The City Has Fallen: An Umayyad Timeline

These are roughly the religious borders that Europe will likely have ITTL.
with that we have on the Islamic side of Europe:
spain, italy, the balkans and hungary
vs.
The European Catholic side:
France, Germany, Poland, Russia, Scandinavia and the UK.
Obviously not the countries but the regions.

in africa/middle east we will have the islamic side the egypt, anatolia, iran (or better persia) and arabia VS ethiopia and its friends.

among islam we probably have.
the Maghreb region vs everyone
spain vs everybody (with maybe the exception of italy the maghreb region ( if they have the same "religion") and the country in constantinople/balkas/hungary)

Italy vs the northern Christian kingdoms and naval battles for control of the Mediterranean.
Balkas+Hungary vs Christians in the north and other Muslims in the south.
Egypt-Syria vs Anatolia and Iran. With arabia in the middle.

With the region of Egypt, Anatolia, Iran and Arabia meeting with steppe tribes that are either conquering or migrating. An event that is always apocalyptic
 
From “History of the Merovings” by Æthelred Ædelbertson

The forces of the Umayyad Caliphate, led by Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd Allah al-Ghafiqi, met majordomus[1] Charles the Hammer near the city of Tours. Al-Ghafiqi’s Arab forces would emerge victorious, and the majordomus would be slain in battle, but the Umayyads would fail to gain much territory and would eventually retreat to Andalusia. While the battle didn’t result in any notable territorial changes, the death of the majordomus was an important event in the history of the Franks.

Charles was succeeded by his son, Carloman the Pious. Carloman was known to be both deeply pious and political ruthless. Carloman installed the Merovingian Childeric III as king. Carloman increasingly came into conflict with his brother and co-ruler, Pepin the Short. Pepin became increasingly ambitious, and desired to take the Frankish throne for himself. In response, Carloman had Pepin executed[2]. In order to prevent future usurpers, Carloman codified it into law that Merovingian descent was required in order to hold the office of the King, and that no Frankish king could ascend to the throne without the approval of the majordomus.

Carloman would withdraw from public life in 747, becoming a monk. He would appoint Waiofar, Duke of Aquitaine, as his successor, thus effectively incorporating the previously autonomous Duchy of Aquitaine into the Frankish realm, and replacing the Arnulfing[3] dynasty with the House of Odo. Even after Carloman’s retreat to the monestary, the new majordomus Waiofar would still seek his advice. Carloman would be remembered as one of the most important majordomi in Frankish history.

[1]From Latin “major domus”, “mayor of the house”, the title of the Carolingians before they took power from the Merovingians. At this point, the Merovingian kings didn’t do all that much and let the majordomus govern the Franks for them.

[2]This was Charlemagne’s father, by the way. IOW, European history as we know it is completely butterflied.

[3]TTL’s name for the Pippinid/Carolingian dynasty
 
Indeed

Europe will be unrecognizable without Charlemagne. As of right now, Francia’s gradually turning into the unholy offspring of Renaissance Italy and Game of Thrones. Which, considering what happened to the Holy Roman Empire, the descendant of Charlemagne’s empire, isn’t actually the worst thing that can happen.
 
I’ve decided to retcon the previous update. Getting rid of Charlemagne simply creates too many butterflies. I’ll get back to the TL as soon as possible.
 
The guy is so powerful he beat even the author with the size of his...lineage!
To be honest, no Umayyad army could defeat charlas martell in france. The guy was a monster.
with the Islamic defeat in this area the expansion ends, and the Umayyad can consolidate the gains and not collapse once a normal crisis happens.
 
To be honest, no Umayyad army could defeat charlas martell in france. The guy was a monster.
with the Islamic defeat in this area the expansion ends, and the Umayyad can consolidate the gains and not collapse once a normal crisis happens.
They only send some rangers and people build a fake myth over it
 
Fall of the Umayyads
From “Amir al-Mu‘minin: History of the Caliphs” by Suleiman al-Dimashqi

The reasons for the Abbasid Revolution are many, but predominant among them was the Umayyads’ oppression of non-Arabs. The Persians, who by this point had been mostly converted to Islam, were still oppressed by their Arab Umayyad rulers. Beginning in 129 AH[747 AD], the Abbasid Revolution was centered in Persia, Mesopotamia, and Greater Khorasan[1]. The Abbasids, who descended from Al-Abbas, one of the companions of the prophet, had numerous supporters against the Umayyads. The Abbasids were supported by both Shi’ites and Sunnis in the region. They were supported by non-Arab Muslims who wished to see the end of Umayyad discrimination, and non-Muslim dhimmi[2] who wanted greater freedom to practice their religions.

