady should wear them!" Lady Arabella Brantzig

Professor apologizes for knights Templar rant.
Strechnitz, from our correspondent.

Professor Adonis Leidelmayer Cnut. Who holds the Chair for Dynastic History at Strechnitz University. Takes his words back printed in this news paper last week. In that paper he publicesed that the Empire would do wise to hold of Diplomatic relations with Osturland before the Government in Payens had made public excuses. Public excuses for the fact that back in 1204 the fourth Crusade ended not in Jerusalem but with the raging and plunder of Constantinople. The Knights Templar who were joined the crusade are also the founders of Osturland. "I see now that I was too hasty in saying things I had not fully checked or discussed with my Honorable colleagues of Saint Judas's College." He further added that he regret that his wrds whiche were spoken in 'private' were made public and have caused so much unnecessary upheaval and unrest. A government spokesman said to be relieved that the professor who is a authority on Stropon History was brave enough to rectify that what withouth his intention was blown out of proportions in press and government. And thus the Cnut Scandal ends with a very soft plop instead of a loud bang. Alls well that ends well.

Emperor receive box full of broken glass.
Kaiserbürgen, from our palace correspondent.

This morning the Palace received a box containing shards of glass donated by the Regime of Bliss. The glass comes from shattered windows which broke during the launch of a space shuttle in bliss. The shards were to be sold as mementos to the happy occasion which propelled Bliss into the select group of Space far. A palace official wanted to procure a few shards for the Emperor who in private is a fan of that state. On this The Bliss Regime send a whole box full of shards as a present. Free of charge. The Emperor as send a personal handwritten thank you note to the Bliss Regime


Some of the Bliss glass given to the Emperor.

[Strechnitz]

The Empire of Stropon is a Hereditary Monarchy. The Emperor Stands at the head of Government. The core of the government was and is formed out of the hereditary Aristocracy. There are several different levels of nobility


Under the Emperor who is the Ruling Prince, comes the class of not ruling Princes who are called the Prince Electors. They elect the new Emperor from their midst when the current dynasty ends without leaving an Heir Apparent. They govern their own Principality but are considered not ruling because they do not wear the Imperial Crown.


Their Principality is divided in several Duchies or Provinces. The dukes are the governing families at the head of each province. Non governing Dukes don't exist. Those who do exist are not called Dukes But Marquises. One could say that they are in the waiting room. Waiting for the ducal families to die out. In the meantime Marquises are active in the Principal Council of Peers, governing the Principalities.


The Ducal council of Nobles governing the Duchy together with the dukes consists of the Counts and vis-counts whose estates lay in that province. The larger towns inside those counties are governed by the local Baron who acts as Mayor. The smaller settlements with their own city council are headed by the local Baronet.


As you can see the the Nobility is an important factor of power within the state. The people. Only elect their representations who are half of the legislative branch. The judges are appointed by the church. The Church of Saint Simeon is believed to be a sound guardian of truth and Justice. Therefore the Courts are an Ecclesiastical matter. But they are checked by the Executive branches on their respective levels. The Prelates are often junior members of the Noble families. Therefore the Entire Church of Simeon is also largely controlled by the Emperor and the Nobility.

As you can see it is one big nepotistic muddle. So the people have limited control over the government. The emperor has little to fear from them. The nobility however is quite powerful. Indeed the emperor has the right to repel every appointment and replace officials by people of his choice. But the Aristocracy has to be kept appeased. For many noble  families benefit from a regime change. So how to keep them loyal. How to make them jump when the Emperor wants them to?

There are two important methods.
"Wage war! Force them to take up arms and defend their Emperor and country. Keep them so busy with waging war that they have no time to eat or sleep. Give them no time to convene and plot against their Emperor. Saving ones own life is always paramount to assassinating the Emperor." The motto of Augustus Heraclius The Great. But waging war has never been very successful for Stropon so this method has hardly been used by Stroponian Emperors.

"Give parties and festivities so they have no time to rest. For rest gives opportunities to think and plot. Therefore keep them busy." Words of Victor Otto I the second Emperor f Stropon. And many Emperors have followed that advice. Hunts, balls, dinners, numerous parties. Sporty events, like the races and the regattas. The court is expected to attend every one of them. The trick is that those who stay away will be surpassed when honors are due to be given by the Emperor.

Apart from family ties with noble families of higher rank the amount of Honors and knighthoods gathered are an important factor for when their place on the List of Rank for the succession of the Imperial Dynasty is specified. Losing out on a few knighthoods or honors could mean no ascension to a higher aristocratic state when a new Dynasty would take place on the Imperial throne. So the entire nobility does their very best to attend court and flatter the Princely and Imperial Families.


The orders of knighthood of Stropon

The origins of orders of knighthood are in the Crusades. In the Latin Orient, a new institution emerged, in which knights (professional soldiers) associated themselves under a strict, quasi-monastic rule of life, for the purpose of protecting pilgrims and defending Christian conquests in the Holy Land. In the 14th century, just as the original military-monastic orders were searching for a new mission after the loss of the Holy Land, kings began creating orders of their own, modeled in part on these original orders, but with a different purpose, to bind their nobility to themselves.

