OOC: sorry, didn’t realize this was a DBWI
IC: oh, this is so embarrassing! I can’t believe I thought the
Manchus conquered China! A simple search on the interweb revealed my ignorance. I can’t believe I thought an obscure, inconsequential, and backwater tribe such as the Manchus could ever have conquered China! It could
never ever have happened! It makes much more sense that the better connected, more populated, and more advanced Oirats conquered China!
I would point out to those who think a Muslim/Mughal India would be weaker than a Hindu one simply due to the Muslims being outsiders that here is little to reason to think this is the case. The Ottomans could be argued to be more successful in the Rumelian territories than their Orthodox predecessors and neighbors ever were. Islamic Mysore repeatedly humiliated the Hindu Vikramadityas. Ayodhya, which sprang up from invading Tai peoples, was more hegemonic even than Angkor at its height. Even the Oirats did not fall really to ethnic or national tensions or even due to inferior institutions—theirs were largely inherited from the Ming—but due to China’s centuries-long trend of falling behind Europe that began even before the Ming (and was largely exacerbated by them) and due to rebellions brought on by famine, impoverishment, and national humiliation by Europeans. but With the right policies, rulers, and a touch of luck, a Mughal Empire could easily equal or even surpass the Vikramadityas and even become a world power, I would say.