Christ, King of the Orient

Christ, King of the Orient: A TL (My First)

Now, if I understand the forums rules correctly, I post this here, until it is more developed and filled out. Right? This is a TL I have wanted to make for a long time: A Christian East. I really hope it hasn't been done before. Look, I'm kind of a n00b here, so I will generously accept any constructive criticism and comments. Bascially, the POD is that Judea at the time of Christ is ruled by Persia, and Christianity spreads in the opposite direction. But of course, the real POD has to be earlier for a Persian Palestine to occur. I'll probably have to redo this TL many times and modify and tweak it a ton to get it right, but I think eventually it'll work. I even thought of a good title. I mean, I hope it's a good title.
I hope it doesn't suck, here goes:


September 1, 31 BC – Octavian’s fleet of small, light Liburnian vessels is damaged by a storm in the Ionian Sea. Only one ship is severely damaged, and no lives are lost, but the damage had been done- it was just enough to hinder Octavian’s forces, led by Agrippa. Meanwhile, in the gulf of Actium, Mark Antony manages to control a malaria outbreak by quarantining the affected soldiers, resulting in very little loss of life.

September 2, 31 BC – The battle of Actium takes place, and results in a draw. With Octavian’s fleet slightly damaged and Mark Antony having more people to man his ships, Antony is able to fend off Agrippa, but not without heavy losses. Antony now has a chance of winning the Final War of the Roman Republic, however slim it may be…

January 16, 30 BC – It has been several months since the battle of Actium, and Antony and Cleopatra continue to try to fend off Octavian. Octavian is winning, but Antony obstinately defends his territory, at least in the west. But Antony’s grip over his Eastern, Mesopotamian lands near the Euphrates is weakening, and Shah Phraates hungers for the lands he gained, and then disastrously lost, several years before.

January 27, 30 BC – Mark Antony and Cleopatra’s navy are pinned against the coast of Morea by Octavian’s expanded fleet, and most of Antony’s empire has descended into anarchy, for Octavian’s land forces have only gotten as far as Cyrene in the south and Thrace in the north. The Shah of Parthia prepares for an invasion of Judea, Egypt, and Armenia.

February 19, 30 BC – Parthia’s army is not as prepared as it could be, but the Shah is getting impatient, and fears Octavian will take the land he has his eye on if he doesn’t invade soon. Phraates sends an envoy to Octavian in order to devise a treaty allowing Parthia to take the East.

February 20, 30 BC – Phraates’ army swoops down across the fields of Syria, finding almost no resistance. A portion of the army, mainly cavalry takes a southern route directly to Judea and Egypt.

February 25, 30 BC – Controlling all of the Fertile Crescent with the exception of coastal Palestine, the Army of Parthia begins to cross the Sinai peninsula.

March 2, 30 BC – Phraates’ envoy meets with some of Octavian’s high-ranking generals. Mark Antony and Cleopatra have been defeated, and the couple and a few hundred supporters have fled to Dacia, with King Burebista, having survived a court plot to kill him, promising sanctuary. Parthia and Rome sign a treaty allowing Parthia to take Armenia, Syria, Judea, and Egypt, as long as Roman trade is not hindered. Octavian, taking the name Augustus Caesar, focuses on subduing the western regions of the empire, not wanting to risk war with the seemingly reinvigorated Parthians. Augustus plans on invading Brittania after securing Gaul, Hispania, and Germania and putting down a series of rebellions that occurred in the region during the civil war.

April 11, 30 BC – Parthia now has all of the Fertile Crescent in its grip, along with all of Egypt down to the Third Cataract. On the other side of the Parthian empire, the Tocharians threaten Parthia’s borders, because of less Parthian troops to guard its frontiers.


And that's what I have for now. I'll update it soon, I hope. :)
 
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Interesting. I read a similar TL involving the Persians and Nabateans invaded Jerusalem and making Barabbas King. He has Jesus crucified ("the last man crucified in Jerusalem") for rejecting the secular kingship.

Things got interesting. The Western Empire stayed pagan, Persia went Christian, and the big heresy involved the deity of Satan (some assimilated bit of Zoroastrianism, I would imagine).