And the Stroponian Emperors used them gratefully. Because for their system of rewards The orders of knighthood play a significant role. Let us look at them. We'll start with the most elevated ones and run down along the line to the more general ones.

Holy Imperial Order of the Knight-guardians of Saint Simeons Grave.

This is the highest possible order. it is reserved for the Emperor the Grand Prelate and the Prince Electors. They are the ceremonial protectors of the tomb of Saint Simeon in Simeonopole.  It has 2 levels.


The Lord Protector. This is reserved for His Holy Imperial Majesty the Emperor, and him alone.


The Knight Protector. This is reserved for His Most Illustrious Highness the Grand Prelate of Simeonopole and His Most Serene Highnesses the Prince Electors.

Holy order of Saint Simeon

This order has 4 levels running from knight to grand master. This order is reserved for Nobles or dignitaries who are Simeonists. If they belong to another religion they are excluded from the possibility to be knighted in this order. So if you want to really be on the safe side in Aristocracy land you reform to Simeonism.


Knight in the Holy Order of Saint Simeon


Officer in the Holy Order of Saint Simeon


Commander in the Holy Order of Saint Simeon


Grand Master in the Holy Order of Saint Simeon, reserved for His Holy Imperial Majesty the Emperor, and him alone.

Imperial order of Augustus Heraclius

This Order in honor of the founder of Stropon Augustus Heraclius the Great is reserved for Nobles and crowned heads. Both Stroponian as foreign. The order has 3 levels running from knight to commander.


Knight in the Imperial order of Augustus Heraclius


Officer in the Imperial order of Augustus Heraclius


Commander in the Imperial order of Augustus Heraclius

Imperial order of Saint Gideon

This order has 3 levels running from knight to commander. This order is reserved for Nobles or dignitaries who have done exemplary service to the Empire.


Knight in the Imperial order of Saint Gideon


Officer in the Imperial order of Saint Gideon


Commander in the Imperial order of Saint Gideon

Imperial Order of the Golden Fur

This order is reserved for Foreign Heads of state both royal or presidential who have dynastic or friendly connections with Stropon. It has 2 distinctions. Commander and Grand master. It is exclusively reserved for heads of state. The are no posibilities for other people to become knight or officer. It isn't used ever since the Doctrine of Autocracy was adopted after the great or first world war. In the light of new diplomatic relations it seems that the order of the Golden Fur is ready for a renaissance.


Commander in the Imperial Order of the Golden Fur, reserved for monarchs and presidents of befriended states.


Grand Master in the Imperial Order of the Golden Fur, reserved for His Holy Imperial Majesty the Emperor, and him alone.

Order of the Ivory Elephant


This Order is nick named the Masonry Order. It is a special order for Stroponian or Foreign Dignitaries who have been of outstanding merit to the Emperor. At least that is the official meaning. In fact, all those who are awarded with the order of the Ivory Elephant happen to be Free masons. The order is not worn in public. yet only in private and during Free mason rituals. but that last part is only rumour of course. The Freemason Lodges are an important factor within the Stroponian upper classes so there might be some truth in them.

Order of the star of Nargoon


This Order of Merit is reserved for those Stroponian Nobles and dignitaries who have performed outstandingly in the Colony of Nargoon. often given to High officials and Viceroys in the Colonial government after years of dedicated service. It is also nicknamed, the morning star because the sun rises in the east where the Nargoon colony lies.

Order of the star of Quitaniana


This Order of Merit is reserved for those Stroponian Nobles and dignitaries who have performed outstandingly in the Colony of Quitaniania. Often given to governor generals and Viceroys in the Colonial government after years of dedicated service. like the Star of Nargoon it is nicknamed the evening star because  Quitaniania lies in the west where the sun sets.

Order of the Wreath of Glory


This order is only available to those officers in the navy or army who have shown couragious feits of Bravery in times of war.

Order of the knights Citadel


This order is awarded to officers of the higher cadre in the navy or army who have fulfilled a long and outstanding service to the empire. in laymans terms it means that every general who reaches his pension without heavy problems due to gluttony or gout has a good change of acquiring this order

Order of the knights of the Realm


This Order of Merit is reserved for those Stroponian entrepreneurs and high level civil servants who have performed outstandingly in the Stroponian government or economy. When their years of dedicated service are rewarded with this knighthood, their chance on being elevated into the nobility, that much sought after price, is close at hand.

And that concludes this update on the Stroponian Nobility and their heraldic orders. No ingame pics this time I'm afraid. but nevertheless I hope you enjoyed is just the same.


Take care,

Strechnitz.

[mattb325]

Strechnitz - a "ha-ha" was originally a walled shallow ditch carved into a meadow that was either stone lined or water filled and was used for the sole purpose of stopping animals from crossing.
It was designed in such a way that it would not ruin the landscape and one side of the ditch was always lower than the other side so that it could not be seen until up close.
Occasionally a hedge was used for this purpose, but again it was designed so that it couldn't be seen until almost on top of it.

