Challenge. Peserve Greek Independance as City States until 1908.

It's possible, I suppose, but it will entail major repurcussions to the rest of the world: Macedonian conquests may be affected, removing the Hellenistic era. Rome's expansion and cultural course will be shifted. Islam might not develop. If it does, it will have to be stymied by the independent city states, even though it wasn't by the Byzantines. By this point, I think having the original city states survive has probably changed more than the WI called for.

I wonder if it might be possible however to have the final collapse of the Byzantines occur in such a way that Greek dukes declare themselves independent. Their newly independent duchies are recongized by the Ottomans (easier than conquering them). These states cause fewer butterflies, but still some pretty big ones: if little changes until the 1800s, the cause of the Greek Revolution, craddle for Romanticism and cause celebre of Europe won't occur. The Russian struggle against the Ottomans are also effect far earlier.

A further compromise might be for these duchies to maintain nominal suzerainty from the Ottomans (as the Balkans principalities did) until the 1820s when a revolution like movement frees them. Huge butterflies again, because then nationalism may not resonate with romanticism.
 
The only way I see this happening is that in EuroAsia, large Kingdoms
do not develop. Such a world would have "States" the size of
Portugal at maximum. I see no other way to bring such a timeline
Forward by what? 2,500 years, and keep the Greek City state independent.

It would be highly unlikely that China would not run wild in the world.
Since SOME consolidation there would have "STATES" of great size
compared to Europe even 1500 years ago. Maybe incesant rivalry
between North/Southern/Inland China, Keeps them perenially occupied.
 

ninebucks

Banned
Greece/Anatolia is just too good a location to build an Empire, especially if trans-Eurasian trade remains as profitable as it did in OTL.

It could be possible in a large-scale TL I have on the drawing board, set in a world where the Ancient Egyptians dig an artificial strait across Suez, and thus permenantly make trans-Eurasian trade a maritime affair.
 
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