Well, let's assume that one of the following things happened in an ATL:
-The combined army of Athens and Thebes won the battle of Chaeronea, while Phillip II and Alexander III themselves are killed
-Alexander is assasinated alongside his father
-Alexander is killed in the battle of Granicus, which leading to the retreat of Macedonian army and victory of the Persians
In such an "Alexander-less" world, how would the relationship between the Romans, Greeks, and Persians looks like...?
These are my two cents:
1. Roman-Greek relationship
Without Alex's conquests to spread their civilization to much of known world, the Greeks would pretty much confined in Greece proper and their already-existed colonies in Sicily, Magna Graecia, Ionian coast, etc. Thus Greek language and culture were never become so influencing in Eastern Mediterranean, as Egypt, Syria, and most of Anatolia will remain Persian for a very long time. The impact of this change from OTL is that the Greeks will be viewed by the Romans more as "subjects", rather than "partners" like in OTL. But I'm still pretty sure that the Greek civilization will still spreading westward, and that the Romans themselves will still strongly influenced by the Greeks...
2. Greco-Persian relationship
The Persians will still continuing their "Divide et Impera" policy toward the Greeks, at least until the Romans are strong enough to intervene. I can imagine a massive Greek war, maybe between Delian and Peloponnesian League (I'm not sure whether Achaean and Aetolian League will still emerge in this ATL or not), with both Romans and Persians supporting the opposite sides. But in the end, of course, the Romans will ultimately win and Greece itself will become Roman province...
3. Roman-Persian relationship
IMO the Romans and Persians are destined to always become "BEF" (Best Enemy Forever) in almost any TLs. However, there will be a major change with the OTL: the Euphrates won't served as the border, but it will be the Aegean Sea, as Anatolia and Syria will be retained by the Persians. Cycladic Islands, Ionia, and Thrace will become OTL Mesopotamia and Armenia, that is an area which always be disputed and become the battlegrounds for Roman-Persian Wars. But, of course, there are always some possibilities that a strong and militaristic Roman Emperor (like OTL Trajan) will make a major gains, maybe conquering Egypt and Anatolia up to Taurus Mountains...?
Anyway, the Romans in this ATL will surely ended up less wealthy, less stable, and thus less powerful, as they never acquired the rich Eastern Mediterranean regions and never get a full and total control over Mediterranean Sea...
Opinions? Thoughts?
Agreements? Disagreements?
(Btw there are some other major issues, like Christianity and Islam, but I don't want to discuss about that...)
-The combined army of Athens and Thebes won the battle of Chaeronea, while Phillip II and Alexander III themselves are killed
-Alexander is assasinated alongside his father
-Alexander is killed in the battle of Granicus, which leading to the retreat of Macedonian army and victory of the Persians
In such an "Alexander-less" world, how would the relationship between the Romans, Greeks, and Persians looks like...?
These are my two cents:
1. Roman-Greek relationship
Without Alex's conquests to spread their civilization to much of known world, the Greeks would pretty much confined in Greece proper and their already-existed colonies in Sicily, Magna Graecia, Ionian coast, etc. Thus Greek language and culture were never become so influencing in Eastern Mediterranean, as Egypt, Syria, and most of Anatolia will remain Persian for a very long time. The impact of this change from OTL is that the Greeks will be viewed by the Romans more as "subjects", rather than "partners" like in OTL. But I'm still pretty sure that the Greek civilization will still spreading westward, and that the Romans themselves will still strongly influenced by the Greeks...
2. Greco-Persian relationship
The Persians will still continuing their "Divide et Impera" policy toward the Greeks, at least until the Romans are strong enough to intervene. I can imagine a massive Greek war, maybe between Delian and Peloponnesian League (I'm not sure whether Achaean and Aetolian League will still emerge in this ATL or not), with both Romans and Persians supporting the opposite sides. But in the end, of course, the Romans will ultimately win and Greece itself will become Roman province...
3. Roman-Persian relationship
IMO the Romans and Persians are destined to always become "BEF" (Best Enemy Forever) in almost any TLs. However, there will be a major change with the OTL: the Euphrates won't served as the border, but it will be the Aegean Sea, as Anatolia and Syria will be retained by the Persians. Cycladic Islands, Ionia, and Thrace will become OTL Mesopotamia and Armenia, that is an area which always be disputed and become the battlegrounds for Roman-Persian Wars. But, of course, there are always some possibilities that a strong and militaristic Roman Emperor (like OTL Trajan) will make a major gains, maybe conquering Egypt and Anatolia up to Taurus Mountains...?
Anyway, the Romans in this ATL will surely ended up less wealthy, less stable, and thus less powerful, as they never acquired the rich Eastern Mediterranean regions and never get a full and total control over Mediterranean Sea...
Opinions? Thoughts?
Agreements? Disagreements?
(Btw there are some other major issues, like Christianity and Islam, but I don't want to discuss about that...)
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