I challenge you people... with a Moorish Victory over Spain

I am wanting a time line in which the Moors manage to not only attack and conquerer of all of Spain but take Italy and Southern France as well. Europe would also have to be much less of a force than in OTL. It will be a bonus to have the Basques be a entity or a vassal state of the Moors.
 

The Sandman

Banned
How about no Tours, with the Moors instead consolidating their gains in southern France (Aquitaine, if I recall correctly). Follow that with a focus on eliminating the Kingdom of Asturias, thus denying the Reconquista a base from which to begin. Once control over Iberia has been consolidated, the Moors can slowly expand their control along France's Mediterranean coastline, along with expeditions to seize the Balearics, Corsica, and Sardinia.

Italy would be very hard to do, however, given the religious significance that the fall of Rome would have to the Christians.
 
I am not wanting European civilization to be gone in this pod. I am simply wanting to be much weaker than OTL.

If you had the Moors take that much of western Europe there wouldn't be a lot left. Especially that early before the Vikings were brought into the western Christian sphere of influence. Unless you had say a more successful Byzantium [or successor state]. This might result from less Norman pressure if the west European Moors were either too busy consolidating their hold or clashing with their eastern kin for a combined attack. Western Europe would consist of the British Isles, any parts of France and Italy outside Moorish control and Germany. Possibly not a lot more and possibly less.

Steve
 
In 1480 the Ottomans took a port in southern Italy, in preparation for a campaign to take Italy. Mehmed II, the Sultan who conquered Constantinople, was at the head of an invading army when he suddenly died at the young age of 49. Lets say that he doesn't die for 10 years. He leads an invasion of Italy, bringing the West's Monarchies into Italian politics 15 years ahead of OTL. The Spanish were preparing to invade Granada, but with the Ottoman threat to Rome, I'm going to bet they want to protect the Holy See. The Spanish may end up being the only monarchy who has a long-term interest in fighting in Italy. The French and Hapsburgs are facing each other across the disputed borders of the old Duchy of Burgundy, and the Hapburgs are facing off against King Matthais Corvinus of Hungary over Austria.

Lets say that Mehmet II's invasion is very successful, and he takes Rome and is able to co-opt a northern Italian prince (I'm going to make it a Sforza, because this is my post), who they support ala Wallachia. With a solid hold over Naples, Rome, and Sicily he extends Ottoman sovereignty west, over the Barbary States, and Granada. Spanish politics was very divided, in fact the crowns of Castille and Aragon remained seperate for quite a while (and the crown of Portugal was never permanently brought in) so there is a great possibility that Spain breaks into its constituent parts.

IMHO the Moors remaining in Iberia is a massive moral victory. And they have Italy. Maybe the Ottomans extend their sponsorship of Christian princes into Southern France, and their preferred candidate wins one of the wars of succession in Iberia. So they rule by proxy over most of the territory.
 
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