Bharat

The First Empire of Bharat was a major Indian empire of the Classic Era, and one of the most defining and powerful nations of its era. It was also one of the largest nations to have existed, and one of the four superpowers of its time period. It had an extremely fast rise, growing from a small nation in eastern India to its maximum extent in less than three decades. It was played by Akhenaten. Within its core territories in Asia, it controlled much of India, most of Central Asia, southern and western China, Indochina, Iran, and southern Russia. Outside of Asia, it controlled Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltics, parts of Germany, western and southeastern Australia, New Zealand, most of the southern cone of South America, and much of Western Africa. 
It was also the instigator of the Second Worlda War, and its invasion of Byzantium was very nearly successful. However, its success would not last long, as the assassination of Bimbisara and the rebellion of many ethnic groups located within the empire led to a rapid decline in power. Although it experienced a minor rebound after becoming a major participant in the War on Libya, the nation would end up collapsing just a few years afterwards.
In the next centuries, it was revived twice, first in the 200s, and again in the late 300s. It continues to be remembered as one of the most important nations, as well as being the origin of the infamous rat cult meme.
== History ==
=== Founding and early expansion ===
The Empire of Bharat was founded as the Kingdom of Magadha by Bimbisara. He was an important leader of a Magadha independence movement in Bihar, and took advantage of the rapid collapse of the Mongolian Dynasty's control over the region to establish a small independent state around Pataliputra. With most of Asia being freed up due to the fall of Mongolia, Magadha was soon able to take advantage of the power vacuum to expand across the continent. 
Magadha began to expand outwards, conquering much of eastern India and expanding out into Burma and Tibet soon after. Magadha would then expand into Indochina, and reached the Malay peninsula. They made a deal with Byzantium to split the peninsula, with Magadha conquering the northern half. After reaching Byzantium's border, they would focus on expanding into Indochina, eventually making many encirclements and annexing the entire area. Afterwards, they expanded towards the Chen Dynasty in southern China.
=== Expansion across Asia ===
After reaching the border of the Chen Dynasty, they established a colony in Sarawak, which they expanded to include most of northern Borneo. Soon after, they would expand along the Chen Dynasty's border and reached the northern Jin border. They declared war on them in 162AD, and quickly overwhelmed them, annexing them entirely later in the year. Afterwards, they made several encirclements in southern China to fully connect their newly gained territory to India.
With their Chinese borders secured, Magadha would expand around the Gupta Empire in India. The Guptas responded by attempting to block them, Magadha would bypass them, and the two nations would create some of the worst border gore in history.
The border gore stretched around the Gupta's borders all the way to Iran, and only when the Byzantines denied the Guptas entry into the Persian Gulf did it finally end. Magadha would soon claim most of the Iranian coast, and bordered Byzantium in Mesopotamia.
Magadha would annex all of Iran, and also expanded around the Caspian Sea. They stopped at Azerbaijan, and focused on the Aral Sea's coast afterwards. They also encircled more territory in China, up to Hubei from Arunachal Pradesh. They declared war on the Jin Dynasty shortly after, and encircled many Jin forces near their border. The Jin Dynasty and Magadha quickly agreed to a peace treaty, with Magadha annexing some territories roughly following the Yangtze and Huai rivers, and temporarily occupying an area along the coast up to the Shandong peninsula for 12 years.
=== Colonization of Australia and South America ===
Magadha established a colony on the northwest coast of Australia, but Byzantium's threats made them temporary shift their focus back to Central Asia, where they would encircle and annex much of the region. After doing so, they began focusing on Australia once more. Byzantium and New Portugal both attempted to stop them from taking over the rest of the continent.
Although Byzantium's attempts were unsuccessful, New Portugal managed to block Magadha from reaching eastern Australia for a short while. After following NP's borders southward, they used their new coast on the Great Australian Bight to land in modern-day New South Wales. New Portugal responded by cutting them off from southern Australia, but they could not stop Magadha from annexing most of NSW. Magadha also annexed the rest of Western Australia.
During this time, Bimbisara declared his son Yadunandan to be his heir. Magadha would colonize New Zealand shortly after, and used it to establish a new colony in Chile. They expanded this colony to encompass all of Patagonia, Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. New Portugal began expanding their own colony located in Bolivia to compete with Magadha, and the two raced to annex the unclaimed land in Brazil. Ultimately, both countries would gain a coastline on the Atlantic in Brazil. Magadha would give their temporarily occupied land back to the Jin Dynasty.
With their new colonial projects completed, Magadha focused on expanding in Asia again. They conquered most of Afghanistan, and created a massive encirclement from Central Asia all the way to their land in coastal China.
=== West Africa colonization ===
Magadha would land in West Africa in 179AD, alongside Byzantium. They expanded faster than Byzantium, and attempted to cut them off from expanding in Nigeria. Byzantium did the same, resulting in major border gore, but Magadha landed around Byzantium's colony, and they were able to mostly cut off the colony. At the same time, the Libyan Empire also tried to cover Magadha's colony, but Magadha instead moved towards Mali, while Libya would continue their previously stagnant war and invade Mali through the east.
