AHC: earliest possible "European Union"

Skallagrim

Banned
Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to create a union of European states at the earliest possible moment you can feasibly manage.

1. It has to be an amalgation of states that truly (and not just hypothetically) respect each other as sovereign equals, even if some of them are obviously more powerful than others (just like France and Germany are more powerful than, say, the Netherlands or Luxembourg in the modern EU). It must not be one powerful state that has basically reduced other states to vassal status.

2. It has to cover a substantial part of Europe. Doesn't have to be all of Europe, but the German Confederation or a hypothetical United States of Austria, for instance, do not qualify. (In antiquity, a union of various states surrounding the Med would be acceptable, since including northen Europe back in those days would be tricky.)

3. It cannot just be a temporary alliance. It has to be an intended-to-be-permanent league.

Anyway, have at it!
 
A no-Phocas timeline idea of mine follows something like this. Maurice begins the first period of non-war with the Sassanids.

However, this doesn't stop the unification of the Arabs, and they invade Persia, and Rome, succeeding to a similar extent, in the Roman Empire, but not in Persia, where they take Mesopotamia, but not the Plateau.

With Egypt and Syria lost, the Empire has two exarchs in Africa and Italy. Africa sits pretty and defeats an invasion (which is weaker due to a stronger Empire they had to fight in the first place). Maurice (or his successor), asks the Exarch for help in retaking Egypt, which they agree to, and with practicality involved, it is also made an Exarchate. This is later followed by the Levant, where both Exarchs are like "Uh.... only if it is an Exarchate". It does eventually happen as an Exarchate (the Emperor not quite able to take on two Exarchs). This evolves into a complex Exarch/Emperor system, that is later used as the basis for expansion in Europe. As it expands, and later discovers the New World, the Western Exarchates become more prominent, challenging even the Imperial Centre in Constantinople, until a civil war breaks out, where the Exarchs and the Emperor come to a peace where the Exarchs are no longer required to pay tribute, and there is a 'Commonwealth' which in deference to the Emperor, gives the Emperor the deciding vote in case of a tie. Expansion of Exarchates beyond defined boundaries is forbidden, only for establishing new ones (leading to the Exarchate territories in the New World becoming Exarchates themselves).
 
a HRE that natively includes all of the Carolingian Empire, instead of only the German/Italian parts and expands in a similar fashion as HRE did OTL, including reeling in Denmark (and hence, probably, down the road rest of Scandinavia, and perhaps England ... Or England via an ITTL William that stays a vassal under the Emperor), and being an active participant of the Reconquistia (Leaving Kingdom of Asturias, only gaining what is nowadays Portugal and Northern Spain)
 
Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to create a union of European states at the earliest possible moment you can feasibly manage.

1. It has to be an amalgation of states that truly (and not just hypothetically) respect each other as sovereign equals, even if some of them are obviously more powerful than others (just like France and Germany are more powerful than, say, the Netherlands or Luxembourg in the modern EU). It must not be one powerful state that has basically reduced other states to vassal status.

2. It has to cover a substantial part of Europe. Doesn't have to be all of Europe, but the German Confederation or a hypothetical United States of Austria, for instance, do not qualify. (In antiquity, a union of various states surrounding the Med would be acceptable, since including northen Europe back in those days would be tricky.)

3. It cannot just be a temporary alliance. It has to be an intended-to-be-permanent league.

Anyway, have at it!
so a continuation of charlemagnes rule essentially, prevent the slicing up after his death, and continues to grow.

613px-Europe_around_800.gif
 
a HRE that natively includes all of the Carolingian Empire, instead of only the German/Italian parts and expands in a similar fashion as HRE did OTL, including reeling in Denmark (and hence, probably, down the road rest of Scandinavia, and perhaps England ... Or England via an ITTL William that stays a vassal under the Emperor), and being an active participant of the Reconquistia (Leaving Kingdom of Asturias, only gaining what is nowadays Portugal and Northern Spain)
alternatively Canute has a viable linage, and his scando-anglic union enters a dynastic union with the HRE.
 
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