Best 10th Century PODs

[Ellis MacVey]

Okay so I have an increasong obsession with the 10th century fueled largely by autism and the fact I've been actively making a lot of noise towards Paradox in the hopes they'll bring back my favorite CK2 start date, 936, in CK3. The CK3 thing is beside the point though.

The thing is, I feel like a lot of us hyperfixate on the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries with our scenarios. This is understandable, as one wants to avoid getting engagled in modern politics, but one also generally focuses on the things that happened most recently.

However, in this thread, I would like to focus on the best PODs within a very specific period more than 1000 years ago - the 10th century. Namely, I'd like to ask you all what you think the coolest, most interesting, and most story potential-y PODs within the 10th century are.

Sooo... yeah

 

[Ellis MacVey]

Honestly I think I posted this too early in the morning tbh

 

[Vulgarian]

Kingdom of England not united by Aethelstan
Rollo not settled in Normandy
Seljuks don't convert to Islam.
Song dynasty does not unite China
Khazars not destroyed by the Rus
Russians follow the Khazars in converting to Judaism

 

[Maeglin]

Basil II dies as a child.

 

[Whiteshore]

Catholic or Muslim Russia.

 

[ike225]

Alfred the Great dies at Chippenham and the Norsemen overrun England
Basil II has a competent male heir
Rollo and his merry band settle in Flanders instead of Normandy

 

[Jonathan1997]

King athelstan the first king of the English is defeated by the Scottish and Viking King Alliance. Which could lead to the British isles being United by the Vikings or by the King of Scots.

The Capations never become kings of France and the Kingdom disintegrates into petty Kingdoms.

Louis V of France/Frank's has a son.

Aethelflaed the Lady of Mercia has a son which could see England plot into two or alternatively the center of the country is Heald by the line of aethelflaed.

The Anglo-Saxons and the Danish become a mixed culture creating a new identity.

Ethelred the unready dies earlier with is younger sons either athelstan or Edmund become kings of the English.

 

[AltoRegnant]

relating to your 936, Otto doesn't marry his Italian wife, gains no claim to the kingdom, and thus no HRE. This leads to less disputes between the Kings of Germany and the Papacy, doesn't split the king's attention across the Alps, and leaves a surviving kingdom of Italy (which may or may not take the brunt of the disputes of the papacy, depending on the power of its monarchs) that then drastically alters the renaissance. It also leaves France with either a much more threatened eastern flank, or a much safer one, depending on how one has the german monarchy develop without the challenges of OTL

 

[Cymry-Korean]

The anti Aethelstan coalition triumphs at Brunaburgh! It's actually the POD for my 10th century timeline.

 

[GauchoBadger]

Hungary converts to Orthodox rite Christianity instead of attaching itself to Rome. Perhaps the Hungarian language adopts a modified version of the Glagolitic Script as well.

 

[Grey Wolf]

I definitely remember something that would fit with Ethelred but can't remember what it is offhand in the pub

 

[Madhukar_Shah]

Otto III who manages to fully squash the papacy's international power could be very cool, and opens up the HRE for potential to remain transnational for much longer, with a much stronger hold over the Lombard duchies.

Continued dynastic links with Constantinople could also shake things up if the Macedonian dynasty goes extinct.

 

[Cymry-Korean]

Otto III who manages to fully squash the papacy's international power could be very cool, and opens up the HRE for potential to remain transnational for much longer, with a much stronger hold over the Lombard duchies.

Continued dynastic links with Constantinople could also shake things up if the Macedonian dynasty goes extinct.

Yep, an Italian focused Holy Roman Empire is one of my favorite early middle ages ideas.

 

[herkles]

Now this is an interesting one for India as it was during the Tripartite struggle between the Palas, the Rashtrakutas, and the Pratiharas. The end of the century saw the Ghazanavids come to power and launch raids. There is much one could do here.

The sack of Manyakheta in 972 doesn't happen. This in turn keeps the Rashtrakuta around without collapsing. Perhaps allow them to consolidate their hold on their northern territories.

Alternatively Bhoja II either dies or doesn't get overthrown by his brother Mahipala. This in turn prevents a number of their vassals from revolting against the Pratihara empire. which they can use to fight off the Rashtrakuta from the south as the consolidate power in their empire.

 

[Deleted member 147978]

The Carolingian Dynasty maintaining the Throne of West Francia / France? :V

 

[Rattenfänger von Memphis]

(1) Vikings ! Something involving Erik the Red and his colonization of Greenland and his son, Leif Erikson, and his adventures in Vinland and struggles with the Skrælings.

(2) The Mayans: Chichen Itza was pretty powerful around this time. Maybe that inscrutable calendar of theirs could be figured out in an ATL.

 

[Rattenfänger von Memphis]

Another 10th Century TL I would enjoy reading would be about the Polynesian discoveries and settlements in the Pacific Ocean. By the 900s AD, the Polynesians had reached islands in the central Pacific and would soon be arriving in the Hawaiian islands and New Zealand for the first time in human history. Since this is before written history in that part of the world, I wouldn't mind seeing the Polynesians encounter any megalodons which might have survived an earlier extinction. Who knows, megalodons might have existed somewhere in the vast expanses of the Pacific Ocean.

 

[Paradoxer]

Okay so I have an increasong obsession with the 10th century fueled largely by autism and the fact I've been actively making a lot of noise towards Paradox in the hopes they'll bring back my favorite CK2 start date, 936, in CK3. The CK3 thing is beside the point though.

The thing is, I feel like a lot of us hyperfixate on the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries with our scenarios. This is understandable, as one wants to avoid getting engagled in modern politics, but one also generally focuses on the things that happened most recently.

However, in this thread, I would like to focus on the best PODs within a very specific period more than 1000 years ago - the 10th century. Namely, I'd like to ask you all what you think the coolest, most interesting, and most story potential-y PODs within the 10th century are.

Sooo... yeah

A Viking/Norse Mohammed since you mentioned crusader kings. Preferably female shield maiden to just be different and unique