Religion and Religious Dynamics in Age of Empires II Civilizations [Part 2]

Continued from Part 1

Koreans

• Chief religion(s): Korean Confucianism in urban areas and Seon Buddhism/indigenous Korean faiths in rural lands. Buddhism was introduced to Korea as early as the 4th century, and flourished under the patronage of the Goryeo Kingdom beginning in the 10th century. However, in the 14th century Korean general Yi Seonggye took power in a coup and established the Joseon dynasty, in which the Zhu Xi school of Neo-Confucianism supplanted Buddhism as the state ideology. In an effort to reduce the influence of Buddhism and other organized religions, Buddhist monks were banned from entering cities, while Buddhists were subjected to significant institutionalized discrimination and marginalized in society. Accordingly, Confucian ideals rose to the fore in government policy. Goshindo (‘way of the gods’), an indigenous Korean faith, was suppressed in the major cities as well. However, Buddhism continued to survive in rural areas, with new orders of Buddhist monks being established outside of the cities. Subsequently, a synthesis of Buddhist philosophies and schools of thought occurred, and many philosophical Buddhist texts such as Hyeonjeongnon were composed during this period. During the Battle of Noryang and the Japanese invasion of Korea, these Buddhist monastic orders played a vital role in delaying and rerouting the Japanese advance.

• Time period: 16th century (Battle of Noryang)

• Background: Hwangryongsa (Yellow Dragon temple), one of the largest Buddhist temples built during the 7th century in Gyeongju, served as the center of state-sponsored Buddhism in Silla, one of the ancient Three Kingdoms in Korea (alongside Baejke and Gogurjeo). The temple was reputed to be the tallest wooden structure in the world at the time of its completion; it would stand for nearly half a millennium before its destruction in the 13th century at the hands of invading Mongols. It is said that the interlocking nine-story structure was constructed with the Korean practice of plate shafting, an architectural technique used for large wooden buildings that required no nails and was later passed to Japan.

Further reading: Philosophical Aspects of the Goryeo-Joseon Confucian-Buddhist Confrontation

Magyars

• Chief religion(s): Pagan faiths and traditions, followed shortly by Catholicism. Despite being known as distant descendants of the Scythians and Huns, relatively little is known of the Hungarian people before their conquest of the Carpathian Basin and establishment of the Kingdom of Hungary in the 10th century. During the conquest, the Hungarians practiced a polytheistic shamanistic faith in which the world was divided into three spheres (upper, middle, and lower) with humans, various mythological creatures, and dead souls scattered across the three realms. Worship and sacrificial offerings were directed at various forces of nature, including the gods of fire, water, war, and the sun and moon. During the 10th century, the Hungarians were visited by several Byzantine popes and bishops, and gradually began to adopt Christianity (also the religion of their Slavic subjects in the area). King St. Stephen, who took power in 1000 after defeating a pagan rival, was a devout Christian who ordered his subjects to routinely attend church and built many Benedictine monasteries in the region. To ensure that his subjects would abandon the traditional Hungarian religion, Stephen had his pagan cousin and presumptive heir Vazul blinded. His eventual successor Andrew I, anointed as king ahead of his pagan brother Levente, successfully crushed multiple pagan uprisings. Eventually, the presence of non-Christian faiths died out by the end of the 11th century.

• Time period: 9th-10th century (Honfoglalas)

• Background: Hunyadi Castle was built in the 15th century during the reign of John Hunyadi. With the exception of the chapel within, the building did not chiefly serve a religious purpose.

Further reading: Realm of St. Stephen: A History of Medieval Hungary

Malay

Note: The Malay in-game are represented by the Majapahit Empire, a kingdom commonly associated with the Javanese people.

