Years of Peace: 5,360

"I now christen you the new king" the squire said as he placed the crown on the head of the man kneeling in front of him. He proceeded to stand up and walk to the balcony, with hundreds of thousands of subjects below.

"HAIL KING HAMMURABI, THE 70TH!"

With this declaration from the squire, the crowd below exploded into a frenzy. And Hammurabi knew that this cheering was not forced. The people loved their king, and would do anything for him. But this may have been because he wasn't a king in the sense that many would think, as the country was a democracy, with elected officials making all of the decisions. As king, he could still suggest budgets and what was to be built in each city, and likely he would be heeded, but it was ultimately the people's power. The only thing King Hammurabi had total power over was the military, which for the Babylonian Empire was a simple self defense force.

It was while he was standing on this balcony, Hammurabi thought about his place in the World, as well as that of the Zulu and Babylonian Empires. The Year was 1360 AD, and there were only three nations in at this time. On the main continent, which took up most of the Great Ocean, there was the Babylonian Empire on the northern Half, and the Zulu Empire on the southern half. The Zulu Empire was much larger, with a land mass of 200,000 square miles and a population of 2 billion people. However, it was a poor, backward nation. They had very little natural resources outside of horses, iron, and a single deposit of saltpeter, which they couldn't work but was the only known reserve in the world. In addition, their economy was very simple and poor, with the government barely able to pay for the things it needed. However, the Zulu did have one good thing going for them: Their military. While old, it was the largest in the world, with well trained soldiers. Despite this, they had maintained good relations with the other nations and wars hadn't broken out.

This contrasted greatly with the Babylonian Empire. Only half the size and population of the Zulu Empire, the Babylonians were the most technologically advanced country in the world. When the Zulu were still just getting to using rocks instead of mud as a building material, the Babylonians astounded the world with skyscrapers of brick and steel, bridges spanning rivers, and massive stone highways that allowed faster travel by wagon and horseback. They were also the richest country in the world. Their economy was greater than the Zulus 3 times over, allow for the technological development that wasn't afforded to the Zulu. This boom was fueled by access to raw materials. Iron and Coal lead to steel and power, and this financed government investment into research. But the Babylonian military was small, at barely 1/100th the size of the Zulu military. But it made up for this with technology, using repeating rifles when the Zulu were using bronze spears and wicker shields.

There was also the Egyptians, where were on an island to themselves. There were recluses though, with very few knowing what went on in their country. It was believed they had the largest coal and iron reserves in the world, but they wouldn't trade and stuck to themselves for the most part.

And this was the situation that Hammurabi the 70th found himself coming into, like the hundreds of others before him. He raised his hand and the crowd below fell silent.

"My people, I promise to you now that we will continue to prosper and thrive in the years to come. We continue to be the most technologically advanced society in the world, and prosper economically. I guarantee that in the next 50 years, this nation and the world around it will be very different than it is today." When he finished his speech, the crowd exploded again, cheering and chanting Hammurabi's name. He left the balcony and went back into his palace, ready to serve his country. He wouldn't figure out until years later, but the speech he had given would have a much different meaning than he intended.

AN: I decided that the best way to hand wave away the fact that your leader seemingly lives forever is that they are just different people with the same name, hence "Hammurabi the 70th."

It should be noted that this is my first fanfic, so constructive criticism is much appreciated. I am not sure when updates will come, but I will try to be timely. Read and Review.