AHC : Prester John (Ethiopia-MythoWank)

With a PoD no earlier than 1200 AD, have Ethiopia become a first rate power that controls from Constantinople in the North, to Zanzibar in the South, to the Fezzan in the West and the Subcontinental side of the Hindu Kush in the East.

Quite literally, have 'Prester John' take over the Middle East and then some.
 
I'm not saying it's not possible for a large gunpowder empire to hold that territory, the ottomans did something similar.

But the difficulty Ethiopia has, is the main centres of population in it's new empire will be at the other side of the country from the capital. Which poses difficulties that is hard to resolve, especially since the land transport links from Ethiopia to Egypt and Asia aren't great and there isn't that strong a sailing tradition in Ethiopia itself to allow amphibious attacks.

I'm not saying it's impossible, there's a long history of empires with a military advantage suddenly bursting out and capturing large areas. But you'd imagine that much like the arabs, mongols and turks who'd previously conquered those areas, the Ethiopians would have to move to the middle east and rule from there to hold it. They'd also pretty much have to convert to islam. Which is not unreasonable given the religious turmoil in ethiopia.

And you need both a crisis in the middle east and an Ethiopian Alexander or Genghis, which means you need a military tradition in ethiopia that is more advanced than it's neighbours, which didn't exist in otl..

Mongol victories at ain jalut as a pod maybe, combined with a worst black death? Something that will cause the equivalent of the bronze era collapse and really break up the old order in the middle east and allow an outsider to sweep in.
 
@Youngmarshall - Please, no. Don't convert! You can't very well be Prester John AND not be Christian!

The concerns are valid though (Except the Capital, I never placed it anywhere, that commentary confused me).

So we need preparation - perhaps the 1200s are largely focused on Africa, conquering territory from Ethiopia Proper, Nubia, Somali, down to Zimbabwe & Zanzibar - and as such having control over the ports - did the Somali or any of the other people on the East Africa coast have a strong naval tradition? This could be where Ethiopia develops its own navy from. Indian Ocean traders, perhaps through an alliance with the Indian Pandyan dynasty as they carve up the Chola Empire? An early leader who had a bit of a Roman fetish (i.e. encouraging urbanisation), combined with the Pandyan skill for water management could certainly lead to a boon for the African part of the Empire.

Followed by the second period - using that new Empire, now solidified after 100 or so years of wrestling control of the Indian Ocean trade networks, to apply pressure to Arab states - diverting trade to Ethiopian Ports, or even Persian Ports, depending on what undermines Alexandria and whoever controls Yemen the most. If there has been anyone rounding the Cape, then Zanzibar might become the major trade outpost for East Asian Trade, as Ethiopia sells directly to Europeans, and crashes the trading economies of the Middle East (which certainly would help weaken them).

Follow that up with cannons and gunpowder imported via trade with China, and you could have this Ethiopian Empire trash the economy of its targets, before bringing gunpowder armies backed by (simple) mass artillery north through Egypt - and this is an Empire that would certainly want to try and rebuild the Canal of the Pharaohs, now that they can increase their profits via that route.

That could be the basic outline for the first 100-200 years, which sets them up in Egypt, and as a major trade power.
 
@Youngmarshall - Please, no. Don't convert! You can't very well be Prester John AND not be Christian!

The concerns are valid though (Except the Capital, I never placed it anywhere, that commentary confused me).

My point about the capitals is that Ethiopia is not a good position to govern an empire of those areas.

In the same way the arabs set up their capitals in Syria and Iraq rather than back home, and the Mongols did in Azerbaijan, the Ethiopians would probably have to set up a capital in Egypt. It has better transport links to the rest of the empire and is more central and closer to the population centres.

It's what the fatimids and the kushites, two other African based empires with ambitions for conquering the levant did. Once they'd conquered Egypt, they moved the court there.

If the Ethiopians are going to remain Coptic than that probably means a capital in Alexandria, where the pope is. More prestige that way.

And yeah, the Somalis on the coast have a very strong naval tradition. You'd need to absorb and use them first.
 
My point about the capitals is that Ethiopia is not a good position to govern an empire of those areas.

In the same way the arabs set up their capitals in Syria and Iraq rather than back home, and the Mongols did in Azerbaijan, the Ethiopians would probably have to set up a capital in Egypt. It has better transport links to the rest of the empire and is more central and closer to the population centres.

It's what the fatimids and the kushites, two other African based empires with ambitions for conquering the levant did. Once they'd conquered Egypt, they moved the court there.

If the Ethiopians are going to remain Coptic than that probably means a capital in Alexandria, where the pope is. More prestige that way.

And yeah, the Somalis on the coast have a very strong naval tradition. You'd need to absorb and use them first.

This Ethiopia still would have substantial population centres outside the Levant (i.e. Ethiopia and Somalia) that would be isolated by an Egyptian capital, or at least an Alexandrian one - its about as far away from the Red Sea you can be and still be in the Nile Delta. I wonder if an Ethiopian Empire which was rebuilding the Canal of the Pharaohs would choose to base themselves in Cairo/Fustat, or found a new city closer to the Canal. (I do personally love the idea of building a planned city alongside the Canal, which would probably be near modern Zagazig).

I think that Alexandria is all well and good, but there may be a benefit from having the Patriarch and the Emperor separated, if only to prevent too much influence by the Patriarch in the Imperial Court.
 
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