Tell me of this mythical realm of Hindustan... (CKII joke)
Anyway, so is the start of the decline for the Italian city states and Middle Eastern nations as the Silk Road would be used less and less.
Moonlight in a Jar: An Al-Andalus Timeline
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Tell me of this mythical realm of Hindustan... (CKII joke)
Anyway, so is the start of the decline for the Italian city states and Middle Eastern nations as the Silk Road would be used less and less.
Hadil's words do being a needed humanity to the New World's discovery, if from a viewpoint of a captive local. She reminds me a bit of La Malinche, but one that didn't side with the Conquistadors outright. I wonder if Al-Mustakshif figures out that her real name was(is?) Uiara.
The exploration of the New World is fascinating, and there's a lot I wanna ask about the Blue Sahanja and their transplanted life in the Amazon. What would they think of the place when compared to the dry and arid Sahara? Will their stories ever reach their friends and relatives back home? Will a number of Berbers also make the trek across the Ocean Sea to start a new life?
And trust Al-Andalus to reach around the modern African cape but miss the great Congo river! There goes a potential site for exploration and trade! But given the myths of a backdoor to the Nile, that may be a good thing for both Isbili and the local Congolese.
If my history is correct, Kuntisuyu is one of the four regions that make up Tawantinsuyu. Tawantinsuyu is the local Quechua name for the Inca Empire. In 2017.
The exploration of the New World is fascinating, and there's a lot I wanna ask about the Blue Sahanja and their transplanted life in the Amazon. What would they think of the place when compared to the dry and arid Sahara? Will their stories ever reach their friends and relatives back home? Will a number of Berbers also make the trek across the Ocean Sea to start a new life?
And trust Al-Andalus to reach around the modern African cape but miss the great Congo river! There goes a potential site for exploration and trade! But given the myths of a backdoor to the Nile, that may be a good thing for both Isbili and the local Congolese.
If my history is correct, Kuntisuyu is one of the four regions that make up Tawantinsuyu. Tawantinsuyu is the local Quechua name for the Inca Empire. In 2017.
Planet of Hats
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Kuntisuyu also means "Western Region." It's the western region of some kind of Quechua polity.Hadil's words do being a needed humanity to the New World's discovery, if from a viewpoint of a captive local. She reminds me a bit of La Malinche, but one that didn't side with the Conquistadors outright. I wonder if Al-Mustakshif figures out that her real name was(is?) Uiara.
The exploration of the New World is fascinating, and there's a lot I wanna ask about the Blue Sahanja and their transplanted life in the Amazon. What would they think of the place when compared to the dry and arid Sahara? Will their stories ever reach their friends and relatives back home? Will a number of Berbers also make the trek across the Ocean Sea to start a new life?
And trust Al-Andalus to reach around the modern African cape but miss the great Congo river! There goes a potential site for exploration and trade! But given the myths of a backdoor to the Nile, that may be a good thing for both Isbili and the local Congolese.
If my history is correct, Kuntisuyu is one of the four regions that make up Tawantinsuyu. Tawantinsuyu is the local Quechua name for the Inca Empire. In 2017.
Hadil is a bit of a composite character: She's a little of Pocahontas and a little of La Malinche and a little of various other "native guide" figures throughout history.
The Congo was not missed; they call it the Zadazir. Every now and then, explorers give it a go, but they've also come across a lot of rivers and none of them have gone to Egypt, so the hope was moderated somewhat.
The Veiled Sanhaja find the Americas too jungley and wet to be entirely comfortable. Actually they're finding more to like in parts of Africa. You might see some kishafa take an interest in some of the new lands south of the Congo. South Africa springs to mind.
The appellation "Sudan" has been expanded to refer to all of Africa below the Sahara.
The very fact that they are an indigenous rights activist implies that at least part of the Americas is going to get hit with the colonialism stick and it's not going to be pretty.
If I recall correctly, the conquest of the Inca was more on really bad luck and timing for them in OTL. Unlike the Mayans and Aztecs.
The Aztecs too, kinda. Despite how hurt they were by epidemics and how militarily outmatched, a lot of the conquests relied on lucky breaks with pitting rebellious groups against their Aztec overlords. It could easily fall flat and give them more time to recover and consolidate. They would probably still end up losing once larger armies are shipped oversea, but they would be likely to keep more cohesion as a conquered group under their new overlords.
I'm not sure we'll see the exact same success of small adventurer-like conquering groups. Military technology is a bit less radically ahead because it's earlier and the first contacts are going to be more mercantile and be satisfied with advantageous trade positions. Al-Andalus also has more military concerns at its own borders than OTL Spain did and a split focus with Africa and Asia to explore too, whereas OTL Portugal did most of that.
