I've been playing around with some different diversion possibilities in a sort of ASB setting mixing together a lot of my individual musings. One that's recently come into play as a result of the excellent From Exile to Triumph timeline is the possibility of the Roman Empire undergoing the Migrations and subsequent Islamic period and only holding onto Dacia, Dalmatia-and-Illyria, Greece and Italy as their mainland holdings, along with islands such as Corsica, Malta, Sardinia, Sicily, etc.. with outlying regions like Africa, Anatolia, Armenia, Egypt, Gaul, Hispania, Palestina and Syria falling to outsider forces like the Arabs, Armenians, Germans, Slavs or Persians. At least until the 900s or so, anyway.
First of all, is something like this possible, or too dependent on a careful construction of butterflies at the right moments to keep things from not collapsing entirely or rebounding too quickly?
Secondly, what could be some of the more interesting cultural, ethnic and linguistic developments of this more contiguous empire, with elements like the Goths and Lombards either repelled or assimilated entirely.
How would the Church develop, in a situation where the Roman Emperors only possess Rome and none of the eastern seats? Would it be entirely under the authority of the Emperor as per caesaropapism or would some sort of Papacy or Patriarchy still exist?
Would Latin retain a stronger hold over the Illyrian region in the long term, and successfully replace Greek in Greece proper? Perhaps leaving Greek as a legacy of whoever holds Anatolia, Egypt and the Fertile Crescent (Greco-Armenians, perhaps?), while Greece itself is better Latinized?
Socio-politically, could the Senate in anyway make a comeback? I know the Roman Senate wasn't worth much at the end (and the Byzantine one even less), but any possibilities? In a situation where Rome has lost most of their eastern territories, just how valuable is Greece proper to the empire as a recruiting and tax base?
Any other critiques or ideas on the possibility and potential ramifications would be most appreciated.
First of all, is something like this possible, or too dependent on a careful construction of butterflies at the right moments to keep things from not collapsing entirely or rebounding too quickly?
Secondly, what could be some of the more interesting cultural, ethnic and linguistic developments of this more contiguous empire, with elements like the Goths and Lombards either repelled or assimilated entirely.
How would the Church develop, in a situation where the Roman Emperors only possess Rome and none of the eastern seats? Would it be entirely under the authority of the Emperor as per caesaropapism or would some sort of Papacy or Patriarchy still exist?
Would Latin retain a stronger hold over the Illyrian region in the long term, and successfully replace Greek in Greece proper? Perhaps leaving Greek as a legacy of whoever holds Anatolia, Egypt and the Fertile Crescent (Greco-Armenians, perhaps?), while Greece itself is better Latinized?
Socio-politically, could the Senate in anyway make a comeback? I know the Roman Senate wasn't worth much at the end (and the Byzantine one even less), but any possibilities? In a situation where Rome has lost most of their eastern territories, just how valuable is Greece proper to the empire as a recruiting and tax base?
Any other critiques or ideas on the possibility and potential ramifications would be most appreciated.