• Chief religion(s): Javanese Hinduism, intermingled with Buddhism as well as native animist beliefs and traditions (known today as Kejawen). Originally brought to the Indonesian archipelago by South Indian traders during the first century, Hinduism and Buddhism formed a fusion with pre-existing Indonesian faiths and flourished in the Indianized kingdoms of Srivijaya and Singhasari. Raden Vijaya, founder of the Majapahit Empire, was the Hindu son of a Singhasari prince who allied with an invading Mongol armada to defeat a rival vassal, then turned on the Mongols and scattered their fleet to establish his kingdom. By contrast, his first wife, Gayatri Rajapatni, was a devout Tantric Buddhist who joined the monastic order after the death of her son Jayanegara. During Gajah Mada's subsequent reign, Hinduism and Buddhism went through a degree of syncretism, with Hindu gods added to the Buddhist pantheon while the Buddha became synonymous with Shiva as the "Supreme Lord". Islam was a relative latecomer to the archipelago, arriving via trade in the 7th century and gaining followers in Malacca and northern Indonesia during the 15th century. Meanwhile, Majapahit would be the last great Hindu-Buddhist kingdom in Indonesia; a war of succession between Ranavijaya and Kertabhumi, two competing regents, weakened the kingdom in the 15th century. The Islamic Sultanate of Demak, let by Sultan Radeh Patah, subsequently overthrew Majapahit and declared itself successor to the Majapahit legacy. As the Sultanate swept across Central and Eastern Java, a few remaining Hindus fled to Bali and the eastern mountains, establishing communities there that still exist today.

• Time period: 13th-15th century (Gajah Mada campaign)

• Background: Candi Kalasan was a Buddhist temple built in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in the 8th century, during the reign of the Javanese Shailendra dynasty in Central Java. The temple was built during the reign of Panamkaran, an adherent of Mahayana Buddhism, and predates the Majapahit Empire by several centuries. It is dedicated to Tara, a female Bodhisattva revered as the manifestation of Avalokiteśvara's compassion in Buddhist tradition, and was one of many Buddhist temples built and patronized by the Shailendra lineage (including Borobudur). Within the temple complex are several inscriptions depicting svarga-lok, a heavenly plane of existence in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology, as well as a dedication to an unnamed guru of the king who first prompted the construction of the structure.

Further reading: The Buddhist-Hindu Divide in Premodern Southeast Asia

Malians

• Chief religion(s): Sunni Islam, the patronized prestige religion of the Malian Empire, coexisted alongside traditional African faiths of animist/pagan nature for most of the early history of the Malian empire. Islam was first introduced to the West Africa and the Malian heartland in the 11th century, and gained traction following the unification of Mali by Sundjata in the 13th century. Although Sundiata and his subjects may have practiced a syncretism of Islam with West African folk religion, his nephew Mansa Musa was a devout orthodox Muslim who made a famous Hajj pilgrimage during a reign that would open the borders of Mali to the African and Middle Eastern world. Despite the remoteness of his destination, Musa set out for Mecca with a retinue of over 60,000 soldiers and attendees, and brought back a great deal of knowledge from the Islamic world. Musa was the first Malian king to establish Islam as the religion of the nobility and upper class, and established a large madrassa in Sankore in order to further Islamic study and culture. Islam today persists as the chief religion of the Mandinka peoples in Mali.

• Time period: 13th century (Sundiata campaign)

• Background: The Great Mosque of Djenne was built roughly during the 13th century, and was first attested in the Tarikh al-Sudan, a compendium of West African history composed during the Songhai Empire. The structure of the mosque is dominated by three large minarets lining the eastern wall in the direction of Mecca, and was constructed from a mortar consisting of sand and mud. Little is known of the mosque's architectural details during the Middle Ages, as it fell into disrepair and was abandoned over the course of the 19th century. The current structure standing in its place was built in 1907. In addition, the default monastery in the African architectural set is the Larabanga mosque, built during the 15th century in modern-day rural Ghana. Both the mosques at Djenne and Larabanga were built according to classical Sudanese-Sahelian architectural principles.