I could see rump Mezoamerican states survive long enough to figure out they could adopt some syncretic form of Islam to placate religious interests and favourable trade conditions to calm the others. Maybe not Mayans, but some highland ones?
Sorry if someone has asked this before, but how far do you plan to take this TL? Great TL man, love it 
Somewhat disappointed that Tenochtitlan would not make an appearance in this TL, kind of wanted to see the reaction of the Andalusis when they see a sprawling metropolis literary built on top of a lake, but eh i guess you can't have everything.
Was there any Tenochtitlan equivalent at this moment in Mesoamerica? Was there any atlepetl around the Valley-of-not-Mexico that had the same size or population with Tenochtitlan? I'm pretty new to Mesoamerican history, so i'm really interested if anyone can point out an answer.
Really, really, great TL by the way. Impatiently waiting on the next update.
Was there any Tenochtitlan equivalent at this moment in Mesoamerica? Was there any atlepetl around the Valley-of-not-Mexico that had the same size or population with Tenochtitlan? I'm pretty new to Mesoamerican history, so i'm really interested if anyone can point out an answer.
Really, really, great TL by the way. Impatiently waiting on the next update.
Bankrupts the history channel as no more aliens. Pyramids in Egypt and america? Aliens of course.
I don’t know if any city that rivaled Tenochtitlán other than Teotihuacan; but the second was long abandoned by this time, but I’m sure the Anadulsis will marvel at the size of the place.
Without the Mexica, I don't think there would be any city in this 'verse that could compete with Mexico-Tenochtitlan, but I can think of a few regional centers. From Planet's map in post #1049, it would seem the city of Azcapotzalco is the primary center in the Valley-of-not-Mexico, which would make sense as it was the region's primary city IOTL before the Aztec empire toppled it. From Planet's notes, it seems Azcapotzalco is just as overbearing as its OTL counterpart too.
Other contenders would be the pilgrimage city of Cholula, the cities of the Four Altepetls neighboring the Not-Mexico-Valley (where Tlaxcalla once was IOTL), and maybe even the Purepecha's lakeside capital of Tzintzuntzan as a metalsmithing city. To the east, the Maya lands in the Yucatan are led by Mani, which has probably grown to the point of OTL Mayapan in population and splendor.
I hope that the Andalusis could bring their descriptions of Mesoamerica justice. Their ruins alone are incredible, and even the reconstructions don't give us the full picture of what these towns and cities would have looked like in their heyday.
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Ah, that's a real shame then. The only Mesoamerican city that i am familiar with is this one, and after reading much about it I have become a bit of what you can call a fanboy, though I respect the author in trying to do different things, especially when it is amazingly written and engrossing to read.
Damn, if any of the other cities in Mesoamerica look anything like that i wouldn't be surprised if the Andalusis label the natives as great city-builders and incorporate some of their style to their own architecture. Maybe they'll even pick up on the Mesoamerican ballgame, get good at it and once again remind the universe that Iberians are the best football players
Thanks for the answer, got something to read about now.
The Aztecs were hardly the only Mesoamerican civilization with pyramids, in fact they probably have the fewest surviving major pyramids since Tenochtitlan and other major cities were razed by the Spanish, not to mention them being perhaps the youngest civilization in Mesoamerica.Cholula was described by the Spanish as second in size only to Tenochtitlan and at times matched or eclipsed it. Cholula also has the largest pyramid/religious monument on the planet by sheer volume, not as tall as Khufu's pyramid but has a larger base. Nowadays it looks like a hill but underneath the church on top of that hill is a massive pre-Columbian structure.
The chinampa farms that floated on the Lake of Mexico (or more properly called Lake Texcoco, especially in this TL) should still exist, along with numerous cities lining the shores of the lake. Texcoco was generally considered more refined than Tenochtitlan, and in any case Mesoamerican cities did generally look fantastic. Unfortunately for the Iberians though, calling the Mesoamerican ballgame "football" would be rather inappropriate as its largely played with the hips and so their talents won't be transferring over.Damn, if any of the other cities in Mesoamerica look anything like that i wouldn't be surprised if the Andalusis label the natives as great city-builders and incorporate some of their style to their own architecture. Maybe they'll even pick up on the Mesoamerican ballgame, get good at it and once again remind the universe that Iberians are the best football players
Bit off topic but related wasn't there a pyramind in Egypt bigger than Gizas ones but it no longer exists can anyone remember the name?
There was a pyramid built by Khufu's son Djedefre close by to the Giza complex that was higher than the others but only because it was built on higher ground, I believe it was roughly the size of the smaller of the three Giza pyramids.