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  1. Islam Nonexistant - What Religious Effects?

    Umm... not what I was saying. The original poster asked what the religious effects of no Islam might have been. I think that there is a good chance the lack of Islam would have led to stronger Western Mediterranean civilization and weaker Papacy - such situation could have also prevented the...
  2. Islam Nonexistant - What Religious Effects?

    It seems that you are equating medicinal accomplishment with overall advancement, which is like saying that France is a better team than Germany by the virtue of having a better goalkeeper. I think the picture is much more multi-faceted than that. Not to mention the little something in 1204...
  3. Islam Nonexistant - What Religious Effects?

    That was not only uncalled for, but proving very little if anything. I said that the Byzantines used and maintained the antique knowledge to the similar extent, which, AFAIK, is rather hard to dispute. Rise of Islam = weakening of Byzantine power Weakening of Byzantine power = no chance in...
  4. Islam Nonexistant - What Religious Effects?

    I find it very hard to believe. Considering that the Arabs mustered large navies against Constans II (whom they have defeated numerous times) as early as mid-VIIth century, the existence of Arab pirates in large enough numbers by that point becomes almost a fait accompli. I am not very...
  5. Islam Nonexistant - What Religious Effects?

    They used it at least as much as the Arabs. And yet, if the power of the Papacy were crushed (which I posited would happen with no Islam/Arab invasion), and without the constant threat of a religious enemy at the borders, I doubt the Inquisition would have become the force it was OTL. By...
  6. Islam Nonexistant - What Religious Effects?

    Heh... the reason for the spelling I am using now is because it was a name of my old band :p Which, in turn, we tried to make so that people would not start scratching their heads in puzzlement. Did not help with the number of misspellings people here used when booking our shows... :eek:
  7. Islam Nonexistant - What Religious Effects?

    I think you are deliberately misreading my statement. There is no denial that prior to the Islamic invasion, the Mediterranean civilization existed more or less on both sides of the sea. Post it, the civilizations on the northern shore of the Mediterranean were destroyed or greatly diminished -...
  8. Islam Nonexistant - What Religious Effects?

    I thoroughly disagree - in fact, I consider the spread of Islam as being the latest direct cause of the Dark Ages in Europe, and destruction of coastal Mediterranean civilization at the hands of the Muslims was much to blame for the shift in focus of European development towards the states...
  9. WI USSR survives, with Ukraine in name only?

    As someone who WAS in Ukraine in 1991, when USSR was breaking apart, I'll just say that violent Ukrainian nationalism in 1991 on large enough scale as described here is more or less ASB. People were more concerned with the falling standards of living and economy, and the whole independence was...
  10. Who is running against Kerry this year?

    If Kerry is as unpopular ITTL as Bush is now, or even somewhere close to it, what is a chance that perhaps he is challenged by another Democrat in the Democratic primaries? After all, I believe this has precedent in the past when the sitting President eligible for another term was NOT the...
  11. WI; Hard line against Pakistan after 9/11

    If Pakistan is presented as being responsible for 9/11, I doubt ANY nation in the world with a shred of sanity would stand with them. And China would rather sacrifice Pakistan and earn some goodwill than try to stand by Pakistan and earn an enemy that is angry enough to still go ahead and do it...
  12. Solar Systems and Galaxies Ideas and Map Thread

    P, this is great. This needs to be stickied somewhere - W40K Universe explained, once and for all. Speaking of which... someone needs to get back to Banhammer 40K. Or something.
  13. WI Donatism prevailed? Could this lead to a stricter Church?

    What I wonder is how much more enticing to convert this new Christianity would be, or if it is going to be detrimental to its expansion. Will it lead to barbarians not adopting Christianity, or at least not adopting Donatism? After all, the last thing various post-Western Roman states want is...
  14. WI Ethiopia developed in the manner of European nations?

    Very simple. Defeat Islam in the VIIth century, radically alter it to where it does not have the militant streak, or make sure it does not essentially surround Aksum and force it to struggle for survival. The thing is, a world where Islam was never a major military force, or never developed...
  15. Maria Comnena

    Hmm... probably no Emperor Rainier, unless a very specific scenario occurs (see below). Consider how much backlash there was against Maria of Antioch, who was perceived as having Latin sympathies, and who was not even the sole power holder! The most the Byzantines would be willing to tolerate...
  16. Welcome to Tzargrad! Formerly Constantinople

    I am wondering if it would be possible for the powers to agree with the establishment of a "Byzantine Empire" of sorts, with one of the younger Romanovs on the throne, but with quite a few stipulations on its foreign affairs. This way, Russia gets a friendly state on the Bosphorus, but is not...
  17. What German city gets nuked?

    I would beg to differ on the latter point. The full effects of nuclear weaponry were poorly understood at the time, to the point that US war plans for European conflict against the Soviets made in the 1950s made little to no accounting for fallout, radiation, etc, and seriously proposed using...
  18. More Successful Frederick II

    I did use more successful Frederick II as a part of Unholy Roman Empire TL, but it did have a POD starting with Barbarossa's survival and subsequent victory of the Third Crusade, so technically Frederick was not as much the POD as a consequence. It resulted in some attempts at centralization...
  19. Stalingrad on the Tigris:

    And who controls Grozny now?
  20. WI Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC a Roman Victory?

    Keep in mind, Crassus is 70 years old at the time of Carrhae. I doubt he would have more than 10 years left to live, and even then, he would still have to pacify Parthia. It took Caesar, with greater forces and perhaps more military talent, at least that long to pacify Gaul. Imagine how long...
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