Under the Caliphs As-Saffah and Al-Mansur, as well as the Persian general Abu Muslim, the Abbasid Caliphate came to rule an area stretching from Egypt in the west to Transoxiana in the east. The Abbasids established their capital in the city of Baghdad, where the old Sassanid capital of Ctesiphon had once been. Abd al-Rahman I, a member of the Umayyad dynasty in Damascus, established his own Caliphate based out of Constantinople[3]. The Caliphate of Constantinople would establish its’ rule over Antaloia, the Balkans, and the Italian peninsula. Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri, the governor of Al-Andalus, declared the new Fihrid Emirate[4].

In North Africa, between the Fihrid and Abbasid domains, a charismatic Berber leader who went by the name of Ali ibn Muhammad al-Bijāyi, rallied the Kabyle Berbers under his leadership, founding the Kharijite Caliphate of Guenzet. The Caliphs of Guenzet were elected by the Caliphate’s religious leaders based on how devout they were, in accordance with Kharijite beliefs. Since choosing one person out of the entire population to be the new Caliph would be inefficient, it became custom that only the most learned of Islamic law would be considered eligible candidates. It was also custom that a candidate would never vote for themselves, as a sign of humility. Despite its pseudo-Democratic government, the Caliphate of Gueznet was highly oppressive to both non-Muslims and non-Kharijite Muslims.

The Umayyad Caliphs of Constantinople would convert to the Mu’tazilite sect of Islam, who had a rationalistic interpretation of the Qur’an. The Fihrids were originally Sunni, but trade with the Caliphate of Constantinople would introduce Mu’tazila Islam, which would in time grow more dominant. The Abbasids were Sunni, and used their Sunnism to contrast them with the Mu’tazilite Caliphs of Constantinople and the Kharijite Caliphs of Guenzet. The divide between the Sunnis, Mu’tazilites, Kharijites, and later the Shi’ites who would rebel against the Sunni Abbasids would be a permanent split.




[1]A historical region on the Iranian Plateau between Western and Central Asia

[2]Non-Muslims within historical Islamic states who were considered “people of the book”(originally meaning Christians, Jews, and Mandaeans, but also variously applied to Zoroastrians, Samaritans, and even Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains) . Dhimmi were considered protected and allowed to practice their religion in exchange for paying a special tax called “jizya.”

[3]IOTL, Abd al-Rahman established the Emirate(later Caliphate) of Córdoba. ITTL, Constantinople proved more appealing than Al-Andalus when both were available.

[4]The Fihrids were an influential dynasty in Iberia and North Africa with a penchant for acting independently of the Caliph in Damascus. IOTL, they were deposed by the aforementioned Abd al-Rahman. ITTL, with Abd al-Rahman going for Constantinople instead of Spain, they stay in power.
 
The Emperor and the Caliph
From “In the Shadow of Rome: The Rise of Europe” by Karl Von Alfenburg

From the point that both religions existed, it was inevitable that the Christian and Islamic worlds would come into conflict. Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople, Rome, and all the other great cities of Christendom had fallen to the Muslims. However, the relationship between the two religions was not always hostile, and there were numerous examples of alliances and even friendships between Christian and Muslim rulers. A particularly notable example is that of Charlemagne with the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid. The two bonded over their shared hatred of the Umayyad Caliph Hisham II of Constantinople. They also sent each other several diplomatic gifts, such as Harun sending Charlemagne an elephant[1].

Despite their alliance with the Abbasids, relations between the Franks and the Umayyads of Constantinople could not have been worse. In particular, Charlemagne desired to reconquer the Italian peninsula for Christendom, a goal shared by future Holy Roman Emperors. Charlemagne conquered a significant area along the Adriatic coast, which would be used as a springboard for future Emperors to expand into Italy, with varying degrees of success[2].

