The first being Hammurabi's and the second Nebuchadnezzar's. Any ideas for another rise of Babylon beyond OTL? Here's my rough attempt:
333 BC- Darius is delayed somehow and the Battle of Issus is avoided. Alexander and his army push deeper into Syria than OTL, heading for the Persian navy's base at Tyre.
332 BC- Darius and his army reach northern Syria early in the year and cut off Alexander's supply lines. Meanwhile, the Persian navy successfully foments rebellion in Greece and lands troops to help the rebels. Word of these two disasters reach Alexander and, desperate, he marches his army back north to face Darius. This battle is much harder for Alexander than OTL's Issus and several of his friends get killed in the process of his completely defeating Darius. A detachment resumes the siege of Tyre while Alexander himself captures Damascus then heads back to Greece to crush the rebellion. Darius flees across the Euphrates to lick his wounds and form another army.
331 BC- Alexander crushes the rebellion in Greece and is forced to treat a city or two as he did Thebes. Tyre also falls and Alexander marches back east and marches on into Egypt and is crowned Pharoah as in OTL. Alexander is much angrier with the Persians than OTL and has no desire whatsoever of accomadating them in his quest to become master of Asia. Alexandria founded.
330-325 BC- Alexander's army continues it's march of conquest, Alexander going along with the spirit of the Greeks in their 'war of vengeance' against Persia. Persepolis is razed with nothing accidental about it as said in OTL. Persia is ravaged and many satraps are outright killed as the army completes a march roughly similar to OTL. Rebellions by Persians and other subject peoples are dealt with successfully and harshly and many of the canals in Persia proper, or modern day Iran, are destroyed. Alexander reaches the Indus before turning back as in OTL, but dies while en route with his army back to Mesopotamia.
324 BC to mid 3rd century BC- The Diadochi happen similar to OTL. With Persia ravaged and not nearly as influential as OTL, Seleucus or his ATL equivalent centers his rule in Mesopotamia as in OTL but instead sets his capital as Babylon instead of founding a new capital. Babylon's great monuments are repaired, such as it's walls, the palace, the Ishtar Gate and the Hanging Gardens, and it experiences a revival as the main trade center between the West and East.
Late 3rd century BC to 3rd century AD- The Parthians conquer the Diadochi kingdom that rules Mesopotamia, ravaging Persia even further and making it a backwater in the process. They decide to also set up prosperous Babylon as their capital and decide to follow Greek culture at first but, with Persian influence much reduced in the ATL, Babylonian culture becomes more influential as times goes on. Parthia wars with Rome as in OTL and it's power drains over time. In the 3rd century AD, the sub-king of Babylonia revolts and revives the Babylonian Empire, it's military based on the Parthians by using mounted archers and cataphracts with bows and lances but Roman-style mail shirts, like the Sassanids of OTL. A monotheistic-style religion based around the old god Marduk, patron god of Babylon, is established and promoted to bring about unity in the empire. All of Mesopotamia is conquered as well as Persia, the backward Persians subordinate to the 'Babylonians'.
How's this?
333 BC- Darius is delayed somehow and the Battle of Issus is avoided. Alexander and his army push deeper into Syria than OTL, heading for the Persian navy's base at Tyre.
332 BC- Darius and his army reach northern Syria early in the year and cut off Alexander's supply lines. Meanwhile, the Persian navy successfully foments rebellion in Greece and lands troops to help the rebels. Word of these two disasters reach Alexander and, desperate, he marches his army back north to face Darius. This battle is much harder for Alexander than OTL's Issus and several of his friends get killed in the process of his completely defeating Darius. A detachment resumes the siege of Tyre while Alexander himself captures Damascus then heads back to Greece to crush the rebellion. Darius flees across the Euphrates to lick his wounds and form another army.
331 BC- Alexander crushes the rebellion in Greece and is forced to treat a city or two as he did Thebes. Tyre also falls and Alexander marches back east and marches on into Egypt and is crowned Pharoah as in OTL. Alexander is much angrier with the Persians than OTL and has no desire whatsoever of accomadating them in his quest to become master of Asia. Alexandria founded.
330-325 BC- Alexander's army continues it's march of conquest, Alexander going along with the spirit of the Greeks in their 'war of vengeance' against Persia. Persepolis is razed with nothing accidental about it as said in OTL. Persia is ravaged and many satraps are outright killed as the army completes a march roughly similar to OTL. Rebellions by Persians and other subject peoples are dealt with successfully and harshly and many of the canals in Persia proper, or modern day Iran, are destroyed. Alexander reaches the Indus before turning back as in OTL, but dies while en route with his army back to Mesopotamia.
324 BC to mid 3rd century BC- The Diadochi happen similar to OTL. With Persia ravaged and not nearly as influential as OTL, Seleucus or his ATL equivalent centers his rule in Mesopotamia as in OTL but instead sets his capital as Babylon instead of founding a new capital. Babylon's great monuments are repaired, such as it's walls, the palace, the Ishtar Gate and the Hanging Gardens, and it experiences a revival as the main trade center between the West and East.
Late 3rd century BC to 3rd century AD- The Parthians conquer the Diadochi kingdom that rules Mesopotamia, ravaging Persia even further and making it a backwater in the process. They decide to also set up prosperous Babylon as their capital and decide to follow Greek culture at first but, with Persian influence much reduced in the ATL, Babylonian culture becomes more influential as times goes on. Parthia wars with Rome as in OTL and it's power drains over time. In the 3rd century AD, the sub-king of Babylonia revolts and revives the Babylonian Empire, it's military based on the Parthians by using mounted archers and cataphracts with bows and lances but Roman-style mail shirts, like the Sassanids of OTL. A monotheistic-style religion based around the old god Marduk, patron god of Babylon, is established and promoted to bring about unity in the empire. All of Mesopotamia is conquered as well as Persia, the backward Persians subordinate to the 'Babylonians'.
How's this?
a secret conspiracy by babylonian bankers trying to prepare us for the return of babylon and the apocalypse</crazy paranoid wierdo>