alternatehistory.com

That's right folks, two Ottoman States exist. One state is a Christian empire consisting of all Ottoman possessions in Europe up to 1451 plus Byzantine lands and the other is a Muslim sultanate made up of all Ottoman territories in Asia Minor up to 1451. Both Ottoman states are roughly equal in power and fiercely hate each other. Warfare between both states breaks out every few years it seems, but nether side can force anything but a pre-war boarder when the dust settles. How did such a thing happen? It is a very interesting tale.

It is well known that before the Ottomans (Muslim branch) started locking up their princes so that the new sultan could have his brothers executed, the Ottomans would have the princes govern provinces with whoever could get to the capital the quickest after the previous sultan's death becoming the new sultan. It is from this practice that the Christian branch of the Ottoman dynasty arose. An Ottoman prince in a (relatively) far away Balkan province found out that his father had died and that his brother had proclaimed himself sultan. Knowing of his brother's hatred for him, this Ottoman prince carefully examined his situation. He had few troops and he knew that several of his lieutenants were in his brother's pocket.

Not wanting to die or be imprisoned, the prince pursued an unthinkable solution. He had the servants poison his questionably loyal troops, called the leaders of the city he was staying in, and then renounced Islam and requested to be baptized. The prince claimed to have received a visit from an angel that proclaimed to him the true of the Gospel and that it was his duty to free the followers of Christ from the yoke of his unbelieving brother. While many believe that the prince was just making up a story to win support, many in the Balkans believe that the prince was telling the truth. Whatever the case, the prince was able after seven long years to unite the various Balkan peoples under his banner and forced his brother to accept the newly formed Balkan Empire as an accomplished fact. The christian prince secured the christian branch of the Ottomans by marrying a Byzantine princess. His grandson would eventually come to inherit the remains of the Byzantine Empire.

So, what do you all think of this scenario with two radically different Ottoman states? Now before anyone calls ASBs on this, think for a moment. History is full of cases where people take a majorly risky gamble for power that most would wager wouldn't pay off and it works big time. Cyrus the Great, William the Conqueror, Genghis Khan (seriously, no one would have bet on him until he started looting China) to name a few. There are also plenty of cases of royalty and other power figures converting to a new religion or a religion that they previously opposed if they think that such a conversion will beneifit their power base. In this case, the Ottoman prince is S.O.L. in traditional Ottoman power since his brother is the sultan and has several of the princes subordinates in his back pocket. The only hope the prince had for a shot at power (and staying alive) was to throw his lot in with the christian population. A very risky gamble, but in this senario the prince managed to pull it off.
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