Countries other than Macedon that could have "pulled an Alexander"?

Pellaeon

Banned
I think the OP means that a great man figure arises in a small country and then conquers a big empire. This new empire then promptly collapses when said great man dies.

Some out there ideas-Germanic chieftain conquers the entire Roman Empire and then dies.

Libyan King or chief invades pharaonic Egypt conquers it and then the country shatters.

Venice conquers Germany in the 19th century-somehow?
 
The Sassanids could have probably done a Alexander if someone less competent than Heraclius took charge of Rome in the Roman-Sassanian war in the early 7th Century. They would probably be able to reconquer most of the Acheamenid Empire's former lands by that point and maybe carve out some client states. Although like Alexander the conquests wouldn't last too long once the Arabs show up.
 
Venice didn't exist in the 19th century, iirc.
If you mean as an independent state, then yes, but they only missed it by 4 years.

Different Napoleonic wars, and the Republic of Venice could very well have made it over the finish line and into the 19th Century.

Although how on earth they conquer Germany when their entire fleet at that point amounted to 4 galleys is beyond me...
 
Portugal in the 16th century? I keep imagining how a younger, but equally fierce and brilliant man as Afonso de Albuquerque could have accomplished with more time and resources, aside from not being the clear leader of portuguese efforts in the east for the whole time.
 

Skallagrim

Banned
What if Mohammed's unification of Arabia did not survive his death?

The biggest conquests of that broad period were under Umar (the second Rashidun Caliph), if I recall correctly. Considering Umar's OTL murder, and alleged conspiracies surrounding his succession, a scenario where he dies instantly and has no time to appoint a council to choose his successor could be a useful POD to result in civil war. After that, native uprisings in newly-conquered but not yet converted regions also become possible.
 
Brittany - I'm not kidding.

During Brittany's resistance to Frankish rule they consistently defeated the Frankish invaders due to alleged superior cavalry tactics. Had Bretagne the numbers or the will they may have expanded further? Maybe if there had been greater migration from the Brythonic heartlands they could have carved out a sizeable wedge from the Frankish Territories. Obviously lack of numbers makes this unlikely but it seems they had the tactical success and desire to expand their borders
 
Brittany - I'm not kidding.

During Brittany's resistance to Frankish rule they consistently defeated the Frankish invaders due to alleged superior cavalry tactics. Had Bretagne the numbers or the will they may have expanded further? Maybe if there had been greater migration from the Brythonic heartlands they could have carved out a sizeable wedge from the Frankish Territories. Obviously lack of numbers makes this unlikely but it seems they had the tactical success and desire to expand their borders
Make Gaul Celtic Again?
 
During Brittany's resistance to Frankish rule they consistently defeated the Frankish invaders
It's a bit more complex : Brittany, as Saxony, was part of the "outer" circle of Frankish influence. We know, for instance, that Brittons mercenaries and auxiliaries were particularily used in Neustria (at the point Armorican Saxons were ordered to Brittanize themselves).
As for consistently defeating Frankish advance...I think you might exagerate a bit. It's true that Franks never really managed to go for Lower Brittany (altough they did intervened, and not only militarily, such as Judicaël refusing a royal title and acknowledging Dagobert's suzerainty), they did managed to secure the eastern part for themselves (the March of Brittany).
Generally speaking, when Francia was reasonably strong, Brittany was part of the Frankish hegemony. It of course was challenged in the VIIth before returning to status quo with the Carolingian rise.

It changed a bit in the late IXth century, mostly in the wake of the decline of Carolingia, with Brittons being unified (before hand, you basically have three polities), Carolingians fighting each other, and Norse raids really making a number on their authority in North-West wFrance. The Treaty of Compiègne basically gave Brettons 1/3 of modern Normandy and part of Anjou and Maine (basically pulling the same move that it was made later with Normans). Interestingly this expension made Brittany more tied and dependent from the Carolingian world it ever was, and is one of the causes (with Vikings raids and takeover) of the decline of independent Brittany.

due to alleged superior cavalry tactics.
Breton cavalry tactics were more or less basic : it wasn't a shock cavalry, but rather an harassing band made of mounted javeleeners that searched to break ranks, supporting a semi-guerilla tactics (Bretons infantrymen painting their shields blacks for night warfare, for instance). It arguably changed in the late IXth century, when Breton army frenchified (see above).