Further reading: The Thirteenth- and Fourteenth-Century Kings of Mali

Mayans

• Chief religion(s): The Maya religion, like its Nahua counterpart, was a polytheistic faith adhering to strict ritual practices and interwoven into the fabric of Mesoamerican society. Examination of Mayan cave sites has revealed that patron deities were assigned to major topological formations such as mountains, forests, and rivers. Ceremonies and rituals were held in accordance with the now-infamous Mayan calendar, and the feathered serpent god Kukulkan was worshipped as the creator of humanity (analogous to Quetzalcoatl in the Nahua religion). While the Mayans do not share the Aztecs' reputation for human sacrifice, many sacrificial ceremonies were performed to honor the gods and would often involve animal sacrifice and the use of human blood in offerings. Today, tenets of the Mayan religion survive in translated texts such as the Popol Vuh and Chilam Balam, dating back to the 16th century. Both texts were written by Spanish missionaries attempting to deconstruct the religion of the so-called "native savages", and although inaccurate in parts, serve as a basis for the later fusion of Roman Catholicism with local traditions and rituals.

• Time period: 9th-10th century (Dos Pilas conflict)

• Background: The Temple of the Great Jaguar was built in the 8th century, during the rise of the great Mayan city-state of Tikal, and served as the tomb of the Tikal ruler Ah Cacao (who successfully vanished longtime rival city-state Calakmul in battle). Atop the temple lies a stone carving of a king sitting upon a jaguar throne. The nine-tiered structure of the building is thought to represent different levels of the Mayan underworld, and stood 47 meters high in total. The temple stood undisturbed following the decline of Tikal in the 10th century, and was claimed by the jungle and laid undiscovered for nearly 900 years. Unlike Tikal's counterpart in Chichen Itza, it is not thought that religious ceremonies were routinely conducted at the temple - Tikal was considered more of a symbolic monument. Meanwhile, the default Mesoamerican monastery bears a resemblance to the Temple of the Sun, a large temple located within the Mayan ruins of Palenque built towards the end of the 7th century. The temple exhibits the 'roof comb' typical of Mayan religious architecture.

Further reading: The Popol Vuh and the Dominican Religious Extirpation in Highland Guatemala

Mongols

• Chief religion(s): Tengri-ism, gradually giving way to Tibetan Buddhism (east) and Islam (west). Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol Empire, was an adherent of the Tengri faith - a shamanistic, polytheistic Central Asian faith practiced centuries earlier by the Huns involving the worship of Tengri and prayer to nature spirits - but encouraged the practice of all religions and maintained a diverse court. In the east, Kublai Khan (founder of the Yuan dynasty and the 5th Great Khan) was one of the first khans to convert to Buddhism in 1240, and heavily promoted the practice of Tibetan Buddhism in China and in the Mongol heartlands. In the west, Mahmud Ghazan of the Ilkhanate converted to Islam in the 13th century but remained tolerant of other religions. However, his general Amir Nowruz engaged in repeated persecution of Buddhists and Christians and the destruction of 'infidel' temples, leading to a confrontation between the two at the Battle of Nishapur that would end with the Amir's death and renewed tolerance of non-Islamic faiths. In time, the leaders of the Golden Horde and the Chagatai Khanate would convert to Islam as well, in order to strengthen their rule over their Muslim subjects.

• Time period: 13th century (Genghis Khan campaign)

• Background: Neither the Mongol Wonder (the Great Tent) nor the East Asian monastery (Japanese in design and nature) are affiliated with Mongol religion.

Further reading: The History of Buddhism Among the Mongols

Persians

• Chief religion(s): Zoroastrianism (with Christian, Jewish, and Buddhist minorities), later supplanted by Islam. The in-game Persian civilization is representative of the Sassanid Empire, which ruled Persia from the 3rd to 7th century AD. At the peak of the empire under Khosrau II, the Sassanids heavily promoted Zurvanite Zoroastrianism as the official religion of the state. One of the oldest monotheistic religions, Zoroastrianism is centered on the Supreme Being Ahura Mazda (the wise Lord), from whom a duality of benevolence and chaos was imparted to the world. Cleansing fire was considered an agent of ritual purity, and as such major fire temples housing sacred fires were constructed in Fars, Parthia, and Media. The Christian minority in Persia chiefly belonged to the Nestorian Church, which split from orthodox Christianity in the 5th century due to pressure from the Sassanid government, which disliked the presence of a “foreign” religious influence in the form of Catholicism.

