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Following on from the old thread, last posted in 2009, this is, to quote from the original thread, "the thread where you outline what YOU think the coolest TL ever would be. Your description can be anywhere from just a paragraph's worth to a full-fledged mini-TL if you want, cliche to the max or something totally original."

Here are two of mine:

1. Manuel I lives a few more years after his OTL date of death, say 1187, which allows Alexios II to ascend without the influence of his mother or Andronikos. Under Alexios II and his descendants, the empire slowly expands, retaking Croatia, Sicily, Southern Italy, Central Anatolia, Cilicia and the Principality of Antioch and dividing Armenia between either Georgia or the Ilkhanate when they arrive. Byzantium eventually allies with the Golden Horde who convert to either Orthodox or Nestorian Christianity.

2. Alexios or David of Trebizond manage to overthrow Theodore Laskaris after the Fourth Crusade. The Trebizond-Nicean or Komnenian Empire begins reconquering land in Anatolia to secure their rear before marching on Constantinople, while Bulgaria becomes the premier power of the Balkans, with Epirus, Thessalonica and Athens as reluctant and sometimes unreliable vassals.

The Komnenian Empire uses the Mongol invasion as an opportunity to retake Constantinople from the Latins and Adrianople from the Bulgarians. The restored Byzantine Empire is bloodied by the Mongols but manage to survive, if just barely. Most of the aftermath is spent rebuilding and mopping up the Epirotes and remaining Crusader states in the Balkans. With minor incursions into Bulgaria and Serbia, the empire is mainly confined to modern-day Greece and the western half of modern-day Turkey.

And that's all I've got for now. What would yours be?
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