Libya would reach Timbuktu first and took most of northern Mali, while Magadha declared war on Mali and took control over the southern half of Mali. Magadha later took most of the rest of the unclaimed land in Western Africa.
=== Conquest of Eastern Europe ===
After tensions died down in Africa, Magadha began to conquer the northern Caucasus. This upset Byzantium, and they took over all of the coasts of the Black Sea to prevent Bharat from reaching them. They temporarily stopped expanding in the area, and instead expanded in Borneo. Magadha and New Portugal made some border gore on the island, but New Portugal was eventually stopped, and Magadha took most of the island. New Portugal also made a colony in Manchuria, and Bharat moved north and blocked them in Inner Mongolia.
Magadha shifted focus back to Eastern Europe, making a beeline towards the Danube delta and expanding above Romania. To prevent them from invading Romania, Byzantium pressured them into becoming a puppet. They eventually accepted. The Empire of Bharat was officially proclaimed by Bimbisara in 180AD. After expanding in Kazakhstan for a bit, they would begin to focus on Europe again. Byzantium managed to block Bharat from entering Central Europe in the Pannonian plain, after which Bharat would expand into Ukraine before moving into Belarus. After Estonia and Karelia both collapsed, they expanded into their former land and reached into central Finland. 
They gained access to the Danish straits, and used this to colonize Norway. They would use this to conquer part of Germany, although their advance was limited due to the efforts of Byzantium and NP. Bharat also effectively annexed the rest of unclaimed China. However, a revolutionary group active in Finland and Estonia known as the People's Party sent an ultimatum for independence to Bharat. After some negotiations, they were given independence as the Republic of Gohelm. Bharat's last expansions before the Second Worlda War were near Mongolia, where they attempted to border Sibir before backing down and instead focusing on Central Asia. 
=== Second Worlda War ===
Bharat would declare war on Byzantium with the goal of "total extermination of the Byzantine concept", which sparked the Second Worlda War. Byzantium swiftly declared war on them as well. The two would begin to clash in Bulgaria, before Byzantium launched a major offensive in Ukraine and Moldova. New Portugal would shortly afterwards join the war against Bharat. They launched a small offensive into Borneo and Cambodia, but it bogged down after reaching modern-day Thailand. Byzantium was able to temporarily cut Bharat off from its western holdings, before the connection would be re-established. This happened several times. 
For a short while, Libya was also at war with Bharat, but they switched sides after a short offensive in Mali, and declared war on Byzantium after Bharat promised them Mali. Bimbisara moved to an unspecified location in Central Asia with his family during this period. Bharat managed to launch their own offensive in Ukraine as Byzantium was distracted by Libya, pushing all the way into Crimea before they were pushed back. This happened several times, and eventually both sides stalled in the area of Tavria. This led to a long stalemate, which would last until the end of the conflict. Bharat also annexed the area around Lake Issyk-Kul during this period.
=== Assassination of Bimbisara ===
In 189AD, Bimbisara made a visit to Pataliputra. During one of his long speeches in the capital, a member of the nobility suddenly shot him. He died shortly after. News of his death quickly spread, and rebellions ran rampant all across the empire, with various ethnic groups attempting to carve out their own states. Generals also attempted to make their own states close to the frontlines, with many of them quickly collapsing. Yadunandan took over and made an attempt to salvage Bharat. He officially ended the war against Byzantium, and began withdrawing Bharati forces from across the empire to protect the empire's heartland in India. By 191AD, Bharat withdrew from most of its land outside of the Ganges basin, and Mali was also handed over to Libya.
=== War on Libya and collapse ===
The First Libyan Empire's attempts to claim all of Bharat's former territory in Western Africa led to Bharat and several other nations forming a coalition against them. They collectively declared war on Libya, starting the War on Libya. Libya surrendered shortly into the conflict. Bharat would gain some territory from the war, including the Maldives, Zanzibar, Tanzania and Kenya's coasts, part of Mozambique and northeastern Madagascar. Bharat's last major expansion was into Madagascar, where they would temporarily take the whole island for a year. Bharat would suddenly collapse in 193AD.
In the following years, the Satavahana Empire would expand into some of their territory. Eventually, the People's Republic of China would take over Bharat's homeland, and formed an Indian province. Almost a century after the founding of the first empire, a second empire led by a descendant of Bimbisara would form. Some time later, a third one was also established. Bharat's existence would make a major impact on Asia, as it influenced many nations that came after them. Its large road network was rebuilt by the Chinese. The Magadhi people are still around, and continue to speak the Magadhi language. In addition, in South America, the Magadhis who settled there would become the Sherpahala.
Category:Nations
Category:Former Nations