A Turn of the Wheel

First: This is my first TL and I'm just starting to get my feet into AH. Tell me what's wrong, but be kind!

POD: Siddharta Gotama (the Shakyamuni Buddha) does not experience the Four Sights; instead, he remains in the palace and becomes a king.

C. 563 BC- Siddharta Guatama is born in Lumbini to King Suddhodana, king of the Shakya janapada [1]. A seer tells Suddhodana that the boy will either become a great ruler or a great sadhu [2]. Wanting to continue the royal line, he keeps his son in the lavish confines of his palace. Siddharta will grow up with very little knowledge of the outside world. One week later, his mother, Queen Maha Maya, dies.
559- King Cambyses of Anshan dies, leaving the throne of Persia to his son, Cyrus.
547- Siddharta marries Yasodhara, the daughter of a neighbouring king. She is also half-Shakya.
534- Siddharta's son Rahula is born.
530- Cyrus, now the Great, dies in battle. He leaves the Persian Empire as its founder and greatest monarch. He is succeeded by his son, Cambyses II.
527- Suddhodana dies. He leaves his throne to Siddharta. The 36-year-old king unknowingly inherits a world beset by strife, with continuing wars in China, a powerful empire to the west, and the beginnings of a new republic.
520- By now, Siddharta has revealed himself as a incompetent and cruel ruler. He leads a life of luxury in his palace while his people starve outside its walls. In an ancient coup d'etat, his palace guards kill him, his son and Yasodhara. In his place they install a charismatic advisor, Jaidev.
518- Darius I, king of Persia, begins construction of a palatial capital, Parsa.
515- King Jaidev dies, leaving no heir. Shakya kingdom descends into anarchy.
510- Fall of the Roman Kingdom. The Roman citizens establish a Republic. Also, tyrant Hippias is overthrown in Athens, replaced by the world's first democracy (a process that will take at least five years).
506- The Battle of Boju. The Wu state under commander Sun Tzu defeats the Chu army, destroys their capital, and forces King Jing of Zhou to flee.




[1] Literally 'realm', signifying a petty kingdom.
[2] An Indian holy man.
 
Last edited:
No Buddhism eh? Well, then, we have a smaller set of religions to choose to dominated South Asia...

We welcome you Taoist Nepal and Muslim Bhutan, Children of Buddhist Butterflies!
 
Does India become another place for democratic-republican city-state experimentation, like OTL Greece was in this same time period? Without a strong unifying religion, I could see many of the important centers in India going off on their own path for some time.

If so, very interesting, very large butterflies.
 
Last edited:
The thing is that Buddhism IOTL was connected with the republican city states of India and was often opposed to the princely states, at least in the beginning.
 
I'll post an update today, but for those of you wondering about the future of India:

Ashoka>Alexander. It's actually a pretty strong analogy for Greece.
 
Last edited:
Top