Alright, I'll be the first to admit I know jack-all about the Ottomans. From beginning to end, the extent of my knowledge is "Turkic invaders, Neo-Roman badasses, Sick Man of Europe" and end. Beyond their rivalries with the Austrians and the Russians, I know nothing of their endeavors. So I had an idea. What if they'd gone south? Say one Sultan or another had a dream that the sun set in the north or something and rose in the south. Some sort of personal impetus to redirect the nation away from Europe down the Red Sea and Nile, through "Zanj" and on all the way to the Cape (eventually). My question isn't so much 'why' or 'how,' but more a 'what comes next' sort of situation.
With the Turks turning south, there's no siege of Vienna and the Austrians are likely to recoup the Balkans. Where do the Russians stand? After all, this is between 1500-1600 where the biggest changes will occur. The Turks, going so southerly, might even be inclined to kiss and make-up with the Russians as a counterbalance to the Austrians. But what of the Pole-Liths? With an Austria on the march during this nadir of Europe, do they become the mega-rivals of France as OTL or are they too busy and eventually play nice with the French? Does Germany get carved up or left for someone like Saxony or Denmark to unify? How might Italy turn out without the Ottomans ranging across North Africa?
Not to mention Indian Politics or New World colonialism...
Thoughts?
With the Turks turning south, there's no siege of Vienna and the Austrians are likely to recoup the Balkans. Where do the Russians stand? After all, this is between 1500-1600 where the biggest changes will occur. The Turks, going so southerly, might even be inclined to kiss and make-up with the Russians as a counterbalance to the Austrians. But what of the Pole-Liths? With an Austria on the march during this nadir of Europe, do they become the mega-rivals of France as OTL or are they too busy and eventually play nice with the French? Does Germany get carved up or left for someone like Saxony or Denmark to unify? How might Italy turn out without the Ottomans ranging across North Africa?
Not to mention Indian Politics or New World colonialism...
Thoughts?