Are African diaspora populations missing outside of Africa? Fellow map starers, I've been looking at the 1337 start date demographics for North Africa, the Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Indian subcontinent, and I've noticed that African populations are almost completely absent. When they do show up, the numbers are so low they might as well not exist. This is making me not want to try other nations in these regions because the demographic simulation feels fundamentally wrong. **1. Africans are missing or tokenized** From what I can see in-game, there are no meaningful African culture pops in: Mamluk Egypt. The Nubian population is 0.14%, roughly 6,000 to 10,000 people. Historically, Nubians were a core part of the Bahri Mamluk military and deeply embedded in households and the economy. Ethiopian (Habshi) slaves were also a significant presence. I can't find them at all. Yemen (Rasulid state). The Rasulid administrative manual Nur al-ma'arif documents a massive, regulated slave trade from Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. Genetic studies show over a third of maternal lineages in some regions are of sub-Saharan African origin. I see no distinct African pops here. Delhi Sultanate. Habshi (Abyssinian) slaves were recruited through Gujarat and served as soldiers and even high officials, like Jamal-ud-din Yaqut under Raziya. They should exist as a visible minority. They don't. Southern Iraq. The legacy of the Zanj Rebellion in the 9th century means communities of African descent persisted. The only Africans I can find in the entire region are a tiny "Gonga" pop at 0.58%, around 2,500 people, in the Ilkhanate. That seems like an anomaly rather than a representation of the Zanj diaspora or later African communities. Africans should be visible across these regions in 1337. Not as a majority anywhere, but as a consistent, documented minority. Right now they're almost entirely absent. **2. Other populations are also wrong, which suggests a broader problem** Mizrahi Jews are drastically undercounted. The total Mizrahi population across Egypt, Palestine, and Syria is roughly 40,000 to 50,000. Only about 2,000 in Damascus and Aleppo each. Historical evidence from the Cairo Geniza shows the Jewish community in Egypt alone was significantly larger. The slave map mode misclassifies religious minorities. Egypt shows 1.59 million slaves, but many of these appear to be Copts and Mizrahi Jews. These were free dhimmis who paid the jizya tax, not enslaved people. Meanwhile the actual enslaved African populations, Nubian and Ethiopian, are either missing or tokenized as culture pops. So the game is inflating the enslaved population by tagging free religious minorities as slaves, while deflating actual African and Jewish populations to the point of invisibility. **3. My question** If the demographic model can't represent documented African minorities in regions where they were historically significant, it undermines the accuracy of the entire simulation for anyone playing in these areas. It makes me not want to try other nations when the numbers feel this disconnected from the historical record. Is this a deliberate design choice, a limitation of the culture and religion system, a bug, or something planned for future patches? I'd love to hear from the devs or anyone who has dug into the game files. If this is a modeling limitation, is there a recommended way to mod in these populations accurately? Because right now the demographic map for 1337 feels fundamentally incomplete. Thanks.
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Bahri / Khartoum North
Khartoum North, one of the three main cities in the capital area.
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