If Arabia was fully conquered or completely united before Muhammad, would islam still form and become the green blob*?
*the caliphate
*the caliphate
Probably not. Depends when, who and how long conquest would last.
No. Spread of Islam depended too much on tribal Arabic society, its divisions between several alliegances, its role as a new terrestrial road due to Romano-Persians wars, and a geopolitic situation where Persia wasn't able to get eastern and southern Arabia back under its domination.
You could have some more or less close equivalent to Islam, but with Muhammad's position probably butterflied and the whole situation not allowing political takeover, it wouldn't be Islam and most probably wouldn't come to expand ITTL.
So pretty much in TTL it would just a unpopular cult/ heresy.
So everything about islam forming or becoming a power was possible only because of the tribal system. Even if it did manage to form it would most likely be disorganized and would eventually die out due to it not having enough followers to make it spread or to even keep it stable.If it even appears at all, IMO, as enough large or organised enough belief. Frankly, it could likely not appears at all.
OK how about parthia (they had part of Arabia at one time so if they survived they could have went after the rest. So let's say full conquest around 350 AD, and I do not know how it would last (Oh and the parthians were zoroastrian) but let's say Arabia is still in control of parthia as ether fully integrated or as a satrapy (probably the latter) at least when Muhammad is alive. So would islam exist and if it would would religion be as wide spread as it is?
Edit:nvm just found answer.
So everything about islam forming or becoming a power was possible only because of the tribal system. Even if it did manage to form it would most likely be disorganized and would eventually die out due to it not having enough followers to make it spread or to even keep it stable.
It's as if millions of butterflies suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.
It's as if millions of butterflies suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.
Now I understand the situation of the Arabic tribes. I really need to nail in that butterflies will happen all the time. People fall off their horses, survive a plague, says something to cause the rise of Assyria etc.snip
You're there since mere months and already this helpful? How promising.
Well that was a mistake by me. Mohammed's great great great whatever probably would have been killed.I still have to get my head around this whole butterfly thing.