What if, in the aftermath of the first wave of migrations in the Roman Empire, the Slavs were the ones to remain in their homeland (let's assume Pripyat-Ukraine for the sake of this prompt - I know their precise homeland is still disputed, but we can make assumptions here), fiercely trying to resist all foreign pressure, while the Balts begin a period of migration across Eastern Europe? How would the history of the region change if this were to happen?
At the top of my head, here's what I can think of:
* Balts were located to the north of Slavs, so their migration directions might be different. North is always possible, but then they'll probably reach much farther than OTL Slavs, maybe up to Finland? The Balkans are likely too far to be reached within a reasonable timeframe, but OTL Poland, Czechia, eastern Germany and maybe the northern Balkans are up for grabs.
* During their great migration, the Slavs were still more of less united, their languages only began to split in the 8th-9th century, IIRC, while Balts split off into different tribes much earlier. Western Balts began to coalesce into different tribes with different languages as early as 5th century BC according to some accounts. Thus, due to this earlier cultural distinction, the Balts may split further, possibly into two culture groups, I dunno.
* Would there be a TTL Kievan Rus' equivalent? Would Slavs be able to pull a "Grand Duchy of Lithuania" and conquer some of Baltic territories if they somehow end up disunited?
What do you guys think?
At the top of my head, here's what I can think of:
* Balts were located to the north of Slavs, so their migration directions might be different. North is always possible, but then they'll probably reach much farther than OTL Slavs, maybe up to Finland? The Balkans are likely too far to be reached within a reasonable timeframe, but OTL Poland, Czechia, eastern Germany and maybe the northern Balkans are up for grabs.
* During their great migration, the Slavs were still more of less united, their languages only began to split in the 8th-9th century, IIRC, while Balts split off into different tribes much earlier. Western Balts began to coalesce into different tribes with different languages as early as 5th century BC according to some accounts. Thus, due to this earlier cultural distinction, the Balts may split further, possibly into two culture groups, I dunno.
* Would there be a TTL Kievan Rus' equivalent? Would Slavs be able to pull a "Grand Duchy of Lithuania" and conquer some of Baltic territories if they somehow end up disunited?
What do you guys think?