Pala (Dharmapala)

Pala Empire
Map by TopHatPaladin
Leader	Dharmapala
Start Bias	None
Religion	Buddhism Mahayana (HR)
Geography & Social Data
Capital	Bikrampur
Mod Support
Government	Monarchy
Culture	Bharata
Religious Intolerance	3
Slavery	3
Civ IV Traits	Industrious, Spiritual
Civilopedia
Civilopedia	Here

The Pala Empire led by Dharmapala is a custom civilization by TopHatPaladin.

This mod requires Brave New World.

Overview

Pala Empire

The Pala Empire (8th - 12th centuries AD) was a kingdom in the northeast of India, centered in what is today Bengal, Bihar, and Bangladesh. The Pala Empire was founded by Gopala I, a warrior who unified the previously fragmented Bengal region. Gopala's successors, Dharmapala and Devapala, then expanded the empire greatly; the Pala become one part of the "Kannauj Triangle," the trio of nations that controlled the bulk of the Indian subcontinent. After the death of Devapala, however, the Pala Empire could not be held together as strongly; they lost several key battles to the Rashtrakuta, and suffered a nearly-complete collapse.

The Pala Empire saw a period of recovery during the reign of Mahipala I (r. 988-1038), who recovered large portions of Bengal and Bihar; however, his military record was mixed, as his empire was periodically invaded by the Chola. The later years of the Pala were also unsuccessful; they went through another brief resurgence under Ramapala (r. 1082-1124), but otherwise were plagued by both internal and external strife. Ultimately, ongoing internal tension caused the Pala to deteriorate into a group of smaller kingdoms, which would eventually be conquered by the Sena dynasty.

The rulers of the Pala Empire were Mahayana Buddhists, and they were great patrons of Buddhist art and learning, building great viharas where monks could study. At their height, they also boasted trade contacts with the Abbasid Caliphate and Srivijaya.

Dharmapala

Art by TopHatPaladin

Dharmapala, the second Pala king, ruled for a forty-year period around the turn of the ninth century. His father, Gopala, had unified the Bengal and Bihar regions into the Pala heartland; Dharmapala built upon these achievements by expanding deep into northern India. As one leg of the "Kannauj Triangle," Dharmapala's reign was marked by persistent conflict with the western Gurjara-Pratihara and the southern Rashtrakuta; however, Dharmapala's rulership allowed the Pala to assert themselves as the dominant northern power, and Dharmapala took the title of Uttarapathasvamin - "Lord of the North."

A great patron of Buddhism, Dharmapala embarked on an ambitious building program; chroniclers credit him with building as many as 50 monasteries. The greatest of these were Somapura, Vikramshila, Odantapura, and Jagaddala; Dharmapala also revitalized the aging Nalanda mahavihara. Upon his death (in 810 or 820), Dharmapala maintained his position as the dominant ruler in northern India, and his son Devapala would go on to further expand the Pala Empire.

Dawn of Man

O great Dharmapala, emperor and uttarapathasvamin, may immeasurable light and life be upon you! You inherited the fledgling Pala Empire when it had only just unified Bengal and Bihar, and under your guiding hand, you were able to outmaneuver the Pratihara and Rashtrakuta, making your own domain the preeminent power in northern India. While overseeing this grand territorial expansion, you also found time to be a generous patron of Buddhism, building dozens of viharas in your empire. These great seats of learning stood for centuries, attracting Buddhist scholars from across Asia and truly proving that the Pala were India's greatest Buddhist empire.

Dharmapala, your people call for you to reawaken their zeal for learning, to return the Pala Empire to the dominant status it once enjoyed. Can you embark on a grand building program to match your earlier achievements? Can you build a civilization that will stand the test of time?

Introduction: Welcome to the illustrious realm of the Pala! Are you here to study, or just to marvel at what I've built?

Defeat: So this is how it ends. Promise me you'll take better care of the monasteries than I did.

Unique Attributes

Pala Empire (Dharmapala)
Art by TopHatPaladin Dharmachakra Network When expending Great People in friendly territory, gain a burst of Production in the nearest city. Cities that contain Wonders generate +2 Faith and Tourism per turn.
Art by TopHatPaladin Hati Ghoradaura (Knight) Does not require Horses When promoted or killed in enemy territory, generates a burst of Faith and automatically pillages its tile
Art by TopHatPaladin Mahavihara (University) +10% bonus to Great Person generation Bonus increases to +20% if the city contains a Wonder

City List Bikrampur Pataliputra Monghyr Gauda Paharpur Ramavati Mahipal Nalanda Somapura Vikramshila Kannauj Odantapura Jagaddala Bodh Gaya Gokarna Kedar Khalimpur Valgudar Karnasuvarna Uttarama Jagjivanpur Campa Vaisali Rajagrha Varanasi Kusinagara Sravasti Ayodhya Kausambi

Spy List Rannavati Gopala Vapyata Mahata Devi Vakpala Jayapala Mahendrapala Shurapala Vigrahapala Ramapala

Music

Peace Theme	War Theme
Link	Link
Milon Hobe Koto Dine by Karaoke Video Bangla	The Hard Road by Cliff Martinez

Mod Support

Additional Achievements

The Wrathful Buddha	Win the game on any difficulty setting as the Pala.
Nalanda And Beyond	As the Pala, control Wonders in at least six different cities.

Events and Decisions

Revive Defunct Universities

Our empire controls a variety of ancient and revered places of learning, but in the troubles of recent years, they have fallen into disuse. In order to demonstrate the strength of our new empire, we should fund these universities and ensure they return to prominence.

Requirements/Restrictions:

• Player must be Pala
• Must have researched Education
• Must have at least three Academies
• May only be enacted once per game

Costs:

• 300 Gold
• 1 Magistrate

Rewards:

• Academies grant +1 Faith and +1 Tourism

Commission Medical Treatises

Our empire is full of gifted writers, who write extensively on philosophy and theology, but not much on practical matters; we also have many great doctors, who have not set their innovations in writing. If we can get our writers to detail our medical advances, our people could become some of the healthiest in the world!

Requirements/Restrictions:

• Player must be Pala
• Must have built the Writer's Guild
• May only be enacted once per game

Costs:

• 100 Culture
• 2  Magistrates

Rewards (normally):

• Great Works of Writing yield +1 Food in their cities

Rewards (with JFDLC):

• Great Works of Writing reduce the frequency of Plague in their cities

Unique Cultural Influence

"Our people are now studying at your monasteries and casting bronze sculptures of your gods. I worry that the rest of the world will also succumb to the influence of your culture."

Full Credits List

Civfanatics Download Steam Workshop
Latest Version:	v 2
Last Updated:	21 October 2018

• TopHatPaladin: Design, Code, Art, Text
• JFD, Neirai: Utilities
• Karaoke Video Bangla: Peace Theme
• Cliff Martinez: War Theme
• All the lads: Feedback and support