Big AHC: Christian victory?

KaiserCorax

Banned
Hi all, my second post so go easy on me :D

Your challenge is to make all of the following happen:

  • Permanent Christian Levant (including the cities of Jerusalem, Tripoli, Damascus, Aleppo, Edessa and Antioch)
  • Christian Egypt (Christian majority + Christian ruled)
  • Christianised Cumans/Kipchaks
  • Byzantines maintain control of Anatolia
  • Christian Chagatai Khanate
  • No Mongol conquest of Russia
Bonus points if:

  • Mongols ally Christians
  • Christians conquer extra land
  • Make Baghdad somewhat like the Islamic equivalent of the Vatican (with the Caliph holding similar power for Sunni Muslims)
POD has to be 1000 AD or further, preferably the Crusades

Good luck!
 
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I feel like you'd almost have to butterfly away Muhammad/Islam for this to all take shape. I have no idea where to begin though; my expertise is American history, but I do like this idea and where it might leave us in 2013.
 

Deleted member 67076

Hmm, I'll take a crack at the first two.

- The Genoese/Normans could take Tunis and establish a North African kingdom

-Basil II leaves competent successors that are able to prevent the situation that led to the battle of Manzikert/any equivalent battle. Or, Romanos leaves the Turks alone, allowing them to attack Fatimid Egypt earlier. Or, during the Battle of Manzikert, The Byzantines win, Arp Aslan is killed and the Seljuks implode.
 
I suppose this is possible with a POD around 1000. To preserve Byzantine Anatolia, you'd have to either prevent the Battle of Manzikert from happening or turn it into a Byzantine victory. Both of these are possible, and fairly well-explored. That could eventually turn into a Byzantine reconquest of the Levant and Egypt. The Crusades as they occurred IOTL are unlikely to happen, because they were partially spurred by Byzantine calls for aid from Europe after Manzikert. With the Byzantines in a more secure position, they are unlikely to ask for aid from Western Europe.
 
Genghiz Khan adopts Nestorian Christianity in his youth, and after conquering the Khwarezmian empire he leads his army onwards into the Middle East to "liberate" Jeruselem.
 
Well no Saladin is quite useful in this circumstance

A 4th Crusade that goes where it is meant to

And state-sponsored later crusades that keep up the backing - later crusades did go to Egypt, Tunisia, Tripoli even I think, but infighting etc prevented reinforcement etc

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
The Crusades could theoretically achieve this list, but most of them were motivated by major setbacks so success would rob them of impetus.
 
Genghiz Khan adopts Nestorian Christianity in his youth, and after conquering the Khwarezmian empire he leads his army onwards into the Middle East to "liberate" Jeruselem.
I think you're on the right track with Genghis Khan converting to Nestorian Christianity, but I don't think he would fight a war to liberate Jerusalem. Nestorianism is probably the branch of Christianity least likely to see Muslim control of Jerusalem as an affront to their faith.

But that doesn't mean this wouldn't have spurred the Mongols to invest more of their forces into the Middle East earlier. Perhaps they set Europe as a lower priority out of some weak sense of solidarity. Upon invading the Middle East, Christians quickly align themselves with the Mongols as they did OTL.

The main problem I see with this POD is relying on the Mongols to impose their beliefs on the conquered peoples. I think it would require the Mongols putting Christian client rulers in power in each of these areas that then conduct a more enthusiastic campaign of persecutions.

I suppose your Vatican-esque Baghdad could form if the Mongols decide they need an Islamic figurehead to keep their Muslim subjects in line. They install a new caliph who, over time, builds a robust administrative apparatus. He'll never rule over an empire again, but the institution will long outlive the Mongol presence in the region.
 
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