Deleted member 93645
Which of these mostly-Greek/Roman focused timelines sounds most interesting?
Also if you have any suggestions I'm all ears.
Majorian’s Restoration: Majorian’s fleet is not destroyed. He invades the Vandal Kingdom, successfully reconquering Africa, giving a breath of life to the Western Roman Empire. During his reign and briefly after, the Western Empire has a renewed period of imperial power… but with the level of Germanization that has already occurred, can this really last?
Fall of Constantinople: In 626, the Avar-Persian siege of Constantinople is a success, leading to a sack of the city and the devastation of the Byzantine Empire, which is exiled to Italy, forming a small, Latinized thalassocracy. The Persians annex Egypt, Syria, and Anatolia, while the Avars take the Balkans. However, in the late 630s, religious crisis hits the Sassanian Empire…
A Greater Empire of the East: Basil II the Bulgar-Slayer’s brother, Constantine VIII, has a son, Romanus, who is heir to the Byzantine throne. Mentored, trained, and promoted to strategos by his uncle, he becomes essentially a “Second Basil” who leads the Byzantine Empire to greater heights than ever before. Over centuries, this may or may not lead to an entire, generations-long reconquest of Mediterranean basin, and the badass medieval Greek Orthodox recreation of Augustus’ Roman Empire.
The Anglo-Byzantine Norman Empire: Harald Hardrada defeats Harold Godwinson at Stamford Bridge. But William does not fall so easily. Three years of bloody warfare devastate England, until William seemingly triumphs. But with the Danish invasion of 1069, William is deposed. Under Danish rule and constant rebellions by Saxon pretenders, both Normans and Saxons flee to the Mediterranean. The Norman-English war never really ends, with Norman Sicily and a Byzantine Empire ruled by the Saxon Varangian Guard fighting to influence the nascent Crusader States.
The Sino-Roman Cold War: Caesar is not assassinated, and invades Parthia. He conquers it entirely, and despite a century of challenges, it becomes a full part of the Roman Republic--with all the Persianization of the West that entails. Meanwhile, in the East, the Han Empire preempts the Tang conquest of Central Asia, setting up military and trade outposts in the western deserts. After something like the Battle of Talas, where the Romans are humiliatingly defeated by China, the Romans decide to expand their influence in the east. The Han expand their influence in the west. And the two greatest empires of the time begin a series of wars that can only lead to their mutual destruction.
Alexander the Failure: Alexander “the Great” is killed at the Battle of the Granicus. While Macedonia is able to briefly take some parts of Anatolia, Hellenization never spreads east, and the Achaemenid Empire survives for another century.
Macedonia Eternal: Most ‘Alexander the Great survives’ scenarios don’t quite go all the way, perhaps in the interest of pesky “balance”. Well, in this one, not only does Alexander the Great live; he is lucky enough to live to the age of 70. Over his long lifetime, he conquers every civilization in his reach, and upon his death, Alexander rules over an empire that is fairly stable and both Hellenized and Persianized. After his death, this massively overstretched empire falls into even greater ruin than OTL, excluding a stable core around Babylon. But the cultural links created between Hellenism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Persian imperial tradition, Greek philosophical tradition, and all of the regions in the empire create a very interesting Antiquity.
Also if you have any suggestions I'm all ears.
Majorian’s Restoration: Majorian’s fleet is not destroyed. He invades the Vandal Kingdom, successfully reconquering Africa, giving a breath of life to the Western Roman Empire. During his reign and briefly after, the Western Empire has a renewed period of imperial power… but with the level of Germanization that has already occurred, can this really last?
Fall of Constantinople: In 626, the Avar-Persian siege of Constantinople is a success, leading to a sack of the city and the devastation of the Byzantine Empire, which is exiled to Italy, forming a small, Latinized thalassocracy. The Persians annex Egypt, Syria, and Anatolia, while the Avars take the Balkans. However, in the late 630s, religious crisis hits the Sassanian Empire…
A Greater Empire of the East: Basil II the Bulgar-Slayer’s brother, Constantine VIII, has a son, Romanus, who is heir to the Byzantine throne. Mentored, trained, and promoted to strategos by his uncle, he becomes essentially a “Second Basil” who leads the Byzantine Empire to greater heights than ever before. Over centuries, this may or may not lead to an entire, generations-long reconquest of Mediterranean basin, and the badass medieval Greek Orthodox recreation of Augustus’ Roman Empire.
The Anglo-Byzantine Norman Empire: Harald Hardrada defeats Harold Godwinson at Stamford Bridge. But William does not fall so easily. Three years of bloody warfare devastate England, until William seemingly triumphs. But with the Danish invasion of 1069, William is deposed. Under Danish rule and constant rebellions by Saxon pretenders, both Normans and Saxons flee to the Mediterranean. The Norman-English war never really ends, with Norman Sicily and a Byzantine Empire ruled by the Saxon Varangian Guard fighting to influence the nascent Crusader States.
The Sino-Roman Cold War: Caesar is not assassinated, and invades Parthia. He conquers it entirely, and despite a century of challenges, it becomes a full part of the Roman Republic--with all the Persianization of the West that entails. Meanwhile, in the East, the Han Empire preempts the Tang conquest of Central Asia, setting up military and trade outposts in the western deserts. After something like the Battle of Talas, where the Romans are humiliatingly defeated by China, the Romans decide to expand their influence in the east. The Han expand their influence in the west. And the two greatest empires of the time begin a series of wars that can only lead to their mutual destruction.
Alexander the Failure: Alexander “the Great” is killed at the Battle of the Granicus. While Macedonia is able to briefly take some parts of Anatolia, Hellenization never spreads east, and the Achaemenid Empire survives for another century.
Macedonia Eternal: Most ‘Alexander the Great survives’ scenarios don’t quite go all the way, perhaps in the interest of pesky “balance”. Well, in this one, not only does Alexander the Great live; he is lucky enough to live to the age of 70. Over his long lifetime, he conquers every civilization in his reach, and upon his death, Alexander rules over an empire that is fairly stable and both Hellenized and Persianized. After his death, this massively overstretched empire falls into even greater ruin than OTL, excluding a stable core around Babylon. But the cultural links created between Hellenism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Persian imperial tradition, Greek philosophical tradition, and all of the regions in the empire create a very interesting Antiquity.
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