The Great Game of Arabia

An alternate peace treaty between Shupur III and Theodosius I in 384-387 settled the borders and allowed both empires to focus on fighting off the Barbarian invasions.

This event would also prove a pivotal turning point in history, when after dealing with the Barbarian invasions both empires over the next few centuries would become involved in a strategic rivalry over the spice trade called “the Great Game of Arabia” for control of Arabia itself without actually going to war with each other.

Along with existing rivalries between each other, the main motivation for the Great Game would be enabling the Romans / Byzantines to bypass Persia and continuing to trade with India and China, with the Persians themselves seeking to prevent that without entering into a costly war with the Romans / Byzantines as well as both being influenced by rumours of untold riches within Arabia itself.

With the Arab peoples still divided, how would they fare under Roman / Byzantine and Sassanid Persian rule?

Would the Arabs seek to maintain neutrality by adopting another religion like Judaism (in a manner similar to the Khazars), a possibly Arabized form of Indianized religions like Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism in South Arabia or some other syncretic religion?

On the language front, how do you imagine the various Arabian languages evolving? Personally, I sort of imagine them either splitting into 2-3 or even evolving into 4-5 separate languages over time (depending on the region), while a Romanized Arabian language written in Latin script sounds fascinating.
 
I'm having a lot of trouble imagining how Arabia really would produce the equivalent of the Great Game instead of fighting over the borders.

So . . . no ideas, sorry.
 
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