How do you even pronounce that word, "redux," anyways? Well, anyways, I've written a nearly a decade of material, and my goal is to get to a certain point which may or may not happen within a decade of 1 AD.
As my former readers know, this TL came about when I thought about what it would be like if Persia and much of the East became Christian. After making a crappy n00b TL, I realized that it was impossible to get Nazareth inside of Parthian borders by 4 BC without butterflying Jesus away. So, I made a TL called An Other Messiah a while later, which featured a Persia-wank and two rival messiahs, one of them rather Jesus-like, fighting a war of words inside of Parthian borders.
But that TL died. So here it is again, with some editing, a subtitle, and more material for me to post. Expect to see lots and lots of Parthia!
31 BC
-Octavian’s fleet of small, light ships is damaged by a storm in the Ionian Sea. Mark Antony manages to control a malaria outbreak in his army.
-Battle of Actium (September 31) is a draw. Antony fends off Octavian’s fleet, led by Agrippa.
-A month later, Antony and Cleopatra are still fending off Octavian, but they are at a disadvantage. They only control parts of Greece and Egypt now, with most of the land they held in Palestine and Anatolia in a semi-anarchic state.
-Phraates, Shah of Parthia, sees his chance to retake the land he gained but then lost to Rome years earlier. He prepares to invade.
-With very few Roman forces able to secure the region, Gaul, Hispania, and Lusitania begin to rebel against Octavian’s authority.
30 BC – Part I
- Antony and Cleopatra are pinned against the coast of Macedonia, and facing defeat by Octavian’s large, repaired fleet, they decide to flee inland to Dacia, along with Cleopatra’s son Caesarion.
-As Roman troops near Egypt, Cleopatra and Antony’s two young sons, Alexander Helios and Ptolemy Philadelphus, head from their residences with the assistance of some officials to the port of Berenice. They flee to India.
- Phraates’ army is not as prepared as it could be, but he fears that if he doesn’t act soon, Octavian will take the land he wants. He sends an envoy to Octavian to write a treaty allowing him to take the eastern Mediterranean.
-Parthian forces swoop down into Judea, Arabia, and Anatolia, and easily secure the region which had been in anarchy for almost a year, but stop short at the Sinai Peninsula after Octavian threatens Parthia with military retaliation if they take Egypt.
-On March 2, Antony meets with Parthian diplomats and agrees to recognize its dominance over Judea, Arabia, and Anatolia. Octavian decides to concentrate on getting Gaul and Hispania back under control.
-In April of 30 BC, the Parthian empire has completely subdued the Fertile Crescent and much of Asia Minor and Anatolia. However, the Tocharians begin to threaten the western Parthian frontier.
-By May, Cleopatra and Antony reach the Dacian capital, with King Burebista, having survived a court plot to kill him, offering sanctuary.
I intend to post one or two years or parts of years every couple days or so. Or does anyone think just once or twice a week would be better? How often do you update your TLs?