How willing would Octavian be to do this kind of deal with the Parthians? He was a clever, amoral fellow, but he also had his Roman pride.

The fact that you know all these obscure names indicates you've done your research. I like this TL. Keep going.
 
Interesting. I read a similar TL involving the Persians and Nabateans invaded Jerusalem and making Barabbas King. He has Jesus crucified ("the last man crucified in Jerusalem") for rejecting the secular kingship.

Things got interesting. The Western Empire stayed pagan, Persia went Christian, and the big heresy involved the deity of Satan (some assimilated bit of Zoroastrianism, I would imagine).

How willing would Octavian be to do this kind of deal with the Parthians? He was a clever, amoral fellow, but he also had his Roman pride.

The fact that you know all these obscure names indicates you've done your research. I like this TL. Keep going.

Hmmm...you're right about Octavian. Although, the civil war did keep going for a while in this... so the Germanic Tribes and the Picts could have been stirring up some trouble that went unsolved for a bit...I'll edit my post some.
 
Hmmm...you're right about Octavian. Although, the civil war did keep going for a while in this... so the Germanic Tribes and the Picts could have been stirring up some trouble that went unsolved for a bit...I'll edit my post some.

Took a look at your edited TL.

I really don't think Octavian would be willing to give up Egypt--it was the Emperor's personal property and the source of all the grain he used to buy the quietness of the Roman masses.

It's true you mentioned "so long as Roman trade is not hindered" but if Octavian were wise, he'd want to keep a tight grip on something as important as Egypt.

I could imagine him selling out Armenia and some other places though.
 
Very interesting concept...but I believe the birth of a jewish boy named Yeshua (or Joshua--take your pick)..would probably be butterflied away with more than 30 years of changed history...Also Paul of Tarsus would probably be butterflied away as well..and therefore the inventor of Christianity would no longer be out there proseltyzing
 
Took a look at your edited TL.

I really don't think Octavian would be willing to give up Egypt--it was the Emperor's personal property and the source of all the grain he used to buy the quietness of the Roman masses.

It's true you mentioned "so long as Roman trade is not hindered" but if Octavian were wise, he'd want to keep a tight grip on something as important as Egypt.

I could imagine him selling out Armenia and some other places though.

Very interesting concept...but I believe the birth of a jewish boy named Yeshua (or Joshua--take your pick)..would probably be butterflied away with more than 30 years of changed history...Also Paul of Tarsus would probably be butterflied away as well..and therefore the inventor of Christianity would no longer be out there proseltyzing

Thank you both for the comments... Now, I think that what MerryPrankster said is true, Augustus needed Egypt for its grain (Why didn't I think of that?), but I'll probably have him try to retake Egypt later, after he's stabilized the West.

And I know Paul won't be there, but he didn't invent Christianity, just greatly influenced its formation. And I think it's believable enough to have Jesus be born. Yes, the POD was thirty years earlier, but I don't think it would have affected Palestine too much. Yes, the Parthians annexed it, but they'll pursue religious tolerance in the region. And somebody else, possibly a former Zoroastrian, can do what Paul did for Christianity in OTL. It'll be a different Christianity, yes, but its beliefs will be similar enough.
 
You have to remeber that the first centuries AD were also a period in the roman state where oriental religions were popular. So I think that Cristianity will likely spread in the roman empire also.
 
Just to be more of a devil's advocate...religious toleration might make it more difficult for all the various messiahs to develop...think on that for a while..unfortunately the wife is bothering me to do RL stuff :)
 
The Christianity would spread more in Roman Empire and there would much better treatment for the Christians in Roman Empire IF Roman emperors tolerate Christianity earlier than in OTL.
 
The Christianity would spread more in Roman Empire and there would much better treatment for the Christians in Roman Empire IF Roman emperors tolerate Christianity earlier than in OTL.

On the other hand, if Christianity is spreading and adopted in Persia then it is likely to see markedly more resistance in the Roman empire as a religion associated with their enemy.

