AHC: Byzantine-Colonial Power Personal Union

Historically, as we all know, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire were both ruled by the same monarch, Charles V, resulting, on paper, in one of the largest and most far-flung empires ever known.

Your challenge is to create a similar situation, replacing the HRE with the ARE (Actual Roman Empire); aka, the Byzantines.

Here are your parameters:

- The Byzantine portion of the realm must be centered around Constantinople, and must be fairly considered legitimate by its people, and should, at minimum, control the entirety of the Aegean coastline. A surviving Latin Empire, no matter how popular it may or may not be with the people, only counts if there are no comparably powerful 'proper' Byzantine Remnants (an isolated Trebizond is okay, a powerful Nicaea is not). That said, a strong preference goes for the actual Byzantines.
- The Colonial portion of the realm can be any plausible colonial power (Iberian, French, British, Scandinavian, even Dutch), but a similar preference will go towards those countries that would have some reasonable proximity to the Mediterranean. It should also be the largest colonial empire in the New World.
- You have free reign with matters regarding religion, within reason.
- The discovery of America can happen early, but no earlier than the 15th century (isolated events like Erikson aside).
- The fewer butterflies, the better.
- POD no earlier than... 1203 sounds good.

Well, that should be it. Whats the best scenario you can come up with, and where do you see it going?
 
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Deleted member 67076

No Fourth Crusade, Alexios V doesn't get coup'd and starts a period of recovery followed by increasing ties with the House of Barcelona. Marriage contract and everything over the decades. Eventually when the Mongols hit Anatolia, the ERE can recover most of its heartland as the Seljuqs implode, re-establishing its prestige amongst Christendom and giving it the base needed to be a major power. Further expansion happens in Italy giving the empire a vested interest in Med affairs.

Following this, the House of Barcelona is replaced by whatever house rules Constantinople (or vice versa) at the time forming a de facto personal union centered around the Mediterranean. With some extra maneuvering Aragon manages to take control of either Castile or enough of Iberia's green coast to establish a viable kingdom that has plenty of Atlantic ports. After this, colonization begins and Rome gets a colony in the new world.

Not perfect, pretty barebones and has a bit of assumptions (like the whole Schism thing being healed) but there you have it.
 
Maybe have a Byzantine Russian personal union. It would fit with the Romans Eurasian focus and help secure the Black Sea. They are also both Orthodox. Then Russia-Rome colonises eastwards into Asia faster and gets Alaska and some of the Pacific coast of the Americas. The Union of the second and third Rome.
 
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