Alright, let's say Rome never falls. Valens wins at Adrianople, and then the Empire goes through a lucky patch of decent Emperors in the later fourth and fifth centuries, or something. The Huns come along and stir up the Germans, but the Romans manage to hold them out, settling a few as foederati, but otherwise keeping the Rhine/Danube/Tigris frontier intact.
To summarise, in 500AD, we have a still strong Western Roman state matched by an even stronger ERE. My question is, what happens to Germania. How long does it take for Roman missionaries to convert it to Christianity- or would this even happen at all? When does urbanisation start to kick in? Will the Germanic states ever prove a serious threat to the Empire after the 6th century?
Equally, what happens to Sassanid Persia? Constantinople won't have her hands tied reconquering the West in the sixth century, so will be able to channel all of her energies into establishing full control over Armenia and Iberia: how do the Persians respond to this? Would Persia adopt a form of Christianity in the end? With a stronger ERE to face, will the Persians collapse when attacked by the Hepthalites and Gokturks?
And finally, what about the other, smaller groups coexisting with the Romans: the Berbers, the Celts, the Arabs, the African kingdoms like Axum and Meroe?
To summarise, in 500AD, we have a still strong Western Roman state matched by an even stronger ERE. My question is, what happens to Germania. How long does it take for Roman missionaries to convert it to Christianity- or would this even happen at all? When does urbanisation start to kick in? Will the Germanic states ever prove a serious threat to the Empire after the 6th century?
Equally, what happens to Sassanid Persia? Constantinople won't have her hands tied reconquering the West in the sixth century, so will be able to channel all of her energies into establishing full control over Armenia and Iberia: how do the Persians respond to this? Would Persia adopt a form of Christianity in the end? With a stronger ERE to face, will the Persians collapse when attacked by the Hepthalites and Gokturks?
And finally, what about the other, smaller groups coexisting with the Romans: the Berbers, the Celts, the Arabs, the African kingdoms like Axum and Meroe?