Had Bretagne the numbers or the will they may have expanded further?
Neither.
Number disprency is hard to overestimate, and only grew with time. (We're talking of, with a minimal guesstimation, 6 millions inhabitants in Merovingian Gaul, maybe up to 8 in the latter periods); One can argue that Britto-Romans presence in Armorica could have been significantly greater with a Wisigothic defeat at Déols, but I think it would have essentially reinforced the Britto-Gallo-Frankish continuum you can observe at this moment : at best, Bretons would have underwent an earlier Gallo-Romanisation.

As for the will : Bretons were part of the Frankish sphere, and while enjoying a great autonomy at worst, were dependent on the situation in Francia, with the kicker that more powerful and expensionist they could be, more tied up to Francia they were to secure their territories or even authority (it's why Brittany eventually re-entered a clear French suzerainty in the Xth)
 
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The biggest conquests of that broad period were under Umar (the second Rashidun Caliph), if I recall correctly. Considering Umar's OTL murder, and alleged conspiracies surrounding his succession, a scenario where he dies instantly and has no time to appoint a council to choose his successor could be a useful POD to result in civil war. After that, native uprisings in newly-conquered but not yet converted regions also become possible.
wouldn't meet the OP's requirement

conquering a larger empire in its near-entirety during one ruler's reign, and then collapsing into successor states that are nonetheless demographically strong enough to lead to a new cultural and administrative era influenced by the conqueror country?
Extending it to Umar completely fails the first part, and while the Arabs conquered a lot of land under him the Arabs hadn't yet had time to massively change the administration or culture of the conquered land, so rather than Diadochi style successor states, and Arab civil war after Umar would likely just result in many of the conquered areas reasserting their independence.

While they wouldn't be as grand as the successor empires of the Diadochi, post-Mohammed Arabia could support a few reasonably strong and Islamized kingdoms.
 
How about England? I mean obviously until India in OTL they kind of sucked at fielding armies (although less sucking at winning wars HYW notwithstanding), but maybe if we get rid of some religious strife, eliminate internal family bickering, get rid of a bit of madness, and had some better commanders they could pull an Alexander.

Or just make Napoleon successful. That was easy.

Did none of Napoleon's advisors see how stupid the Continental System was, or were they all too afraid to question the guy who was apparently right (and in hindsight usually actually right) at everything else?
 
Does anyone think that a Roman general much prior to Caesar, perhaps when Rome was just an Italian power, could do this? Say, someone just positively gifted takes the manipular legion and, with some serious divide and conquer, beats Carthage and the Hellenistic successors into submission?

Only for it all to fall right back apart afterward.
 
Does anyone think that a Roman general much prior to Caesar, perhaps when Rome was just an Italian power, could do this? Say, someone just positively gifted takes the manipular legion and, with some serious divide and conquer, beats Carthage and the Hellenistic successors into submission?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the OP thought Rome was too big by the first Punic War. If we go back another 100 years, I can see these conquests happening, but the I don't see why they would take their static phalanx-like formations and make them the more nimble manipular legion at this time as they didn't fight anyone who posed a serious threat yet.

Only for it all to fall right back apart afterward.

If we get to the conquest stage, the fall apart afterwards isn't too hard.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the OP thought Rome was too big by the first Punic War. If we go back another 100 years, I can see these conquests happening, but the I don't see why they would take their static phalanx-like formations and make them the more nimble manipular legion at this time as they didn't fight anyone who posed a serious threat yet

The manipular legions were established after the Samnite wars, so thats plenty of time to refine them, prior to the first Punic war.
 
Here's another possibility: Gustavus Adolphus lives at least 2 more decades, conquering the Lutheran or Protestant parts of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Baltic half of Poland-Lithuania.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the OP thought Rome was too big by the first Punic War.
Well, Rome at the start of the First Punic War wasn't necessarily too big as they were only slightly larger than Macedon had been in the 330s BC. However, in order for the First Punic War to be similar to Alexander's conquest of Persian Empire, the Romans would have to conquer the entire Carthaginian empire + colonies in one piece rather than over 3 different wars.
 
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