Is it possible for Persia to be ruled by Monophysites if the Sassanids crumbled if Islam is Butterfield, how would the Byzantines treat this new Monophysite Persia.
Is it possible for Persia to be ruled by Monophysites if the Sassanids crumbled if Islam is Butterfield, how would the Byzantines treat this new Monophysite Persia.
Don't forget the remaining Zoroastrians and Manichaeans in Persia, even if "Islam' is butterflied away either group could easily launch a missionary campaign in Arabia and cause similar problems.
I'm curious how a monophysite Persia might affect the central Asian people. I can imagine that the conditions for a timur, Senjuk, etc. would arise that case a large migration conquest. And if we do have a Monophysite persia what would their religious affliction be? Nestorian, Tengri, various other pagan beliefs? Assuming all things stay the same and a Senjuk comes forth and conquers Anotolia but is Nestorian instead, how much would the various states care?
Butterflies good man, the butterflies! No Islam = Egypt stays Byzantine/Persian = No certainty of Turkic conquest of the Iranian Plateau, let alone Anatolia.
Not just Syria and Egypt but also Armenia, Persian Armenia could be no happier.Monophysitism in Persia generally means the Byzantines can kiss Syria and Egypt goodbye. It's just too difficult, in the long-term, for the Byzantines to defend these lands against Persia forever. Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean that Persia will have the easiest time running these lands - eventually you'd still have independent Egyptian dynasties being established in their stead.
It's interesting to see what would happen to Chinese Christianity had Persia, an important conduit of the Silk Road, been Christian. Unlike Islam, Nestorian Christianity managed to gain followings in China during the Tang Dynasty; it's not unreasonable to expect Monophysitism to have a similar effect. Historically, the Chinese managed to suppress Nestorianism quite successfully in the 800s, but would they be as successful with Monophysitism if they had an official backer in the form of Persia (and maybe even the Turkics, if they convert)?