Over the centuries, this idea was turned into a gardening feature which refers to any change in level that when viewed from a distance appears seamless: your cascade gardens - specifically, the 2nd and 3rd levels would do this.

[Strechnitz]

Hi Matt,

OOh that's what you meant. You are quite right. although I know that feature as a "Ah Ha"  But that could be just the language difference. For example. an Ante chamber is called an Antichambre in Dutch. When that change occured I don't know. for an exact translation would be a "not room" while the original french meaning is a "pre room" you had to enter before the actual room.

I'm sorry, I thought you made a little joke but forgot the word in front of the laughter please forgive me.

Strechnitz

[Russell]

We are glad to see that the Emperor has received our humble gift. We also appreciate the opportunity to study the intricate system of Stroponian monarchy and the bewildering amount of orders. After this reply has been posted, We shall continue our studies, perhaps grinding our teeth in envy over your spectacular work, taking out our frustration on our people by imposing new harsher laws and have some of them shot while trying to escape. But so far, we applaud you.

[sebes]

Allemaggies Hubert.... I wondered last time how you find the time for these huge updates... Now my problem is to find time the read the last few updates. I zapped through them tonight  and was very pleased with the appearance of my favorite Stroponians Alexandra von Hofenburg and Arabella Brantzig! You sure know who to select   

*** checking my calender to block time to read this great CJ more thoroughly ***

I'll be back!

[Vario80]

Thanks again for the updates and for showing us how the hierarchy of the Empire of Stropon is built up.  Bedankt! 

[bat]

Fantastic updates! Also great orders! 

[Yoder7652]

Wow...so many great orders...I particularly like the Order of the Ivory Elephant, mostly becuase of the mental image an ivory elephant evokes  As always, your attention to detail and development of a believable nation with history is top notch. Just when I think you can't out-do yourself, you post a new update! keep up the creativity....hopefully the Empire will have an opportunity to give out an order or two in the near future     

[kwakelaar]

Stroponians probably don't find this very funny but I had to laugh seeing this dead cat hanging form one of the orders

Great work with your update, and so much to read. I wonder if I should just staple some feathers to my head (ouch!) as a fashion statement, would not want the fashion police to come my way.

[Emperor Stormont]

Fabulous work indeed, very very impressed.

Loved the order of power and the medals   

[TheTeaCat]

Astounding the work you put into this. I don't know what else to say really its that good i am speechless

I'll be back as has been said before


TTc

[Strechnitz]

Russell Thank you for your aplause at my effort. I apreciate it. How many controversial elements have been shot?

sebes Thank you for your nice comments. large parts of the updates were already made in the period when I had enough time on my hands. That is why I can update in the midst of my exams. In between my studies I relax with hour or so cutting and pasting. The replies to all the nice comments take more time

another reason is that when I have the material I make up most of the stories as I am typing. so when I intend one goal I can end up writing an entirely different story.  oh well. call it a mayors liberty

I had the feeling you would like those two ladies. They have sooo much esprit. 

Vario80 Graag gedaan. As with most aspects of my updates. I start of with reality in Europe for example. and twist it to fit my purpose in stropon. hoping to give it an eztra layer of believabillity.

bat Thank you for your comment.

Yoder7652 wow. thank you for these words Yoder. I really, really apreciate them. And of course I am very glad that you like the orders. I knew it was an aspect most kingdoms and empires did not have a detailed list of these. So I am not very technical but I know my way with paint and photoshop just enough to add a bit extra to my ingame pics.

kwakelaar well actually it is a dead ram and this one has a fur instead of a fleece. and don't worry. If Stroponians have my sense of humor they won't be offended in any way........although. making a big diplomatc scandal out of this would be fun too!

Oh and don't worry about those feathers. why not by a Ostrich boa? that should do the trick. would be nice for a wedding?

belfastuniguy Thank you for your nice words, and good to have you back here. I hope the exams were no big deal?

TheTeaCat Thank you TTC I'm glad you like it. Some work has gone in to this. indeed. but that is alll the fun is it not? please return when I find time to make more updates. Strechnitz will be explored soon.


Well that's it for now. I have next week 4 more exams. after which I'll have time again to reveil more of the Empire of Stropon. there is so much going on there:)

Strechnitz

[Strechnitz]

Well hello there,

This is not a proper update. At least not for my standerds. You should see this as a cliffhanger. For my first ever mosaic offers a glimpse into Strechnitz, the Imperial Capital of the Neo Byzantinian Empire of Stropon.

The real updates will have to wait a bit more I'm afraid. My notebook has suddenly entered some kind of terminal stage. I'm afraid it will soon leave me after faithfull service. I could wait until it just dies. but I want to save my cities and not to mention my sacred well organised plug ins folder in due time. I won't buy a new notebook before next week or perhaps a fortnight. To busy with my exams to look around for a good replacement. So hang in tight and enjoy the many other great MD here, and the next update will be here before you can memmorize all 51 official titles of the Emperor.

So, get yourself together. here is a little treat to look at while waiting



I'll be back soon! (And no. These are nót famous last words! )

Strechnitz.