Following the prophet Muhammad's death, the Arabian caliph Abu Bakr raised an army and waged a full-scale invasion of the Sassanid Empire (weakened at the time due to a long and ruinous war against Byzantium). The Battle of al-Qādisiyyah and subsequent fall of the Sassanids in 636 marked the beginning of Zoroastrianism's decline in the region. The Rashidun Caliphate suppressed Zoroastrianism in the region through several means, including a heavy tax on non-Muslims, laws giving first priority to Muslims in inheritance and other legal matters, and the widespread destruction of fire temples in outlying areas. Nevertheless, Zoroastrianism persisted in eastern regions of Persia until the 9th century, while a small population emerged in India as well.

• Time Period: 6th century (Battle of Bukhara)

• Background: The Archway at Ctesiphon was originally an imperial palace complex in the heart of Ctesiphon, capital of the Sassanid Empire. Following the Arab conquest, the structure was converted into a mosque, and gradually fell into disrepair after the city was abandoned. The default Middle Eastern mosque is a Persian-style masjid, and heavily resembles the Ulug-Beg Madrasah built in Registan, Uzbekistan during the 15th century under the Timurid Empire.

Further reading: Conflict and Cooperation: Zoroastrian Subalterns and Muslim Elites in Medieval Iranian Society

Portuguese

• Chief religion(s): Roman Catholicism. Portugal had long been Christianized since the arrival of the Visigothic tribes in the Iberian peninsula. Braga, host to the Portuguese archdiocese of the Catholic Church, played an important role in the conversion of the Visigoths from Arianism to Catholicism. During the subsequent invasion of the Umayyads and the Emirate of Cordoba, Christians in Portugal (termed 'Mozarebs') adopted the Arabic language and customs but held fast to Christian beliefs. In the 12th century, Afonso I founded the Portuguese kingdom and immediately united church and state by declaring Portugal to be a vassal state of the Pope in Rome. He also constructed several churches and convents, including the Alcobaça Monastery - the first Gothic church in Portugal. Battles against the remaining Moors in Portugal would continue until Francisco de Almeida's time, during which Grenada was finally re-conquered by the Castilians. In 1501, four years before Almeida's appointment as viceroy of India, the Castilian Crown harshly oppressed the Muslim and Jewish minorities remaining in Iberia, mandating that they emigrate or convert to Catholicism.

• Time period: 15th-16th century (Francisco de Almeida campaign)

• Background: The Portuguese wonder serves no religious purpose (although a Catholic monastery built at the same time remains next door). In addition, the Portuguese default monastery is based on an Italian church, rather than a Portuguese one.

Further reading: [Muslim Spain and Portugal - A Political History of al-Andalus](file:///C:/Users/AkshayC/Downloads/9781317870418_preview.pdf)

Saracens

• Chief religion(s): Islam (Sunni and Shi'a), with small Coptic Christian/Jewish minorities in Egypt. By the 12th century, Islam was the dominant religion across Egypt and the Arabian peninsula. The Fatimid and Abbasaid caliphates, both of Arabic origin, ruled over Egypt and the western Arabian peninsula and incorporated Arabs, Turks, Black Africans, and Berbers among their subjects. Under Saladin's rule, Copts faced significant persecution in Egypt; they were prohibited from holding high-ranking positions, conducting religious processions, or even ringing church bells. Meanwhile, Islamic theology and philosophy flourished during this dynasty; many madrasahs were built and patronized, including the Madrasa al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub in Cairo and Zahiriya in present-day Aleppo. Saladin's greatest project was the construction of the enormous Citadel at Cairo, within which the Al-Nasir Muhammad Mosque was later built and served as the royal mosque of the sultans of Cairo.

