The year is 300 AD, and the world has changed considerably since the days of Shapur and Vaballathus. In the east, the Sassanids and Palmyrenes have emerged as the dominant powers in the region, and bitter rivals. Persia at this point is majority Christian, and wishes to expand their faith. Meanwhile, Palmyra’s Emesene dynasty has blurred the lines between religious and political authority, establishing a de facto theocracy. Every Palmyrene Emperor dreams of succeeding where Odaenathus and Vaballathus failed and conquering Persia, while every Sassanid Shah dreams of liberating the Holy Land and restoring Persia to the glory of the Achaemenids.
Bitter schisms have emerged within Christendom. The Apostolic Church has gained prestige as the state religion of the Persians, and has attained a majority within the Sassanids’ borders. However, two rival sects have emerged in Arabia and Armenia, respectively. In Arabia, the Restored Nazarene Church based out of Yathrib has converted a majority of the peninsula, with only some Apostolics in the east and pagan holdouts in Palmyrene and Axumite territories remaining. Meanwhile, the Gnostic Church of Christ the Illuminator has been adopted as the state religion of Armenia.
In the south, a new empire emerges in the form of Axum. Based out of Ethiopia, the Axumites have established a presence on the Arabian Peninsula and have begun to establish a trading empire. The Axumites are still largely pagan, but with a not insignificant Jewish presence and a few Christians. The Axumites are largely neutral in the conflict between the Sassanids and Palmyrenes. While as of right now, the Axumites are still beginning to make their presence known, time will tell if they will be able to bring themselves to the level of Persia or Palmyra and become a third power in the region.
To the west, the glory days of the Roman Empire are gone and will never return. The once-mighty empire is a shadow of its former self, controlling only Italy and North Africa[1]. The Gallic Empire, controlling Gaul and Britannia, has begun to eclipse what’s left of the Roman Empire to its south. Faced with Germanic attacks from the east, they have moved their capital from Colonia Agrippina to the more easily defensible Lutetia[2]. The Gallic Empire has seen something of a revival of Celtic culture as the memory of being “Roman” becomes more distant and the Celtic language of the locals begins to gradually but surely replace Latin as the language of administration[3].
To the south of the Gallic Empire, the Hispanian Republic is recovering from the insanity of Cnaeus’ reign under the leadership of what is essentially a glorified military dictatorship. The title of Dux Hispanicum is theoretically given to the wisest and most capable man in Hispania, but in all actuality is given to whoever has the biggest army. The state religion of the Hispanians reveres Cnaeus, Diogenes, Prometheus(respected for given fire to humanity), and Hercules(who was held in high esteem by the Cynics IOTL). Although Hispanian society has a strong taboo against the accumulation of wealth and power, several prominent generals have secretly been doing just that as Cnaeus’ failed utopia gradually turns into what he hated most[4].
[1]Not all of North Africa, either. Egypt is Palmyrene while Mauretania has largely been overtaken by Berber tribes
[2]Modern-day Paris
[3]The people of Roman Gaul would continue speaking Celtic languages long after Caesar’s conquest, with dialects of Latin really only becoming spoken in the countryside with the advent of Christianity
[4]I imagine the Hispanians are a frequent subject of mockery ITTL