Ethiopia conquers Mecca.

In 570, ethiopia attempted to conquer Mecca. It seemed invincible, but when the army elephant sat down, they were forced to retreat. What if the elephant didn't sit? Would there be an Islam?
 
Well, there is a Sura in the Koran about the Ethiopian defeat.
Islam may still arise, but its character would be changed...
 
Its an interesting idea, but conquests back then, especially by smaller nations, weren't particularly stable, and Ethiopia might have trouble holding onto it throughout the would-be Mohammed's life.

Then again, they may not. I agree that this would slightly, if not drastically, change the character of Islam
 
Any slight change here conquest or no would butterfly Islam so...Yeah. Typical no Islam stuff really...
 
I don't think it would automatically "butterfly" Islam unless something significant like Mohammed's father being killed.

Perhaps early Islam is more hostile to Ethiopia if the Ethiopians were "tyrants of Mecca" during Mohammed's childhood but eventually left?

BTW, I thought it was disease or something more mundane that prevented the conquest of Mecca, not the elephants deciding to "sit down."
 
I don't think it has to necessarily butterfly Islam. The PoD is the year of Mohammed's birth, so he very well may still be around. It would be acceptable to assume that nothing much would come of him, but I don't think it would be out of the question for Islam, or something very much like it, to arise. The socio-cultural environment is still there, just subtly changed, and the man himself is likely to be alive. So in the interests of having something to talk about, I'd say not butterflying Islam would yield greater speculation material in this case.

If a young Muhammad rejects Meccan paganism, he may instead of going to a mountain and meditating, he turns to Ethiopian Christianity.
 
I'm curious what an Ethiopean Orthodox influenced Muhammad would produce, be it Arabicized Christianity or Ethiopicized Islam. Huge butterflies all around.
 
I don't think it would automatically "butterfly" Islam unless something significant like Mohammed's father being killed.

Perhaps early Islam is more hostile to Ethiopia if the Ethiopians were "tyrants of Mecca" during Mohammed's childhood but eventually left?

BTW, I thought it was disease or something more mundane that prevented the conquest of Mecca, not the elephants deciding to "sit down."

Mohammed's father died before he was even born.
 
I think the Ethiopians invaded when Muhammad was in the womb

Ah.

Well, if one wants to get rid of Mohammed (and thus Islam), his mother could be killed somehow (not that difficult) during the Ethiopian takeover of the city.

However, Mohammed could be born in a city under Ethiopian occupation, which would affect how he grows up and his eventual message (should he embark on a religious career per OTL).
 
You don't really need to kill his mother, I think that the conquering of the City is a stressful event, so Mohammeds Mother could bring him too early to the world which could kill him, as the medicin wasn't as good as today.

As I don't really know much about this time - I think it's importend to know how the Ethiopians have handle their Occupation Zones. If the handle the People Good. This will probably lead to a more liberal Islam, if it evan will rise.

An other point could be that the Ethiopians were stronger than the OTL Power, so some Rebellions could be supress.
 
[VK];2485499 said:
You don't really need to kill his mother, I think that the conquering of the City is a stressful event, so Mohammeds Mother could bring him too early to the world which could kill him, as the medicin wasn't as good as today.
I think the chance of this one birth being upset out of many probable pregnancies in contemporary Meccah is rather low.
 
This is Before the Collapse of the Yemen Dam. which means that Axum would tie Mecca more firmly into Yemen.
With the Collapse of the Dam in the 580's, Mecca would take a much bigger hit than OTL.
However IOTL after the collapse of Yemen thousands of Yemeni, immigrated to Mecca, allowing a quick recovery.
ITTL, with Mecca being more integrated with Yemen, I expect even more Immigrants. As such Axum will try harder to hold on.

This means when Street Preacher Mohammad starts his demands for reforming the Church, The Authorities will be less forgiving.
I expect a visit from the executor, instead of OTL exile into the Desert and the mercy of the Bedouin.
 
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