From “Amir al-Mu‘minin: History of the Caliphs” by Suleiman al-Dimashqi

Abd al-Rahman I was succeeded as Caliph of Constantinople by Hisham I, was was in turn succeeded by Hisham II. It was Hisham II who would adopt Mu’tazilism as the state religion of the Caliphate. Hisham was, by all accounts, a very devout Mu’tazilite who persecuted all non-Mu’tazilite Muslims. Following the death of Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid, the Abbasids would come to be ruled by Caliph al-Amin, while the Caliphate of Constantinople was ruled by Abd al-Rahman II. In 197 AH(813 AD), al-Amin’s half-brother al-Ma’mun, a Mu’tazilite, waged an unsuccessful rebellion against his brother. In the aftermath of al-Ma’mun’s defeat, the Abbasids embraced staunch Sunni orthodoxy and cracked down on the Mu’tazilites. The Caliphate of Constantinople, on the other hand, would soon face its own internal troubles.



[1]IOTL, Charlemagne and Harun al-Rashid bonded over their shared hatred of Irene of Athens instead of Hisham II. Also, the thing about the elephant is OTL.

[2]The place that Rome holds in the western psyche is simply too great for TTL’s medieval Europeans not to try reconquista: spaghetti edition. Whether or not they’ll succeed is a different matter
 
The Rise of the Saqaliba
From “Amir al-Mu‘minin: History of the Caliphs” by Suleiman al-Dimashqi

In 273 AH[886 AD], Abd al-Rahman II was succeeded as Caliph of Constantinople by Caliph Al-Hakam I. Al-Hakam was known to have neglected his duties and lived a hedonistic life. He reigned for six years before his choice of lifestyle finally caught up with him and he was succeeded by his son, also named Al-Hakam. Al-Hakam II intended to fix the problems his father had caused by centralizing the Caliphate around the institution of the monarchy.

Unfortunately for Al-Hakam, it was the saqaliba[1] who had emerged as the dominant faction within the Caliphate during his father’s reign, and saw his centralization programs as a threat to their influence. During the third year of his reign, Al-Hakam and his family were deposed and killed by the Saqaliba. The leader of the coup took the name “Abdullah”, or “servant of God”, and would rule the new Saqaliba Emirate in stead of the old Caliphs. The Saqaliba justified their coup by saying that the ruling Umayyad dynasty had lost favor with God. Had they been preferred by God to serve as Caliph, or theoretical ruler of all Muslims, than He logically would not have allowed them to be overthrown(so said the Saqliba). In the aftermath of the Saqabila’s overthrow of the Umayyads, the parts of the Italian peninsula under Umayyad rule collapsed into squabbling taifas. The Saqaliba realm itself, on the other hand, was just now beginning to make itself known.




[1]The saqaliba were a Slavic slaves(including slave soldiers, or ghilman) in the Umayyad Caliphate and other early Islamic states. They can be compared to the mamlukes and janissaries of later periods.
 
The Bulgars and the Rus’
From “In the Shadow of Rome: The Rise of Europe” by Karl Von Alfenburg

While the Western Slavs Christianized, the Southern and Eastern Slavs were less receptive. There were two great Slavic states in Eastern Europe; the Bulgars and the Rus’. The Bulgars were originally Turkic before assimiliating into the Slavic majority they ruled and were(as the name would suggest) the ancestors of present-day Bulgarians. They converted to Islam under the influence of both the Umayyad Caliphate(including the Caliphate of Constantinople) and the Saqabila Emirate. The Bulgars would spread their faith throughout Southeastern Europe[1].

The Rus’ inhabited the far-eastern corner of Europe. The Rus’ were originally a chaotic mess of squabbling tribes before being unified by the originally Scandinavian Rurikid dynasty. The Rus’ traded frequently with the Saqabila Emirate and its successors, and although they occasionally warred with each other, they developed an otherwise close relationship. Despite this, the Rus’ never officially adopted Islam or any other religion. Rather, the ruling Rurikids practiced a syncretic mix of Norse and Slavic polytheism with some Islamic influence[2].

While the Rus’ never officially any religion, Islam began to seep in through the aforementioned trade. A prominent Muslim community began to develop around the city of Kyiv. In 978 AD, Prince Yaropolk I of Kyiv converted to Islam, adopting the name “Ibrahim Yaropolk.” Yaropolk’s brother, the pagan Prince Vladimir of Novgorod, unsuccessfully attempted to depose him. Yaropolk’s descendants would henceforth hold the title “Emir of Kyiv”, while Vladimir’s would continue to rule the Rus’ from Novgorod. Vladimir’s son, Saint Yaroslav the Great[3], would convert the Rus’ to Christianity shortly before his marriage to Ingegerd Olofsdotter, daughter of King Olof Skötkonung of Sweden. The Saqabila Emirate itself would soon begin to decline as it entered a period of conflict with emerging rivals.




