Ethiopea, specifically at Aksum, perhaps in 1250-1350 with a stable Solomonid dynasty.
The POD? Move the House of Wisdom from Baghdad to Ethiopia once the threat of the Mongols is noted. Or just have it located there across from Mecca in the first place as a parallel development. Aksum was known as a safe place for Muslims even permitting the refuge of the early faithful during the First Hijra (spelling?). Gold could be used to purchase products abroad while building a maritime commercial network, creating sort of a super-Venice that would eventually expand into modern Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, eastern Sudan, Djibouti, Eritrea, Uganda, and South Sudan. Orthodox Christianity and the avoidance of Imperialism elsewhere might be an impetus for local cultures to join, education and development within a federation-type structure might also be the road to development. Chemistry might be of interest as synthetics could replace dyes (especially for purple or other exotic colors) while metallurgy would be of interest to maintain a maritime/martial edge. Wootz steel and crucible techniques could be brought over and Song dynasty technology might lead to a Bessemer process evolving over a century. Without other large land-based empires in the area until the Ottomans in the 1500s and a chance to develop gunpowder-based weaponry over two centuries, their future could become very interesting.
Eventually this nation might become an African version of the Ottoman Empire or Austria-Hungary, falling apart or divesting into a half-dozen countries perhaps even leaving one a dominant power. But the beginnings will be done and knowledge will spread, ironically the United States might find its beginnings thanks to aid from Ethiopia or whatever name it takes.
The POD? Move the House of Wisdom from Baghdad to Ethiopia once the threat of the Mongols is noted. Or just have it located there across from Mecca in the first place as a parallel development. Aksum was known as a safe place for Muslims even permitting the refuge of the early faithful during the First Hijra (spelling?). Gold could be used to purchase products abroad while building a maritime commercial network, creating sort of a super-Venice that would eventually expand into modern Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, eastern Sudan, Djibouti, Eritrea, Uganda, and South Sudan. Orthodox Christianity and the avoidance of Imperialism elsewhere might be an impetus for local cultures to join, education and development within a federation-type structure might also be the road to development. Chemistry might be of interest as synthetics could replace dyes (especially for purple or other exotic colors) while metallurgy would be of interest to maintain a maritime/martial edge. Wootz steel and crucible techniques could be brought over and Song dynasty technology might lead to a Bessemer process evolving over a century. Without other large land-based empires in the area until the Ottomans in the 1500s and a chance to develop gunpowder-based weaponry over two centuries, their future could become very interesting.
Eventually this nation might become an African version of the Ottoman Empire or Austria-Hungary, falling apart or divesting into a half-dozen countries perhaps even leaving one a dominant power. But the beginnings will be done and knowledge will spread, ironically the United States might find its beginnings thanks to aid from Ethiopia or whatever name it takes.