A powerful, continuous polity from the Classical Age to the Digital Age

Actually, what was there before Rus?

Nomadic horsemen like the Scythians on the southern steppes, and probably some early, primitive Slavic tribes in the forests of the north, although very little is known about the latter as far as I am aware.

Also, the Goths migrated to the Ukraine and the northern Black Sea coast in the second century CE.
 
Yes, a strong and continuous Persian empire (stronger and more continuous than in OTL) would be a possibility. In order to be as powerful as I want it, it would encompass not just the Iranian plateau, but also Mesopotamia and parts of central Asia. The question is, could a polity realistically hold on to these lands throughout two-thousand years of history?

Timur is a much later POD than what I am looking for, though. A surviving Achaemenid or Sassanid empire is more like it.

Actually that is surprisingly not that hard if you do it right, Essentially swap the Byzantines and the Persians in terms of their fates (minus the Sassanids being wiped out later), although I doubt the dynasties themselves would last that long (no dynasty is eternal). Its probably better to think of it as "the POD starts under the Sassanid dynasty of the Persian Empire". If its seen that way then the idea is more feasible.
 
Actually, what was there before Rus?

The Scythians and Sarmatians. They occasionally united into large confederations but they were too loose, too sporadic, and too nomadic to be considered "states" in the sense that we know them. Perhaps the Alans could maintain a successful civilization, though - Linguistically, they've survived through the modern Ossetians. There were also some Greek colonies along the Black Sea coast that gave rise to the Bosporan Kingdom, which managed to hang on for quite some time. The biggest problem with Russia is all of the steppe nomads that were constantly passing through during the Dark Ages.
 
Actually, what was there before Rus?
Small settlements (maybe) and largely subsistence farms widely scattered with wilderness in between. The development was relatively minor. Real development was linked very strongly to the rise of the Caliphate because of the trade routes north/south. In fact the early Rus' (Scandinavians mostly) tended to set up on these routes say on an island in a river, to control the flow of trade. Trade was slaves and furs, but a few other things (amber, bees wax).

Interestingly, the names of the river systems between the Vistula and the Volga generally originate in the Baltic languages suggesting the Baltic or Baltic-like peoples were dominant over a much wider area prior to the Slavic expansion.
 
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Chandragupta Maurya had established his kingdom in the Indo-Gangetic Plain around 325 B.C.E. and he and his son Bindusara developed it into an empire covering most of the subcontinent. If the Mauryan Empire had not collapsed under the successors of Ashoka, but had survived and thrived for a few more centuries a powerful continuous polity was possible. The southern kingdoms of Cholas and Pandyas had carried on for some 1500 years with many ups and downs in their fortunes. The cultural continuity that existed from the ancient period would have been supplemented by the political continuity also.
 
You could always go the San Marino route (it being the oldest continuously existing country in the world) and have a small territory that becomes indepndent and does'nt expand much beyond its initial borders, if at all, that's located in an area that makes it safe from various rivalries and wars and eventually having the countries around it either respecting its independence or considering it not worth the time or effort to conquer.
 
A San Marino type state could be a continuous polity for a considerably long period, but it cannot be termed 'powerful' as well. Such mini-states depend on the mercy or neglect of their powerful neighbors for their very survival.
 
A San Marino type state could be a continuous polity for a considerably long period, but it cannot be termed 'powerful' as well. Such mini-states depend on the mercy or neglect of their powerful neighbors for their very survival.

Depends on the definition of powerful.

Vatican City is tiny, yet it could be considered powerful since it's the temporal seat a religious denomination that counts over 1 billion people and a good degree of cultural and political influence.
 
For my alternate history, I am looking for candidates for a polity that would last as one (mostly) continuous entity from the classical age (beginning around 100 BCE at the latest) to the digital age of the 21st century. In OTL, the only such polity is China. Even though China also had periods of division that sometimes lasted several centuries, there is a sense of continuity about the Chinese civilization and the Chinese state starting BCE and going all the way to the present, in a way that is not true for any other polity.

In an ATL, what polity could realistically achieve a similar level of continuity for a similarly long period of time? I am looking for a POD no later than around 100 BCE, but there is no limit about how early it can be - it could be in prehistoric times and thus lead to a completely new, fictional civilization. There can be periods of political division for up to a few centuries, just as in the history of China, but the polity has to be re-united eventually and it has to remain recognisably the same entity in terms of its "character" as a civilization. The biggest possible change in terms of character which I would be willing to accept would be something along the lines of a Roman Empire => Byzantine Empire transition, preferably less.

Here are my thoughts on the matter. I admit to being something of a Jaredian. While I don't believe that geography determines literally everything, geographic factors play an important part in my thinking.

1) India: Aside from China, I view this as the best candidate for the kind of continuous polity I have in mind. In OTL, India is divided among several different language groups and only became one unified polity in modern times, after the British Raj. However, if one civilization with one language somehow manages to dominate most of the Indo-Gangetic Plain early on and continues to do so, I think it is conceivable that India could go a route similar to China.

2) The Middle East: Because of its geography, the Middle East is much harder to unify than China or India. There are several distinct regions where polities could have their center of power - the Nile valley in Egypt, the Euphrates and Tigris in Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, the Iranian plateau... It is unlikely that any one power could hold all these for thousands of years at a time. I find the idea of a lasting Achaemenid or Alexandrian empire intriguing, but I think it would require extraordinary good luck to stay together. The Middle East will also probably suffer more from climate change and desertification through over-use of agricultural land than China or India do.

3) Europe: Also unlikely to be unified for long periods of time. The Romans managed to unite the Mediterranean and some lands beyond it for some five hundred years, but holding it all together for more than two-thousand years is a huge challenge in light of the geographical factors. I wonder, what is the biggest chunk of Europe that could realistically stay together throughout history...

So, what is your opinion? I have listed India as my major candidate, and the Middle East and (parts of) Europe as more unlikely ones who might have an outside chance. Do you agree with my line of thought, or disagree? If so, why? And do you see any other candidates than the ones I have mentioned? Outside Eurasia, the lack of domesticable plants and animals is a major obstacle to creating an advanced civilization. But if anyone wants to try and make a plausible case I have not thought of, I will be glad to listen.

Your traditional ground is in the historical triangle of Meggido-Kadesh-Kahermis where the destiny of civilizations and empires has been decided,linking it through the Greek world as a key-entry to Europe;Then you can be as flexible as your story,as you perceive it,permits.
 
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