• Time period: 12th century (Saladin campaign)

• Background: The Great Mosque of Samarra was built in Samarra, present-day Iraq in 851 during the rule of al-Mutawakkil (a caliph famous for his love of art and architecture) of the Abbasid caliphate. Upon its completion, the spiral-shaped Malwiya tower stood as the tallest minaret in the world. The design of the spiral minaret may have been based on the Pillar of Gor, a tower associated with a long-destroyed fire temple in the Sassanian city of Gor that still stands today. At the top of the tower rests a round vestibule, accompanied by eight pointed-arch niches. The mosque accompanying the minaret held up to 80,000 worshipping Muslims within the ziyada, and was destroyed during Hulagu Khan's invasion of Baghdad in the 13th century.

Further reading: Coptic Identity and Ayyubid Politics in Egypt

Slavs

• Chief religion(s): Eastern Orthodox Christianity, with a declining Slavic pagan minority. Before the 10th century, the Eastern Slavs (Rus) worshipped a variety of nature spirits derived from Proto-Indo-European traditions, including those of water (rusálka), forests (lisovyk), and various household deities. In 863, Patriarch Photius of Constantinople began efforts to Christianize the Rus', and by 944 a sizeable minority of the Slavs practiced Christianity. Towards the end of the 10th century, the Rus established strong diplomatic ties with Constantinople. In 986, following the Rus' alliance with the Byzantines to quell a major uprising, the pagan king Vladimir I officially accepted Orthodox Christianity as the religion of the empire and held a mass baptism in Kiev, destroying the immense statues of Slavic gods he himself had commissioned years earlier. Vladimir's successors held similar mass baptisms and persecuted pagans in the other major cities, leading to revolts in Novgorod and Rostov that were eventually put down. The Ostromir Gospels, a Slavic gospel lectionary, were composed in Novgorod during this period.

• Time period: 9th-13th century (dominion of the Kievan Rus).

• Background: The Church of the Transfiguration at Kizhi Pogost was built in 1694, and later reconstructed to its current form in 1720. Standing as one of the greatest feats of Middle Ages Russian architecture, the church was built without nails or steel and served as a mecca for pilgrims of the Eastern Orthodox church. The church is one of three structures standing on the frozen archipelago of Kizhi that were built by Peter the Great to commemorate his victory over the Swedes, and by tradition was only used during the summer. Meanwhile, the default Slavic monastery is based on the Cathedral of Saint Demetrius, constructed during the reign of Vsevolod III Yuryevich in the 12th century.

Further reading: The Political Background to the Baptism of Rus': Byzantine-Russian Relations between 986-89

Spanish

• Chief religion(s): Roman Catholicism, with a significant Islamic minority in al-Andalus. The Medieval Ages saw Spain caught in the grip of Reconquista, a bloody war pitting the Catholic Iberian kingdoms of Leon, Castille, Navarre, and Aragon against the Almoravid (later Almohad) Berbers of the Islamic caliphate. In the 11th century, Spain was split between Muslim and Christian control; large populations of Christians (Mozarebs) in the cities of Valencia, Toledo, and Grenada lived under the rule of localized emirates. As dhimmis, they were allowed to practice Christianity without interference, but were barred from holding positions of power and subjected to jizya. Jews were the victims of intermittent pogroms in the south, but also enjoyed basic protections. Under Moorish rule, Islamic art and philosophy prospered - the Ghayat al-Hakim, a book of magic and philosophy that laid the foundations of Sufi mysticism, was composed in Cordoba during this period. Further north, many Christians immigrated to the kingdoms of Castille and Navarre after facing persecution from the Almohads. Jews were tolerated and even granted full equality alongside Catholics at times, although this level of tolerance would vary with successive kings. Defeats of Christian kings at the hands of Moors were often blamed on Jewish communities, with pogroms following soon after. Several Christian councils were held in Spain during this time period with the patronage of local kings, including the ecclesiastical councils of Coyanza and Gerona.

• Time period: 11th century (El Cid campaign)

• Background: The Torre del Oro holds no major religious significance.

