So I've been reading a bit about Southeast Asia, particularly Srivijaya and the Khmer and the other various Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms that adopted a broad range of Indian cultural ideas over time. I understand this was largely a symptom of mercantile efforts which led to settlement and thus proseltyzation, not dissimilar to the one which would eventually spread Sunni Islam across Indonesia - but nevertheless at least on an elite level, Hinduism and later Buddhism would both more or less predominate across a huge region, and elements of Hindi cultures and Sanskrit would become widespread amongst the elite. Even China, a country with it's own vibrant philosophical traditions adopted (a Sinicized) Buddhist practice to a large degree.
This transmission, I believe, also started very early in history, relatively speaking, around 200 B.C.E.
However, this flow of ideas did not touch the West to a great degree. Baktria was the furthest West Buddhism really got, with the exception of the teachings of Mani, which I suppose borrow some concepts.
So my question is - what would be required to ensure that Indian religion, elements of various Hindi cultures and the like formed the enduring and primary influences on East Africa, Somalia, etc. as well as the culture of the Arabian peninsula. Bonus points (I'm not sure how I award bonus points, but consider them awarded) if you manage to push Indian philosophy through other parts of the world as well.
I imagine that in this scenario we'd probably see a lot of butterfly effects on the other major world religions in the event of this scenario - if Christianity manages to emerge, it might well not look too much like the Christianity people in the west are broadly familiar with. Also, would East African culture affect India as well? That could be interesting.
This transmission, I believe, also started very early in history, relatively speaking, around 200 B.C.E.
However, this flow of ideas did not touch the West to a great degree. Baktria was the furthest West Buddhism really got, with the exception of the teachings of Mani, which I suppose borrow some concepts.
So my question is - what would be required to ensure that Indian religion, elements of various Hindi cultures and the like formed the enduring and primary influences on East Africa, Somalia, etc. as well as the culture of the Arabian peninsula. Bonus points (I'm not sure how I award bonus points, but consider them awarded) if you manage to push Indian philosophy through other parts of the world as well.
I imagine that in this scenario we'd probably see a lot of butterfly effects on the other major world religions in the event of this scenario - if Christianity manages to emerge, it might well not look too much like the Christianity people in the west are broadly familiar with. Also, would East African culture affect India as well? That could be interesting.