AHC: Volga Bulgarian superpower

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to have Volga Bulgaria become a superpower of some kind. Whether it ends up imitating OTL Russia, Mongolia or takes a unique path is up to you. The longer it lasts the more points you get.
 
Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to have Volga Bulgaria become a superpower of some kind. Whether it ends up imitating OTL Russia, Mongolia or takes a unique path is up to you. The longer it lasts the more points you get.
Ok, the PoD is that Volga Bulgaria is not steamrolled by the Mongols in this ATL. The Volga Bulgarians kneel before the Mongols and give them all the support needed in their further Western conquest. So they are not devastated and their warriors fight alongside the Mongols in the West (acquiring invaluable military experience).
Then the Great Khaan dies and the Mongols withdraw to Mongolia proper, but unlike OTL instead of peaceful elections of the new Great Universal Khaan there is a great Civil war between the Mongols. Batu Khan is killed, the Mongols loose all the lands in the West, squabbling among themselves far away in the depths of Asia.

So in this power vacuum Volga Bulgaria starts it's expansion.
It might concentrate it's efforts mostly on the steppe - the 'Golden Horde' Scenario.
Or it might focus on conquering Rus, direct conquest, not just vassalage - 'Ottoman' scenario.

I am not sure that Volga Bulgaria becomes a superpower, but it might get strong enough...
 
I could use a fair bit of handwavium to wank Volga Bulgaria prior to adopting Islam in 922. Barely any historical records, and there are few other groups in the region to challenge them. Khazaria subjugated them in OTL for a while but in TTL have it be the other way around. A Tengri state stretching from Scandinavia to the Black Sea. :p

Keep it around a while, not quite sure how but it certainly isn't impossible. Have them spread west in lieu of the Magyars, and we got a potential power here.
 
How about if, before the Mongols flatten them (or as a result of Mongol attacks), the Volga Bulgars head southwards and take the place of the Turks in conquering Anatolia and the Byzantine Empire, becoming a major Islamic power with more of a northern focus around the Black Sea?
 
I guess a no-Mongol world could have Volga Bulgaria follow the path of Russia and rule all of Siberia and possibly more (Central Asia), while keeping the Russian states disunited. It's definitely a great power-level state. It needs to go kick China around to get any good ocean access, since otherwise all it has is the isolated ports on the Arctic Ocea and northern Sea of Okhotsk compared to a better port like *Vladivostok. Alternatively, just give some 2100-level global warming and it'll definitely be a superpower.

IMO a Turkic Siberian superpower is easier with the Golden Horde than Volga Bulgaria.
 
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