alternatehistory.com

In worlds with very early PODs, the year 1000 or earlier, what rivers, mountains, and such in Europe will always become borders, and which won't?

For example, the Carpathian Mountains were a very important border from the 1400s to 1914, but are totally disregarded in national borders now.

The mountains surrounding the Czech Republic weren't really important borders until the decline of the Holy Roman Empire, when the formed the border of the Austrian Empire. Now they're the entire border of the Czech Republic. Could the Bohemian and Moravian mountains be ignored like the Carpathians?

The Danube was a stable border for much of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires, but is now too populated to be a border. The Rhine was a solid border in the Roman days, and during Napoleon's reign, but is now well within the borders of Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Could these rivers have remained significant borders until the modern day?

What parts of Europe could have significantly different territorial divisions, and why?
Top