WI : Croesus doesn't invade Cappadocia

Lets get super early. So, Lydia. Western Anatolia. Supposedly linked to the Etruscans. Much fun to be had.

Made the rather daft decision to not only invade Persia, but also to disband the army over the winter months.

So what if the Lydians didn't invade, but instead maintained its partnerships with Sparta/Greece and Egypt to protect against Persia?
 
Lets get super early. So, Lydia. Western Anatolia. Supposedly linked to the Etruscans. Much fun to be had.

Made the rather daft decision to not only invade Persia, but also to disband the army over the winter months.

So what if the Lydians didn't invade, but instead maintained its partnerships with Sparta/Greece and Egypt to protect against Persia?

Cyrus or his successors would most likely still invade, albeit probably somewhat later than IOTL (the country was quite far away from the Persian heartland, and there were plenty of potential conquests closer to home). Most likely, too, the Lydians would still end up getting conquered, because the Persians would be able to draw on far greater resources, but Croesus (or whoever's in charge by this time) would be able to put up a better fight.
 
Oh man this is great, I had similar thoughts several months ago. Strenuous diplomacy between Lydia, Egypt, and Persia prevent an outbreak of war. Having a stable multipolar Middle East could engender trade growth, perhaps shifting Persian focus southwards to the Indian Ocean. Instead of wasting lives and treasure in Anatolia and Greece, the Persians focus on building up their own country, eliciting the earlier development of the Silk Road. With Athens having to contend with the less threatening Lydia, they would have less sway over other Greek polities, and perhaps Thebes and Corinth come to an understanding. Instead of a Peloponnesian War a Corinthian League is able to cement control over Epirus, Cyrenaica, southern Italy, and Sicily. Carthage solidifies its hold over Numidia and Mauretania and in the process creates a thriving agricultural state. With a strong Greek presence running interference in the western Mediterranean, the Turdetani establish themselves as the dominant power in southern Iberia. Southern France is disorganized but eventually comes under the sway of the Arverni. Republican Rome's westward expansion is stopped at Liguria. Macedonia doesn't gain traction, and so Alexander never makes his march to India (shed a tear for Bactria). Sea trade ties the region together in general peace probably until the First Century AD. Perhaps having a better trade system set up with Persia and Egypt prolongs the Mauryan Empire.

Overall, better human development and potential for scholastic achievement. Well, I can hope at least.
 
Cyrus or his successors would most likely still invade, albeit probably somewhat later than IOTL (the country was quite far away from the Persian heartland, and there were plenty of potential conquests closer to home). Most likely, too, the Lydians would still end up getting conquered, because the Persians would be able to draw on far greater resources, but Croesus (or whoever's in charge by this time) would be able to put up a better fight.

I'd be curious as to whether you think they'd be able to hold out. Western Anatolia AFAIK is quite defensible.

Oh man this is great, I had similar thoughts several months ago. Strenuous diplomacy between Lydia, Egypt, and Persia prevent an outbreak of war. Having a stable multipolar Middle East could engender trade growth, perhaps shifting Persian focus southwards to the Indian Ocean. Instead of wasting lives and treasure in Anatolia and Greece, the Persians focus on building up their own country, eliciting the earlier development of the Silk Road. With Athens having to contend with the less threatening Lydia, they would have less sway over other Greek polities, and perhaps Thebes and Corinth come to an understanding. Instead of a Peloponnesian War a Corinthian League is able to cement control over Epirus, Cyrenaica, southern Italy, and Sicily. Carthage solidifies its hold over Numidia and Mauretania and in the process creates a thriving agricultural state. With a strong Greek presence running interference in the western Mediterranean, the Turdetani establish themselves as the dominant power in southern Iberia. Southern France is disorganized but eventually comes under the sway of the Arverni. Republican Rome's westward expansion is stopped at Liguria. Macedonia doesn't gain traction, and so Alexander never makes his march to India (shed a tear for Bactria). Sea trade ties the region together in general peace probably until the First Century AD. Perhaps having a better trade system set up with Persia and Egypt prolongs the Mauryan Empire.

Overall, better human development and potential for scholastic achievement. Well, I can hope at least.

Some fun ideas there. I'm not sure I agree with no Macedonia, but I don't think they'd be as epic as IOTL. Perhaps simply uniting Greece (alternatively, Illyria could do this), and building a local Empire that could possibly threaten Lydia. It'd be interesting, a world with no Ionian Revolt, having Ionians, Lydians and Persians (come to assist) defending against Macedonian aggression. Certainly change the histories a bit.
 
No Marathon, Thermopilae, Salamis, etc. The rise of Macedon I think would be postponed or would disappear entirely. No Delian League. A VERY different Anatolia in terms of culture and ethnicity, as I think the Persians would collapse before or during their eventual invasion. More time to shore up the defences in Lydia. Probably Epirus could rise earlier because the Greek city-states wouldnt unite to fight Persi and there were no other permanent alliances or cooperation. Maybe I'm wrong.
 
I'd be curious as to whether you think they'd be able to hold out. Western Anatolia AFAIK is quite defensible.

I was assuming that, absent a Lydian attack, the Persians wouldn't invade until they'd conquered all the countries closer to home (so Mesopotamia, Syria, possibly Egypt). In which case, I think the Lydians would succumb eventually, due to the superior weight of resources the Persians could bring to bear.
 
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