Straha
Banned
A sort of timetable for this might be:-
- For whatever reason, the Amerindians manage to keep all or most
European invasions and settlements out.
- Spain, chased out of Mexico, occupies Morocco. A big Muslim army is
wiped out at (say) Alcazarquivir alias Al Ksar al Kebir. Spanish
settlers pour in.
- Other nations get alarmed at Spanish spread. France grabs Algeria
and Britain grabs Egypt, both well before OTL.
- Much of the settlement wave that OTL went to the Americas, goes
instead to North Africa, particularly to Egypt, which only had about
2 million population and much of the Delta was uncultivated papyrus
swamp. More settlement than OTL, because the European settlers didn't
have as far to go. Plus Britain bringing Indians in from India.
- 1820's: the Greek War of Independence is won quicker and less
destructively because there is no Muslim Egypt for an Albanian
adventurer called Muhammad Ali to use as his power base.
- about 1840: native Egyptians are outnumbered by imported Hindu
Indians and their descendants, and both of those by Europeans.
- Turkey and other Islamic countries try to do something about this;
raids and trouble. This leads to a European occupation of the eastern
Mediterranean coast, and later Mesopotamia. Much of Mesopotamia is
desert, crisscrossed by irrigation canals which have not carried
water since Batu Khan's Mongols attacked many centuries before. Mass
European settlement there also. Jews tend to go to Palestine, more
and sooner than OTL. and become the majority in most of Palestine and
Transjordan. In those days Europeans breed fast as well, and the
natives decisively lose the breeding race.
- Bedouin raids out of the desert become a determined jihad attempt
to harass the Europeans into leaving. Trouble goes on for many years.
Finally in the 1880's while Turkey's army is tied up in the Balkans
yet again, after one damaging raid too many, the Europeans in the
Middle East gather all their armies and march into the Hijaz. The
Arabs gather all the men they can and harass them and finally cut
them off, but the Europeans reach Medina first and hold it. Jews
among the army there hold kaddish for their kin who were killed there
when Islam arose long before.
A navy comes from Britain and lands an army at Yanbu al Bahr. Relief
of Medina. The general in charge at first wants to respect the
natives' religion, but that would leave enemies unfought. He "crosses
the Rubicon" and marches southeast; another army lands at Jidda. The
Battle of Mecca lasts 17 days with much loss of life on both sides
and leaves little standing there. It is said that 5 out of 6 of the
native warriors of Arabia perished in that battle. (Transplant OTL
Omdurman and make it much bigger.) British find nothing much stopping
them from marching through the rest of the Hijaz and the Tihama and
linking up with Aden. Much trouble in Muslim-inhabited colonies
across the world, but it is gradually suppressed.
The British authorities at first are willing to let the Arabs rebuild
and ready their sacred area for the next Hajj. Under cover of the
rebulding and the pilgrimage, many weapons are smuggled in. Native
revolt, which is suppressed after 9 days. The Hajj is not allowed
again after that.
- 1890's and around: After one too many Bedouin attacks from the
desert, the Arabian desert is gradually cleared of Bedouin, who are
resettled as settled farmers. After that, the desert vegetation, rid
at long last of nomadic grazing pressure, slowly starts to recover,
and the area slowly becomes rainier.
- 1920's: Oil is discovered in Arabia. That makes Britain even less
willing to quit Arabia. Archaeologists dig the former Kaaba area and
find what they find about the pre-Islamic history of the area.
- 1932: The Black Stone finally turns up, in a regiment's trophy room
in Aldershot in England.
- 1970 say: A map of Egypt shows in the Delta large areas where up to
75% of the place names are European type and some Hindi, and some
names in Ancient Egyptian by scholarly people who treated it as the
right language for the area. As OTL, Egypt has its own aircraft
factory near Helwan - but the suburb round the factory is called
Vimananagar and no name in the language of the religion of the
Prophet; its borough limits signa are in the Roman alphabet and
Devanagari and hieroglyphics but not Arabic. Helwan is still called
Helwan, despite two attempts by some of its inhabitants to get rid of
the apparent reference to Hell and rename the town Bletchley after
the town or origin of the first white settlers in the area.
