In a message dated 97-06-12 16:28:36 EDT, you write:

>>The Spanish had, in the XVI century, the greatest european army, and
>>it was ammassed quite all in only one province. This was because Spain
>>ruled in that period over ca half world, gaining treasures in Europe.
>
>

Actually, I'd say that Spain is analagous to Anuire. It's a region, not a
single domain. Within the region known as Spain, there would be a number of
powerful multi-province kingdoms...Castille, Aragon, Leon, Granada, (you
could even add Portugal). These states are about the "size" of an Avanil or
Boeruine. So, Spain's armies were recruited from dozens of "provinces"...if
you wanted to take a map of medieval Spain and partition it into an
Anuire-like region.

It's my thought that the Birthright setting paints a picture of Europe before
the rise of the nation-states. It's not really fair to compare Avanil to
England, for example; it's much better to compare Avanil to Cornwall, a
separate entity that could be part of a united England but might not be at
any given time. That's why the Anuirean Empire was such a headache for the
rest of Cerilia during its heyday--you weren't seeing England fighting
Germany when Anuire marched on Brechtur, you saw England taking on Saxony,
then Bavaria, then Schleswig-Holstein, etc. As long as Anuire acted like a
/nation/ and not a quarrelsome band of feudal holdings bonded only by
language and religion, it was virtually unstoppable.

Rich Baker
Birthright Designer