Medieval and Renaissance Europe: Alternate Scenarios

God brings us together- Scenario 1- Part 1
  • Metaverse

    Banned
    So this is my starting point. It's around the 5th Century. The Roman Empire have split into two. Western Roman Empire in Rome and Eastern Roman Empire in Constantinople. Both designate themselves as "Romans" and both are officially Latin speaking with a population that speaks Latin, Greek, Aramaic, Berber, Coptic among minor others. There's no great Cathedral in the Eastern Empire yet. Both are religiously under the Pope of the Catholic Church in Rome.

    The Western Empire finally falls after repeated repeated invasions, mostly originating past the Northeast border. The Eastern Empire has been wounded through repeated sacks and raids but stands strong. A rich province of the Roman Empire called Pannonia was the first one to be conquered by the Huns and slowly, with crises mounting in the Empire, it falls to a Barbarian ruler called Odoacer of the Ostrogoths. The provinces in the Iberian Peninsula fall to the Visigoths. North Africa falls to the Vandals.

    Eastern Empire isn't done with troubles yet. To the East, there's an another superpower, a successor of the arch rival of the United Roman Empire, the Parthians. The successors are called Sassanids. They are Zoroastrian. Central Asia is seeing a massive linguistic and a cultural shift. Beyond the lands of Persia, lie the Buddhist and scattered Hindu cities in the scenic valleys of what's today Afghanistan, bordered by the large, massive and the scary Steppe to the North and the rich Punjab in the South. This region has changed lands many times. It's presently ruled by the Hindu and the Buddhist Shahis with the White Huns being the previous migrant who has changed the demography of this region. You see Shamans, Spiritual healers, Buddhist monks and occasionally, Christian missionaries, as you pass the cute and scenic cities in this region. The Philosophies that would be exported from this region would influence Europe in the coming years, in this scenario.

    Back to Europe. The Byzantine Empire is building from the rubble of what has happened throught the Century. Goths rule the Italy and Spain, Franks rule Gaul and parts of Germany. Beyond the Franks, it's mostly a rural and semi tribal settlements. In this scenario, the turning point is that Byzantine Empire now fearing the fate of the Western Empire coming to it, offers entry and land for the Non-Romans who would submit to a reasonable authority to the Empire and lives in harmony with the fellow Citizens. In return, they are given a generous grace period with autonomy and opportunity for making wealth. The Balkan Goths agree first and enter. Byzantine Empire now stretches upto Croatia. For now, the conflicts seem to have cooled. Next part would deal with the Empire turning West to Italy and how to win that over. Stay tuned.
     
    God brings us together- Scenario 1- Part 2
  • Metaverse

    Banned
    The Byzantine Empire is mostly stable in the Balkans and the Asia Minor with Goths having signed the deal with the Empire and reside in large parts of the Balkans and are slowly but steadily trickling into the Byzantine society. Sporadic minor conflicts take place sometimes, mostly provoked by a few greedy Gothic leaders but that is slowly coming to a halt with more and more Goths entering the Byzantine society. Meanwhile in the Middle East, it isn't so easy. There, the Church has fragmented into multiple sects, each unwilling to co-operate with the Capital of Constantinople. The provinces in the Balkans, Greece, Western Anatolia are multilingual, speaking Greek, Latin and East Germanic languages for the most part with a host of minority languages. Greek and Latin are the connecting languages and the official and religious languages. Wrecked by ethno-religious conflicts in the recent past, the Church heads in Nicaea and Constantinople, as instructed by the Ruling class, are open for a redefining reform. It is a complex matter and the emperors, educators, ministers, religious leaders across the churches, foreign representatives are in deep discussions on how to proceed. But this promise has resulted in a somewhat truce and a relative stability in the provinces of Egypt and Syria-Palestina. Surprisingly, Jews have been granted good amount of rights and protections.

    In this situation, the emperor in Constantinople takes a bold but a relatively shortsighted decision. Not to conquer just Rome or Italia, but the whole erstwhile Western Empire. Though the military strategy makers are uncomfortable with this kind of overconfidence, the decision is taken to proceed. The Byzantine and the Gothic Military are ready to head West from various parts of the Balkans through Sea and Land to Italia. Towns and Villages are subjugated in Italia and Rome finally is in the Roman Empire again. Though regarded as a historical and a cultural center, Constantinople still basks in the limelight. After Italia is conquered and a semi stable Government is established there, mostly administered to the Gothic Byzantines who are mostly part Byzantine and part Gothic in ancestry. Italia is somewhat held well by the Byzantines. The Byzantine and their allied Gothic military are quickly defeated by the Franks in a foiled attempt to Conquer back Gaul in a foolish decision as a handiwork of the Emperor in Constantinople. Most of North Africa is conquered back and the Berbers are subjugated and negotiated with, along with the Vandal ruling class, who have now been conquered easily.