- For whatever reason, the Amerindians manage to keep all or most
European invasions and settlements out.
- Spain, chased out of Mexico, occupies Morocco. A big Muslim army is
wiped out at (say) Alcazarquivir alias Al Ksar al Kebir. Spanish
settlers pour in.
- Other nations get alarmed at Spanish spread. France grabs Algeria
and Britain grabs Egypt, both well before OTL.
- Much of the settlement wave that OTL went to the Americas, goes
instead to North Africa, particularly to Egypt, which only had about
2 million population and much of the Delta was uncultivated papyrus
swamp. More settlement than OTL, because the European settlers didn't
have as far to go. Plus Britain bringing Indians in from India.
- 1820's: the Greek War of Independence is won quicker and less
destructively because there is no Muslim Egypt for an Albanian
adventurer called Muhammad Ali to use as his power base.
- about 1840: native Egyptians are outnumbered by imported Hindu
Indians and their descendants, and both of those by Europeans.
- Turkey and other Islamic countries try to do something about this;
raids and trouble. This leads to a European occupation of the eastern
Mediterranean coast, and later Mesopotamia. Much of Mesopotamia is
desert, crisscrossed by irrigation canals which have not carried
water since Batu Khan's Mongols attacked many centuries before. Mass
European settlement there also. Jews tend to go to Palestine, more
and sooner than OTL. and become the majority in most of Palestine and
Transjordan. In those days Europeans breed fast as well, and the
natives decisively lose the breeding race.
- Bedouin raids out of the desert become a determined jihad attempt
to harass the Europeans into leaving. Trouble goes on for many years.
Finally in the 1880's while Turkey's army is tied up in the Balkans
yet again, after one damaging raid too many, the Europeans in the
Middle East gather all their armies and march into the Hijaz. The
Arabs gather all the men they can and harass them and finally cut
them off, but the Europeans reach Medina first and hold it. Jews
among the army there hold kaddish for their kin who were killed there
when Islam arose long before.
A navy comes from Britain and lands an army at Yanbu al Bahr. Relief
of Medina. The general in charge at first wants to respect the
natives' religion, but that would leave enemies unfought. He "crosses
the Rubicon" and marches southeast; another army lands at Jidda. The
Battle of Mecca lasts 17 days with much loss of life on both sides
and leaves little standing there. It is said that 5 out of 6 of the
native warriors of Arabia perished in that battle. (Transplant OTL
Omdurman and make it much bigger.) British find nothing much stopping
them from marching through the rest of the Hijaz and the Tihama and
linking up with Aden. Much trouble in Muslim-inhabited colonies
across the world, but it is gradually suppressed.
The British authorities at first are willing to let the Arabs rebuild
and ready their sacred area for the next Hajj. Under cover of the
rebulding and the pilgrimage, many weapons are smuggled in. Native
revolt, which is suppressed after 9 days. The Hajj is not allowed
again after that.
- 1890's and around: After one too many Bedouin attacks from the
desert, the Arabian desert is gradually cleared of Bedouin, who are
resettled as settled farmers. After that, the desert vegetation, rid
at long last of nomadic grazing pressure, slowly starts to recover,
and the area slowly becomes rainier.
- 1920's: Oil is discovered in Arabia. That makes Britain even less
willing to quit Arabia. Archaeologists dig the former Kaaba area and
find what they find about the pre-Islamic history of the area.
- 1932: The Black Stone finally turns up, in a regiment's trophy room
in Aldershot in England.
- 1970 say: A map of Egypt shows in the Delta large areas where up to
75% of the place names are European type and some Hindi, and some
names in Ancient Egyptian by scholarly people who treated it as the
right language for the area. As OTL, Egypt has its own aircraft
factory near Helwan - but the suburb round the factory is called
Vimananagar and no name in the language of the religion of the
Prophet; its borough limits signa are in the Roman alphabet and
Devanagari and hieroglyphics but not Arabic. Helwan is still called
Helwan, despite two attempts by some of its inhabitants to get rid of
the apparent reference to Hell and rename the town Bletchley after
the town or origin of the first white settlers in the area.
