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So in Turtledove's Agent of Byzantium, we are presented with a East Roman Empire which in the 14th century remains the dominant power in Europe with all but Gaul and Britain fully recovered. Much of this was done under a much happier and less pressured Constans II, what with there being no Islam and what not. Muhammad was a Christian saint. A Persian (Sasanian? If their more devout Zoroastrianism is an indication of anything) still survives in the east with the border still between Nisibis and Dara. I suspect the Lazica and half of Armenia is still in Roman hands, or at least in the hands of the (still existing) various puppet states in the Caucasus. The Jurchens are north of the Danube in the Balkans, which leads me to suspect that the various nomadic tribes are getting a little thin out there. Though the Turks in the North Caucasus and OTL Kazakhstan are still hanging around. There are hints of Germany being much as it was OTL, divided by a multitude of kings, dukes and nobles. Lithuania seems to still be pagan and Russia is not mentioned. France is controlled by the Franco-Saxons, with Britain being Angleland, so a rather Germanic west seems likely. That's about all we get from Turtledove. What do you guys think the world looks like in more detail?

I suspect that Arabia is rather Christianized by now, divided between Roman supported miaphysite Christians and Persian supported Nestorians, with a few Chalcedonians thrown in with some Jews too. Not too much Zoroastrianism, but then again, an extra 600 years of Persia might have changed the conversion practices of the religion.

North Africa with another 600 years of Christian rule would look incredibly different. What does Egypt look like? The Coptic Christians in the book seem to be rather strong and one wonders if the Alexandria/Egypt divide is as strong as ever (though that might be more of a Copt/Greek thing instead of a religious one). Interesting, Donatism might still be chugging along in and around Carthage, (remember there are hints that the religion might have survived in the the MID 700S). Also the non-Roman North African world would be quite different. More Berber, no Arabs, and Christianity spreading in the interior and along the coasts. One wonders if the Romans are moving down the west coast by this time.

As for the rest of the world? Who knows. Christianity was becoming increasingly popular in Persia, especially miaphysite. Khruso II was a real patron of the sect, increasingly moving favour from the Nestorians to them. Interestingly, Nestorians in India, Central Asia and China might be doing significantly better without the chaos and division brought upon by the Arab Conquests.

Tech seems to be slightly ahead.

Whew...so any thoughts? What lies ahead? Anything to add?
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