Lately I have been toying with the idea of having Athens successfully defend her maritime empire following the disastrous end of the Sicilian Expedition disastrous end in 413 BC and have her emerge from the war brused but still standing as a medditeranean great power and able to fight another day, having essentially won achieve a ''Periclean Peace'' but having taken allot of blows doing so.
Among the obvious and relatively straight forward POD that came to mind the latest would probably be for the Persian King Darius II, on whose financial backing the Spartans depended for their war effort at sea, to die and trigger a civil war slightly earlier then OTL, in 406 rather then in 404.
Had he died around the time of the Battle of Arginusae it is likely quite possible that Athens would have received the news before, or even during the Trials of the Generals. It is quite concevable that the change in atmosphere it would undoutebly have caused in the Athenian Assembly would have tipped the scales toward acquittal.
As a result Athens would have been able to begin the next round in a far better position then OTL. Several of her best naval commanders whose absence was so badly fealt at Aegospotami would still be around due to either not having been executed or not having failed to be elected generals due to their role in the trials. Moreover, with Arginusae and the death Darius II she would clearly enter 405 with the wind in her sails and look like the winning horse to many in Ionia and in the Aegean, helping her recruits rowers and raise funds among the cities of the era. The minor spartan victories of Notium and Mytilene would appear like simple oddities to many and Athens friends in the area will be unbolden.
Sparta, on the other hand, would lack the funds to rebuild what had been lost Arginusae. The Persians being distracted by a sucession war. The higher pay with whom she had attracted many rowers before Notium and Arginusae would become a thing of the past and, combined to the sense many will get that Athens was likely to prevail at sea after all, Sparta will struggle to prevent serious desertions.
Hell, to even keep a significant fleet at sea it is likely that Sparta will either have to either extract significant funds from her own peloponesian allies, something the conservative faction at home will oppose vehemently, or from the agean and ionian cities under her control, a risky proposition under the circumstances.
With all of these factors, and with a Conservative Faction still powerfull and inclined toward negociations in Sparta, it is far from inconcevable that the war might have ended in a white peace or close to it.
Thus, after this rather long preambule my question would be how would all of this affect events outside of the Greek world. How would all of this affect events outside the Greek world?
How would the post-Darius II succession war play out with Cyrus the Younger having far less means to recruit greek mercenaries but also having a rather more sizable war chess? How would this alternate ending of the Peloponesian War affect who might or might use the succession crisis among the Persians to revolt? Outside of the Greek world and the Persian empire, where would the butterflies manifest first.
Of course, if you have any toughts about how things will develop in the Greek world I would be interested in hearing them as well
Among the obvious and relatively straight forward POD that came to mind the latest would probably be for the Persian King Darius II, on whose financial backing the Spartans depended for their war effort at sea, to die and trigger a civil war slightly earlier then OTL, in 406 rather then in 404.
Had he died around the time of the Battle of Arginusae it is likely quite possible that Athens would have received the news before, or even during the Trials of the Generals. It is quite concevable that the change in atmosphere it would undoutebly have caused in the Athenian Assembly would have tipped the scales toward acquittal.
As a result Athens would have been able to begin the next round in a far better position then OTL. Several of her best naval commanders whose absence was so badly fealt at Aegospotami would still be around due to either not having been executed or not having failed to be elected generals due to their role in the trials. Moreover, with Arginusae and the death Darius II she would clearly enter 405 with the wind in her sails and look like the winning horse to many in Ionia and in the Aegean, helping her recruits rowers and raise funds among the cities of the era. The minor spartan victories of Notium and Mytilene would appear like simple oddities to many and Athens friends in the area will be unbolden.
Sparta, on the other hand, would lack the funds to rebuild what had been lost Arginusae. The Persians being distracted by a sucession war. The higher pay with whom she had attracted many rowers before Notium and Arginusae would become a thing of the past and, combined to the sense many will get that Athens was likely to prevail at sea after all, Sparta will struggle to prevent serious desertions.
Hell, to even keep a significant fleet at sea it is likely that Sparta will either have to either extract significant funds from her own peloponesian allies, something the conservative faction at home will oppose vehemently, or from the agean and ionian cities under her control, a risky proposition under the circumstances.
With all of these factors, and with a Conservative Faction still powerfull and inclined toward negociations in Sparta, it is far from inconcevable that the war might have ended in a white peace or close to it.
Thus, after this rather long preambule my question would be how would all of this affect events outside of the Greek world. How would all of this affect events outside the Greek world?
How would the post-Darius II succession war play out with Cyrus the Younger having far less means to recruit greek mercenaries but also having a rather more sizable war chess? How would this alternate ending of the Peloponesian War affect who might or might use the succession crisis among the Persians to revolt? Outside of the Greek world and the Persian empire, where would the butterflies manifest first.
Of course, if you have any toughts about how things will develop in the Greek world I would be interested in hearing them as well