AHC: Alexander's Empire survives challenge

[All Rounder]

The goal is to have Alexander's Empire survive with at least a quarter of the overall territory till 1492 at the most.

Bonus if you can have it colonize the New World OR wipe out the Roman Empire.

 

[jahenders]

I think most likely the pieces will fall by 100 AD -- they could delay things a bit, but not too much.

That being said, I'll try to propose an option for meeting the POD challenge.

If after Alexander's death, Antipater had avoided going to war in Asia to focus on keeping the Greek states in line, he might have stabilized things there. Then, if he (or his successors) can avoid civil strife and conflict, they'll be strong around 300-250 BC. You could potential have Macedonia siding with Carthage in the First Punic War. It's possible that they might strike toward Rome when a lot of Roman strength is tied up in Sicily. They take Rome, destroy it, and seize former Roman lands along the Adriatic. They also prop up the remnants of the Estruscans. Rome isn't destroyed but is weakened, can't maintain a strong fleet, and loses Sicily to Carthage as the war ends. Rome is relatively weaker over all. When the Gauls invade Rome in 225 BC, the remnants of Rome are wiped out.

 

[SlyDessertFox]

Butterfly away the collapse of Alexander's empire and you butterfly away Pyrrhus and the havoc he created in Magna Graecia. Now, you might have someone else come-the Tarentines and, eventually (due to their trouble with the Mamertines) the Syracusans, will still petition for assistance-but things still change massively. Assuming for whatever reason everyone is tied up in the east and no assistance can come to the Tarentines, they won't survive long. The Syracusans will struggle mightily with the Mamertines. The Carthaginians, not having to deal with Pyrrhus in the intervening years, might very well take Messana themselves early. Who knows, there's even a chance they could take Syracuse.

In any case, assuming Carthage has Messana, that removes any reason for Rome to be brought into the affairs in Sicily. If Syracuse is ever desperate enough, they will always petition a Greek power in the east for help, never the Romans. So the Romans don't necessarily have any casus belli to invade Sicily. They might remain, at least for a while longer, a purely land power, and focus on the Po Valley much earlier and with more devoted attention.