Editing WtHQM:World History

Part of [[Welcome to Holy Question Mark]], a campaign set in the Amberverse using modified ''Lords of Gossamer and Shadow'' rules.

The history of this strife-torn Earth is not entirely identical to our own real-world history—not even before the coming of the monsters in 2004 (although the earlier departures are slight).

==Pre-2004 Changes==

===Ismailistan===

The Independent Ismaili Raj of Jammu and Kashmir occupies the territory that in the real world makes up the North Indian province of Jammu and Kashmir, the Pakistani provinces of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, and the disputed border area of Aksai Chin between India and China. The Trans-Karakoram Tract is disputed between China and the Ismaili Raj. Both the Trans-Karakoram and the Aksai Chin are currently under monster control, and the northeast border of Ismailistan is one of the hottest continuing war zones between humans and monsters.

The current Nawab of Ismailistan is Hakim Ali Muhammad bin Daud al-Nizari, the second Ismaili Nawab since the end of Sikh rule and reinstitution of the Dardic royal lineage after the conflict of 1947; he traces his descent directly from the pre-Sikh Nawabs of Kashmir. His youngest daughter, Princess Sakeena bint Hakim al-Nizari, is a student at Holy Question Mark and takes Advanced Spirituality classes.

Prince Shah Rahim al-Hussaini, Aga Khan V, the current Ismaili Imam, often resides in the so-called "Palace of Fatima" in Ismailistan's capital city of Srinagar. Thanks partly to assistance from the Aga Khan Development Network, Ismailistan enjoys the highest national literacy rate in the Indian subcontinent.

====Historical Divergences====

Toward the end of the Mughal-Afghan conflicts in Kashmir in the 1750s CE, a loose coalition of Dardic and Ladakh tribesmen converted to Ismaili Islam by the so-called "Hidden Da'i" drove back the Afghan Durrani troops and killed Abdul Khan Isk Aquasi, inaugurating nearly a century of rule by the al-Nizari dynasty. Dardic rule was tolerant of Buddhism and Hinduism, and the Kashmir prospered. Nonetheless, the Sikh invasion in 1819 CE did succeed, and the Sikh Maharajas remained provincial rulers under the British Empire.

In the real world, Kashmiri independence ended in 1947 when the Maharaja requested Indian aid in repelling a Pakistani invasion and insurgency. In the game world, this occasioned a rebellion by the Ismaili Dards and the Ismaili and Buddhist Ladakhs, ending in the expulsion of both Pakistani and Indian troops and the reinstitution by plebiscite of an Ismaili raj over the former territories of the Princely State of Kashmir and Jammu.

Prince Shah Karim al-Hussaini, Aga Khan IV, died during the Siege of Srinagar in 2005, and was succeeded by his eldest son Prince Rahim.

==The Invasion==

==The War==

==The Present Day==

===Entertainment===

Vampires and werewolves? Not sexy. Ghosts and mermaids are sexy. Lots of sexy ghost and mermaid books and movies, because they're supernatural but as far as anyone knows there are no ghost or mermaid monsters.

The zombie craze? Never happened. You want survival horror, no need to watch TV or read a book—just walk outside on a full moon night. Instead, it's cyborgs, ninja, and cyborg ninja.

The edgiest of all ultra-edgy electronic music genres is Hive House, which sounds a lot like real-world Witch House but tends to have more buzzing, droning noises and samples from movies like ''Invasion of the Body Snatchers'' and ''Dracula.'' "A 72 Hour Moment" by Qvıın◊Kıllır is considered one of the defining works of the genre. Hive House fans do things like throwing raves where everyone dresses as bugs or monsters, flash mobs on full moon nights, and other borderline suicidal stunts.

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