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Message: <blockquote data-quote="wingsandsword" data-source="post: 2116905" data-attributes="member: 14159">Uh, Chessenta, which is akin to classical greece down to the togas and olives.  Unther which is evocative of Babylon and ancient Mesopotamia (they were ruled by Marduk!).  Calimshan, which is reminiscent of Morocco (Islamic/Arab culture mixed with European influences).  Amn, which is a fantasy version of early renaissance Spain right down to, conquistadors, native-oppressing faiths and oceangoing explorers.  The Moonshae Isles, which is pretty obviously based on the Celtic-era British Isles.  Cormyr bears more than a slight resemblence to Caroliginian France.  Durpar is a pretty clear fantasy copy of India.Not to forget Zakhara and Maztica, which were directly inspired by the middle east and central america, the Hordelands which is Mongolia and central asia, and the Realms being home to Kara Tur, which has obvious fantasy copies of China (the main one based on Tang dynasty, with a smaller splinter based on the Han dynasty) complete with Great Wall, Japan (separate copies for Kamakura and Edo periods), Tibet and Korea.I always saw the Forgotten Realms as a large, healthy dose of real-world cultures, mixed with some distinctly fantasy cultures, juggled around and retold through a fantasy lens.  Just enough like Earth that players could relate to it, but fantastic enough to not be burdened down with our own history.</blockquote>