Assam

Primary culture

Assamese (East Aryan)

Capital province

Assam (566)

Government

Despotic Monarchy

State religion

Hindu

Technology group

Indian

Assamese ideas

Traditions:

−1 National unrest

+10% National manpower modifier

The Buranjis

+50% Chance of new heir

Wet Rice Cultivation

−10% Development cost

River Warfare

+1 Attrition for enemies

−10% Shock damage received

Reform the Paik System

+15% Manpower recovery speed

Process of Appeal

−10% Stability cost modifier

Land Survey

+10% National tax modifier

Ahom Diplomacy

+1 Diplomat

Ambition:

+1 Diplomatic reputation

For the area, see Assam (area).

Assam is a small Hindu nation that starts on the far-eastern fringes of India. It is bordered by the minor states of Koch and Kachar, both of whom isolate it from the powerful sultanate of Bengal. The hulking behemoth of Ming is also close enough to influence the area. Historically, within the timeframe of the game, the land of Assam was ruled by the Kingdom of Ahom, a people from Southeast Asia. Their legacy provides Assam's unique national ideas. However, being both Hindu and Indian means one should focus expanding west and south towards India.

The position at 1444 for Assam is not as dire as many other small countries. Though two of its neighbors, Tibet and Shan, are bigger than the country, there is usually not too much to worry about. A few reasons for this is that they have a different culture and religion, they are both in the Chinese technology group, and both are a bit richer than Assam. It is unlikely that they would wish to attack the small country. Furthermore, Tibet is mountainous, poor, and often has a horde (e.g. Oirat Horde, Chagatai) as an ally. Shan is tropical, poor, and at times may have Tibet as an ally.

Decisions[edit]

Assam can form Bharat as a Dravidian nation.

Form Bharat (as Eastern Aryan)

Form the mighty Bharat and bring all the lands of the Indian subcontinent under your rule.


Potential requirements Bharat does not exist. The country: is not the Mughals has a culture of the Eastern Aryan culture group. is Dharmic, Theravada, Vajrayana, or Mahayana. has embraced Feudalism is not Steppe Nomads has not yet enacted this decision. If the country is AI-controlled, it must have at least 15 cities. it can not be a former colonial nation.	Allow The country: is not a subject nation other than a tributary state. is not a nomad nation. is not at war. has a stability of 3. has a culture of the Eastern Aryan culture group. owns its core provinces: Multan (506), Lahore (507), Surat (517), Delhi (522), Central Doab (524), Madurai (536), Tondainadu (539), Daulatabad (545), Cuttack (552), Pataliputra (558), Gauda (563), Assam (566), Bidar (1948), Halar (2052), Kumari (4410), and Mansura (4503).

Effects The country: changes to Bharat. gets Empire government rank. gains permanent claims on all provinces of the Indian subcontinent if not owned by the country. gains 10 prestige. removes all its provinces from the HRE if it is a member of the HRE and is not the emperor or an elector. gains new missions gets the event ‘New Traditions & Ambitions’ if it does not have custom ideas.

Strategy[edit]

Opening moves[edit]

Assam has a better start than most of its neighbours. The basic premise of how to play Assam, is to look for opportunities to capitalize on. This means finding someone who is weaker than the player, and then declaring war on them.Assam is in a favourable position for this, an alliance with one of the stronger states near it, the only blocker Assam has to its expansion is very fewclaimable lands. To the east, there is an OPM who is ripe for the taking- whoever they ally can also be vassalized/annexed. For Assam, allies shouldn't be hard to come by- they don't need to be too strong, just enough to tip things in the player's favour. Nepal, Koch and Kechar would be enough allies, and probably the most likely.

The player only needs to start claiming all the nearby lands, and taking it from the weakest state. The only real dangers arr, a large coalition forms, or Bengal bursting through all the little states and attacking Assam. This should not be a problem, though, as the player should be sufficiently large to stop them, should this start to happen. The player must also pay attention to the religion and culture of the lands they are taking. It's much more preferable to take some Hindu, Assamese land than anything else. Keep this in mind, so the player can keep a centralized and efficient country together. This usually means expanding West, as Assam's culture and religion are both this way. Keeping a few Buddhist vassals and feeding them is also a viable strategy, whilst the player expands to the West. Assam also has the ability to form Hindustan, should they wish. This gives claims on all of India, and promotes trade- so if the player wishes to go that route, it is entirely viable.

Replacing Bengal[edit]

After some time Assam should be a nation which may take on Bengal. If the game has not progressed too far, Bengal is likely to be able to muster around 9,000 to 14,000 troops, which is likely a fair bit more than Assam or its fledgling allies individually can. The key in this instance, then, is to meet up first before attacking the Bengali army. Alternatively, if the player is feeling patient, they could wait for or sponsor a Hindu rebellion in Bengal. The rebels should be loyal to Assam's country whether or not Assam actually used support rebels, due to being religious rebels for Hinduism and Assam is clearly Hindu. Additionally, these rebels may come prepared, as they usually have more than 10,000 troops and a general. Either way, if the player would rather avoid fighting Bengal's army, they should be capable of besieging and taking some provinces with the help of the rebels.

Taking Dacca will give Assam a port, and taking it as well as Silhet will allow the player to encircle the pesky little wasteland in the middle of Assam's land. It will take at least two wars if the player wishes to take all of the land. However, it is advisable to instead vassalize Bengal on the second war, as it will save a large amount of administrative points when coring; Bengal has many high base tax provinces. Assam should also be capable of peacefully vassalizing Nepal soon, considering their size.

Once Bengal has been absorbed, Assam shouldn't have too much difficulty in expansion, so long as it expands towards the rest of India. Orissa may declare Assam to be a rival, but can be ignored by allying with Vijayanagar. Eventually, it should come to a fight between Assam and Vijayanagar, however, as both the player and Vijayanagar likely wishes to control India. Shan is also unlikely to want to be an ally forever, so it is recommended to counter it by finding another ally, and keep things balanced. The last thing that any growing Assam may desire is for Shan to be swallowed up by Ming China, then have that China see it as a threat.

Idea groups[edit]

Early idea groups that the player, as Assam, may find appealing are as follows:

Defensive (the +1.00% attrition for enemies matches up nicely with Assam's national idea giving +1.00% attrition and -10% Shock damage received)
Trade (as Assam should soon dominate the Bengal trade node and may want to increase the trade flowing into it from Malacca and Siam)
Diplomacy (the increase in diplomatic relation will allow the player to vassalize more of the smaller Indian states without losing Diplomatic Points)
Administration (having cheaper mercenaries can give Assam an edge in many wars)