Further reading: A History of Medieval Spain

Teutons

• Chief religion(s): Roman Catholicism was the single official religion of the Holy Roman Empire for the entirety of its existence (Jews and other minorities were not considered citizens of the kingdom). The Teutons enjoyed extremely strong ties to the Catholic Church - each Holy Roman Emperor could only be elected with the express approval of the archbishops of Trier, Mainz, and Cologne, and could only be official crowned by the Pope himself. Following the Concordat of Worms, an uneasy balance of power was struck between the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor regarding the ability to appoint church officials. In 1159, a split papal election resulted in the appointment of two popes - Alexander III and Victor IV - who immediately began to curry influence with Frederick Barbarossa, the Holy Roman Emperor. Barbarossa endorsed the latter, in what was the first of many attempts to undermine the Pope's power to the benefit of his own, and subsequently invaded Italy to anoint his wife Holy Roman Empress. Within his kingdom, Catholicism continued to grow in influence among the common people, and Frederick took advantage of this sentiment to promote the Third Crusade during the Diet of Mainz in 1188, following Saladin's capture of Jerusalem. During the Diet, Barbarossa also re-affirmed his tolerance of Jews and religious minorities.

• Time period: 12th century (Barbarossa campaign)

• Background: The Maria Laach Abbey was a large monastery founded in 1093 by Henry II, the inaugural Count Palantine of the Rhineland, and served as a center of religious and spiritual study for the Benedictine monks who lived there. It was considered a prototypical example of German Romanesque architecture, and was originally populated by monks from Trier and Affligem Abbey. The abbey adhered to the Rule of St. Benedict, a treatise by Benedict in which the principles of religious life and working 'in the Lord's service' were set forth - including selfless devotion to God, a monastic lifestyle led in simplicity, and the repeated chanting of hymns. Meanwhile, the default Central European monastery is based on the Sioni Cathedral, a Georgian Orthodox cathedral built in Tbilisi in the 12th century, and bears little resemblance to German/Scandinavian churches during the time.

Further reading: Pope Alexander III and the Council of Tours (1163)

Turks

• Chief religion(s): Sunni Islam. The Seljuq Turks were a Persianized branch of the Oghuz Turks, a tribe of Turks originally from Central Asia. In the 11th century the Seljuqs adopted Islam and entered Persia, defeating the Ghaznavid Turks at the Battle of Dandanagan and later entering Anatolia after routing a large Byzantine force at the Battle of Manzikert. Alp Arslan, the victorious Turkish general, was seen as the 'champion' of Sunni Islam due to his support of the weakened caliph in Baghdad and his hostility towards the Shi'a Fatimid caliphate in Egypt. At its height, the Seljuks unified the Islamic world, with their rule stretching from Anatolia to present-day Afghanistan. With little previous Islamic tradition of their own, the Turks adopted Persian culture and language and exported it throughout the Middle East. Many mosques and madrasahs were built over the duration of the kingdom, including the Great Mosque of Esfahaan in Iran built in a distinct Persian style. These mosques were run by ulumas, Muslim clerics who wielded significant power and influence in the decentralized governmental structure of the Seljuks. This decentralization would ultimately become the empire's undoing, as external pressures in the form of the Crusades and the Mongols caused the empire to split apart into several territories and fiefdoms.

• Time period: 11th century (Battle of Manzikert, Seljuk Empire)

• Background: The Blue Mosque was constructed in 1606 on orders from Ahmed I, ruler of the Ottoman Empire. The massive mosque combined traditional Islamic architecture with elements of Byzantine design from the nearby Hagia Sophia, and dominates the skyline of Istanbul even today. The name of the mosque derives from the interior, which was layered with 20,000 blue ceramic tiles inscribed with verses from the Quran as well as decorative flowers, trees, and abstract designs. The ceramic tiles were created in Iznik, a town in Anatolia reputed for its high quality cobalt blue ceramic pottery. The structure was the first major mosque in Turkey to feature six minarets; this design caused controversy as it matched the number of the Masjid al-Haram, leading Ahmed I to send an architect to Mecca and construct a seventh minaret there.