    In the East, the Sassanid Empire, instead of looking west towards Syria and Anatolia, both strongly held by the Byzantines, takes a wise decision and looks East which is populated by Sogdians, Tocharians, White Huns, The Hindu and Buddhist Shahis and to the Northeast live various branches of the Turks along with the Saka, in a sparse population into the great big and scary Steppe. These are mostly Buddhist, Shaman and Hindu. That's no issue for the Zoroastrian Persians, who gets into deals with them, which is unaware to the Byzantines who are celebrating their stability and victory in Italia and North Africa. Will the Byzantines get the message just in time? Or would they need to put up a fight? The Byzantines are too strong to be taken down in this scenario. But they will face many changes and never be the same again. Mostly positive changes would result from this.

    Another enemy(for now) appears in the North and Northeast. The Slavs, Bulgars, Avars are those. Stay tuned for the next part.
     
    Trouble brewing for the Byzantines
  • Metaverse

    Banned
    As the Slavic, Avar and Bulgar confederations move into the more richer lands in the Balkans, they are confronted by the Byzantine-Gothic army in the borders and the wars end in a truce. The borders come a but south for now but the Byzantine-Gothic federation is set to take them back but reserve plans for later.

    As this happens, the Sassanid Zoroastrian Empire has turned towards the Shamanist and Buddhist Central Asian Iranian, Tocharian, Turko-Iranian and Turko-Tocharian peoples to create a large confederation to take on the Byzantine provinces in the Middle East. The Byzantium isn't yet aware of these. This will be a turning point for the Byzantine Empire that they aren't aware of, as they concentrate on a smaller threat in the North. Italia, Dalmitia, Illyria, Moesia, Greece, Anatolia, Northern Syria is under strong Byzantine hold while other provinces to the South are in unrest and those in the North(Dacia and Pannonia) are conquered temporarily. The Byzantine-Gothic Army is slowly subjugating the confederation settlers and moving the Borders back up but quite slow. The religious makeup is set to change with the new invasion. The changes in the Persian empire administration and makeup hasn't yet caught the eye of the Byzantines, as the Persians get stronger with the new allies whose religion doesn't matter to the tolerant Zoroastrians.

    A first confederation first enters the province of Palestina and is welcomed by the Native Syrian Christians and Jews who are fed up with the intolerant Byzantine rule. The holiest city, Jerusalem of the Byzantine Christians is now ruled by a force they consider Pagan. But the confederations don't decimate the Christian sites nor do they charge extra taxes and impose heavy restrictions like the Arab empires did in OTL. They give absolute freedoms to any religion to be practiced in the province as they themselves a are many religions(Shaman, Buddhist and Zoroastrian). The truce is established on the Northern Syrian borders from where the Orthodox populations start and the Sassanid confederations don't touch any Byzantine-Gothic core lands where they would face crushing defeats.

    Two years later, trouble brews in Egypt where the unsatisfied Coptic populations live, is soon invaded through Sinai and conquered. Alexandria seafront is retained by the Byzantines but other regions are conquered. Now, the Byzantines turn to Italia for a Breadbasket. This leads to more development of Italia and Dalmitia. The small kingdoms of North Africa are outright conquered by a Tocharian army of the Sassanids where they establish a few settlements away from the older cities. A new Sassanid Renaissance is unfolding in the former Southern Provinces and that will affect the Byzantines and Europe big time.

    Next part will cover the Visigothic Kingdom and the Renaissance spread to the Byzantines.
     
    Introduction
  • Metaverse

    Banned
    As hinted by me in the other thread, I will cover various scenarios of Europe in the Medieval and Renaissance eras which would be shifted back or forward in time based on the scenario. I prefer the former.

    We will touch various subjects like development of Theology, School of Thought, development of Church institution, the challenges they would face and how each challenge creates a mutation, alternate spheres of influence, alternate religious and metaphysical concepts, alternate ethnicities in those alternate Europe spheres, development of philosophies and sciences, influences on the other civilizations and eventually, the World, alternate societies, alternate supernational and international organisations, whole alternate countries with alternate ethnicities and much much more.

    I am planning to begin from the mid to late Antiquity. We will have the Roman and the Byzantine Empires as the large players in the starting. Europe, North Africa and the Middle East are the initial core regions I will take up. You can suggest me anything you wish to do so, if you want while I think before starting over.
     
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