Chances for Byzantium and Sassanid Persia to be merged

In a preferably no-Islam alternative scenario, which could have been the chances of merging Byzantium and Sassanid Persia in a unique political entity, by invasions, war or progressive assimilation of the other's territory?

Could have existed a multi-cultural Empire with (true) freedom of cult able to encompass all the Middle-East at the VI-VII centuries?
 

GdwnsnHo

Banned
Short of a common enemy (i.e. Mongols/Huns/Caliphate) I can't see this happening without an outright conquest of one by the other - and I'd put my money on the Romans.

A PoD I think COULD work (Not will, it'll probably require some more research) would be an Emperor going Julius Caesar on Arabia, and trying to earn money from taxing the area, and Indian ocean trade. That should (hopefully) eliminate a Caliphate if they don't burn everything to the ground (and if a certain prophet stays/dies in Aksum).

If they can win over the Bedouin tribes as allies to raid Mesopotamia to weaken the Persians, it would open them up for invasion, and if they have a seafaring presence, they may be able to harass any persian merchant traffic.

By the end of it however, you have an even larger - and more precarious empire at the end. You may even need to move the capital from Constantinople to Damascus (or better location) - or have an incredibly powerful collection of governors.

It would mean that this new Alexander-Style Empire could have elephants - and seeing Elephant-Cataphrats would be epic
 

yourworstnightmare

Banned
Donor
Short of a common enemy (i.e. Mongols/Huns/Caliphate) I can't see this happening without an outright conquest of one by the other - and I'd put my money on the Romans.

A PoD I think COULD work (Not will, it'll probably require some more research) would be an Emperor going Julius Caesar on Arabia, and trying to earn money from taxing the area, and Indian ocean trade. That should (hopefully) eliminate a Caliphate if they don't burn everything to the ground (and if a certain prophet stays/dies in Aksum).

If they can win over the Bedouin tribes as allies to raid Mesopotamia to weaken the Persians, it would open them up for invasion, and if they have a seafaring presence, they may be able to harass any persian merchant traffic.

By the end of it however, you have an even larger - and more precarious empire at the end. You may even need to move the capital from Constantinople to Damascus (or better location) - or have an incredibly powerful collection of governors.

It would mean that this new Alexander-Style Empire could have elephants - and seeing Elephant-Cataphrats would be epic

Such an empire would fall apart quickly though.
 
IMO any Romano-Persian Empire would fall apart as fast as Alexander's empire.

From Constantinople or Ctesiphon it's just barely possible to control Mesopotamia respectively Syria, but the eastern mountains of Persia or Greece are out of range of the other (see also the Seljuks, who controlled Anatolia and Persia and rather soon started disintegrating). The two states could probably destroy eachother by a strong and lucky military campaign (they came pretty close historically) but actually ruling eachother's heartland is tough (Anatolia and western Persia respectively, at this time) and ruling all their various possessions (Sicily to Bulgaria to Egypt to Baluchistan) would require a miracle to hold for more than a decade or two.
 
Such an empire would fall apart quickly though.

IMO any Romano-Persian Empire would fall apart as fast as Alexander's empire.

From Constantinople or Ctesiphon it's just barely possible to control Mesopotamia respectively Syria, but the eastern mountains of Persia or Greece are out of range of the other (see also the Seljuks, who controlled Anatolia and Persia and rather soon started disintegrating). The two states could probably destroy eachother by a strong and lucky military campaign (they came pretty close historically) but actually ruling eachother's heartland is tough (Anatolia and western Persia respectively, at this time) and ruling all their various possessions (Sicily to Bulgaria to Egypt to Baluchistan) would require a miracle to hold for more than a decade or two.

I agree on this. However, I was thinking about the possibility of the appearance of a new religion that could act as a glue for a certain period of time (just like happened with Islam during the early Caliphate).
Maybe a new simplified form of Christianism could have been acceptable for many Persians and took advantage on the divisions in Eastern Christianism for succeeding at the end.
 
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