Further reading: Turkish Myth and Islamic Symbolism: The Battle of Manzikert_(Carole_Hillenbrand-2007).pdf)

Vietnamese

• Chief religion(s): Confucianism and Vietnamese Buddhism (Mahayana), with Hindu Cham communities further south. During the Trần dynasty of the 13th and 14th centuries, Buddhism was the de facto official religion of the Dai Viet and co-existed with Confucianism and Taoism. In 1407, the Ming dynasty of China used a succession dispute as a pretext for invading Vietnam, and the Yongle emperor issued an edict calling for the destruction of all non-Buddhist/Taoist inscriptions and religious texts. However the subsequent Lê dynasty, founded by Lê Lợi following the success of the Lam Sơn uprising, patronized Neo-Confucianism and promoted such philosophies throughout the kingdom - including the 'Learning of the Way' civil service examination system borrowed from Imperial China. Buddhist monks, many of whom held significant land interests and enjoyed strong ties with previous regimes, became the target of Confucian scholars and government officials who decried the 'waste' of money on pagodas and religious literature. Despite these setbacks, Buddhist monasteries continued to serve as places of learning as well as centers of cultural enrichment and even local politics. In addition, limited Hindu influence from the conquered Cham kingdoms in the south could be seen; deities such as Phan Vuong (Brahma) and Đế Thich (Indra) became part of the Vietnamese pantheon during this period.

• Time period: 15th century (Le Loi campaign)

• Background: The Nhan Thap was a Buddhist temple built during the rule of the Trần dynasty in Vietnam. The main temple itself is part of a larger complex of 10 buildings with in the pagoda, and is situated near the Duong river and several rice paddies. Housed within the temple are many iconic deities, including the thousand-armed Guanyin (the bodhisattva of compassion, also known as Avalokiteshwara) as well as a statue of Manjusri (the bodhisattva of wisdom) atop a blue lion. The architecture of the temple represents a fusion of Vietnamese and Chinese styles; although originally constructed in the 13th century, the structure was rebuilt in the 17th century by Queen Trinh Thi Ngoc Truc of the Lê dynasty.

Further reading: Religion and Ritual in the Royal Courts of Dai Viet

Vikings

• Chief religion(s): Catholicism among the kings and ruling elite, with Old Norse religion still common among the lower classes. The Old Norse religion was polytheistic in nature, and featured a pantheon of several deities derived from Proto-Indo European myths (including Thor, Odin, Tyr, Freyr, and Heimdallr among others). Norse mythology portrayed the gods as mired in a constant state of eternal conflict, ultimately leading up to Ragnarok and the final downfall of the Norse gods at the hands of a malevolent deity known as Loki. Beginning in the 10th century, Christianity began to spread throughout Norse lands - Haakon Haraldsson, who became king of the Vikings in 934, grew up in England, converted to Christianity and encouraged Catholic missionaries to proselytize among his subjects. Haakon Sigurdsson, who later took the throne by murdering Haraldsson's nephew, temporarily established the Norse religion as the official state ideology once again. However, his successor Olaf Tryggvason was a devout Christian who destroyed pagan temples and compelled his subjects to convert to Christianity, often through the use of violence. Olaf also baptized several explorers, including Leif Ericsson, and sent several missionaries to neighboring kingdoms in Iceland and Sweden. Through his efforts, the Vikings became fully Christian-ized by the turn of the 12th century.

• Time period: ~10th/11th century (Vindlandsaga)

• Background: The church seen in the game looks to be an amalgamation of the massive stave churches built by the Vikings in Borgund and Hopperstad. Both were built during the 12th and 13th centuries following the Christianization of the Vikings, and feature the distinct architectural style typical of stave churches. The name 'stave' church' derives from their construction, which makes use of four large load-bearing staves surrounded by multiple smaller columns. The churches were often kept austere, free of the religious relics and works of art typical of other Catholic churches in Europe. Borgund's architecture features four dragons' heads atop the roofs, which were thought to have served the same purpose as gargoyles in Gothic churches further west.

Further reading: Ethelred II, Olaf Tryggvason, and the Conversion of Norway