The butterflys in my TL are starting to spread their wings quite greatly, and whilst I have tried to make the focus almost exclusively on religious development, there is some material factors that will need to be adressed. In particular, 2 in relation to the infamous Hulagu Khan.
Whilst the two questions are related (despite the POD, the 2nd point is sort of inevitable), feel free to adress them individually.
1) What if Hulagu had never destroyed Baghdad?
Whilst I do not beleive in the Golden Age theory (in the same way that "the dark ages" were not always literally a time of lost knowledge/regression), I may need some clarification on this. As far as I can tell, there were many vital centers of philosophy and "science" under control by the Abassids which were not destroyed. If the destruction of Baghdad is so important in relation to the development of science and philosophy, what would happen and why would this be the case?
2) What if Hulagu had conquered Egypt/The Mamluk Sultanate?
Mongke becoming Khagan of all the mongols is a less likely event, and the Berke-Hulagu war is also butterflied by the events of my story. Many of the material factors that led to the battle of Ain-Jalut are however still the same and eyeing of Egypt is an inevitability, particularly in light of the Franco-Mongol alliance.
So what would happen following a succesful conquest of Egypt/The Mamluk Sultanate?
I will be honest in saying I know very little about the Mamluk Sultanate, but my best guess is that the Mongols would have liked to use their puppets in the area to control the region (providing Hulagu does not directly give Egypt to one of his sons), many of their puppets on the eastern med being christian powers.
Any help/Ideas would be appreciated. My usual time/ability to research stuff like this has been hindered by an upcoming offsted inspection that is taking up all my time.
Whilst the two questions are related (despite the POD, the 2nd point is sort of inevitable), feel free to adress them individually.
1) What if Hulagu had never destroyed Baghdad?
Whilst I do not beleive in the Golden Age theory (in the same way that "the dark ages" were not always literally a time of lost knowledge/regression), I may need some clarification on this. As far as I can tell, there were many vital centers of philosophy and "science" under control by the Abassids which were not destroyed. If the destruction of Baghdad is so important in relation to the development of science and philosophy, what would happen and why would this be the case?
2) What if Hulagu had conquered Egypt/The Mamluk Sultanate?
Mongke becoming Khagan of all the mongols is a less likely event, and the Berke-Hulagu war is also butterflied by the events of my story. Many of the material factors that led to the battle of Ain-Jalut are however still the same and eyeing of Egypt is an inevitability, particularly in light of the Franco-Mongol alliance.
So what would happen following a succesful conquest of Egypt/The Mamluk Sultanate?
I will be honest in saying I know very little about the Mamluk Sultanate, but my best guess is that the Mongols would have liked to use their puppets in the area to control the region (providing Hulagu does not directly give Egypt to one of his sons), many of their puppets on the eastern med being christian powers.
Any help/Ideas would be appreciated. My usual time/ability to research stuff like this has been hindered by an upcoming offsted inspection that is taking up all my time.