[1]”Balkans” is a Turkish word, so it’s unlikely they’d be called that ITTL. Before the Turkish invasions, they were called the “peninsula of Haemus.”

[2]Said “Islamic influence” really just amounts to adopting some iconography because it’s an exotic status symbol

[3]Not OTL’s Yaroslav the Wise
 
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The Italian Wars
From Aternativehistory.com

What if the Italian Wars Never Happened?

Abul-Muhammad ibn Abu Ali al-Muharajji bin Fatima-In our timlyen, the italian warrs started when krystiem europeans took back italu from the muslims 😡 In this timeline this never happens. 😀 the muslims use italy 2 taak ovr Europe and establysh the united saliphates of arabia with Muhamma pboyh as caliph😀 but jesus doesnt like what happened in christeanty so he invayds the united calipgates😡😡🤬 lucklyi, the unyted Caliphayts 😀win and jesu flees to vesprua[1]😡 This maaks mu Hamd phbu angry so he invents nucelar bomb and invayds vesperiaa 😀😀😁 and estblayishes the world peoples caliphate😀 2 b continoud 😀

KingofAndalusia-Well, that was...interesting... Also, “Abdul-Muhammad ibn Abu Ali al-Muharajji bin Fatima” is complete gibberish to a native Arabic speaker, not to mention that Jesus and Muhammad as enemies makes no sense from an Islamic standpoint. That and “World People’s Caliphate.”

Sol Invictus-replying to to KingofAndalusia It seems this guy’s posting from Poland. Probably just some European with issues trying to “discredit“ Islam. Why Alternativehistory.com, though?

Qin Shi Huangdi-Oh, let me Finnish it! Eventually, God gets tired of the World People’s Caliphate and sends the Buddha to get into a cosmic boxing match with Muhammad that gets so out of hand that the Greco-Roman pantheon intervenes... with nuclear weapons😀/s

NewAlbionBear-As Sol Invictus mentioned, this guy’s posting from Poland(why do all the nut jobs come from Poland?), while KingofAndalusia has pointed out some of the, er, inconsistencies in this. He’s clearly an anti-Islamic troll pretending to be a Muslim. Regardless, he is a troll. To Wessex with you! Closing this thread.


From “In the Shadow of Rome: The Rise of Europe” by Karl Von Alfenburg

The Italian wars started during the taifa period, when the Italian peninsula was divided between various warlords. The Holy Roman Empire and Andalusia’s Fihrid Emirate would end up as the dominant powers in Italy. The Italian Wars would last for the majority of the Middle Ages as the Christian and Islamic worlds battles for the fate of the peninsula.

[1]Vesperia, TTL’s name for the Americas
 
Gotta love the 'NewAlbionBear"
The whole thing there was inspired a “TL”(if you can call it that) on this forum a while back where Albert Einstein was secretly a Turkish Muslim that involved a nuclear holocaust and a returned Prophet Muhammad. The poster of that one was from Iceland, though here I changed it to Poland since the board used to have a bit of a problem with Polish trolls.

EDIT:Here’s the aforementioned “timeline”. You really just have to see it for yourself.
 
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The whole thing there was inspired a “TL”(if you can call it that) on this forum a while back where Albert Einstein was secretly a Turkish Muslim that involved a nuclear holocaust and a returned Prophet Muhammad. The poster of that one was from Iceland, though here I changed it to Poland since the board used to have a bit of a problem with Polish trolls.
Oh yeah, I remember very clearly the "Timeline of God"
It gained the reputation of the "My Immortal" fanfic of AltHist
I did enjoy the glimpse into the future as well
 
I do wonder how centuries-long Italian Wars will end up changing the peninsula. Would we still see the rise of Italian city-states such as Genoa, Venice and Pisa?
 
I do wonder how centuries-long Italian Wars will end up changing the peninsula. Would we still see the rise of Italian city-states such as Genoa, Venice and Pisa?
Genoa, Venice, and Pisa, if they exist, won’t be like they were IOTL. The Italian Wars will be in a way similar to the Reconquista in Spain, although I don’t plan for either side to achieve total victory.
 
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