Upping the Antiok: King Khosrow’s Weh Better City, 540 CE
The year is 540 CE, and Khosrow I, King of Persia, has arrived at the gates of the Byzantine city of Antioch. His aim is not to conquer, not to pillage, not to burn. Nay, Khosrow has arrived at Antioch to do one thing: troll. For years the monarch has sought to one-up his only equal on the Eurasian supercontinent, Emperor Justinian I, and establish his supremacy once and for all. Now he’s ready with his most devious plan yet: march on Antioch, Justinian’s so-called “City of God,” and transport its entire population to an exact duplicate titled “Weh Antiok Khosrow” (literally, “Khosrow’s Better Antioch”). Yet the path to perfect pettiness is paved with peril. How will Persia persuade Antioch’s people to leave their homes for a new city in a foreign land? How will they ensure their safe transport thereto? How will they construct an entire city at breakneck speed? How will they answer the needs of this budding new community? And how will they respond should Justinian try to reassert dominance? These trifling details Khosrow has left to our delegates: a team of the finest lieutenants, diplomats, architects, and other assorted administrators in the entire Sasanian Empire. They alone shall determine the course of this novel metropolis. Will their creation prosper? crumble? or evolve into something even Khosrow couldn’t dream of?
daniel pressman
chair
Daniel (middle name: Preston) is from Washington, DC (yes, DC proper) and is majoring in math and physics. Outside of class, Daniel is interested in AI safety and does research with xLab, UChicago’s Existential Risk Laboratory. Daniel is also an avid chess player, and he tires to make people laugh as a standup comedian with a university club, Life of the Mic. Daniel also has an amazing dog, a miniature sheepadoodle named Thor.
You can reach out to Daniel with any questions or concerns at danielpressman@uchicago.edu.
noah burdick
crisis director
Noah (middle name: Preston) is a third year in the college studying physics and philosophy. Model UN and Noah have been a mildly abusive but very loving relationship since 10th grade, and Noah also competes on Chicago’s Team in addition to doing ChoMUN. In Noah’s spare time, you can find him sketching, singing sea shanties, or trying to figure out whether or not he’s a moral realist.
You can reach out to Noah with any question or concerns at noahburdick@uchicago.edu.
preston van geem brown
crisis director
Van Geem (first name, you guessed it, Preston!) comes from Washington DC (no, not DC proper) and is a Religious Studies major. Yet art — writing — is Van Geem’s true endeavor. He spends much of his waking (and, perchance, sleeping) life monomaniacally writing his magnum opus: his book.
You can reach out to Van Geem with any questions or concerns at pvbrown@uchicago.edu.
Secretariat oversight:
jacqueline agris, under-secretary-general