I agree with MP that I can't see Octavian giving up Egypt without a fight. Both for its wealth and food production and because it was the centre of Cleopatra's power. As such he and the Romans would want it firmly under their thumb to prevent any Ptolemaic return. Furthermore I couldn't see the Parthians holding it against a determined Roman attack even if they got there 1st. The Romans can move by sea, with much shorter supply lines and in the settled delta they would have the advantage over the Parthian cavalry. However could possibly see him deciding to accept Parthian control of Syria and Palestine.

Steve
 
Y'all mistook my concept of toleration...I am not talking POST-Yeshua toleration. I am talking about PRE-Yeshua toleration. Let's assume that the Parthians don't really care all that much about Palestine..and if they incorporate it directly into their empire as opposed to the Roman style client kingdoms....then there is no Herod the Great....no one to build Caesaria on the coast OR Tiberias or Sepphoris (as cities) on the Sea of Gallilee. Without the Herodian and Roman pressure on the native economies..there may not have been the numerous messianic movements. Without a Roman co-opted Jewish Priestly caste..there may not have been a need for the numerous messianic cults or movements that developed between say 25BC and 30AD...

Without the Romans....there probably wouldn't have been a Yeshua Messianic movement...

But...that's just my humble take on the situation....
 
I'll take all these comments into consideration. And I think that even if Parthia is religiously tolerant and doesn't create a puppet state in Palestine, the Jews in the region would still not like being ruled by another power.

And I can't post another part of the Tl yet, I just got a new computer and the internet isn't working well...I don't have much access to research materials on the internet. For now, i'm going to have to concentrate on getting a wireless connection for my computer.

I'll post another segment this week...
 
I admit I really am suspending belief a little bit to get Jesus born in 4 BC. But anyways:
April 27, 30 BC – Emperor Augustus sends his troops into Gaul and Hispania to crush the rebel Kingdoms there. At first, there is little resistance in Gaul, but as Augustus’ twenty-thousand person army nears the capital city of Lugdunum, they find the roads damaged, apparantly on purpose. About 1000 soldiers, led by one of the leading generals of Gaul, wait on the eastern plain of the city. When the general sees the size of the Roman army, he retreats back into the city. The Roman army surrounds Lugdunum and blocks every entrance, making sure nobody can get in or out. After two days, the General in command of the Roman forces says that anyone who wishes to leave the City will have their lives spared. At first, the Gallian general intimidates the city’s citizens to keep them from leaving, but in about three days, most have escaped. On the fifth day of the siege, the Roman forces enter the city, killing anyone who remains, and arrest the Gallian general. Now that the Capital of Gaul has been taken, the kingdom is in disarray, even though the King of Gaul is still alive and well in the North. Within a few weeks, most of northern Gaul had been retaken. Augustus follows the same strategy in Hispania, besieging key cities and making the Kingdom fall apart.
May 21, 30 BC – Gaul and Hispania are retaken, and Augustus sets himself on getting Cleopatra and Antony back from Dacia. Augustus sends a messenger saying that King Burebista is sheltering two criminals from justice, while Burebista insists that they are his guests and he has the right to them. No agreement is reached. Burebista also begins to fear that Dacia will fall apart after his death, which, as Burebista is in his forties by now, is probably not far away.

May 29, 30 BC – Rome continues to demand Cleopatra and Antony back, and Parthia fears Rome may try to retake Egypt. So, Burebista and Phraates make a secret alliance against Rome. They decide not to declare war, but to wait until Rome declares war on one of the two nations. Meanwhile, Roman emissaries are pressuring the King of Bosporus, Asander, to align himself and his Kingdom, which became independent from Rome a year earlier, against Dacia and Parthia.

June 1, 30 BC – Burebista decided that Cleopatra and Antony will be his heirs, as his wife has given birth to only daughters, and he fears that if he tries to have his oldest daughter or his nephew secede him, a war of secession will start. Burebista does not inform anyone of this decision except for Antony and Cleopatra. However, rumours start circulating in the royal court about Burebista making the two his heirs, and some nobles start plotting to kill Burebista again.
 
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