WI: longer lasting Spanish Alanic kingdom

GauchoBadger

GauchoBadger

Alan_kingdom_hispania.png


IOTL, during the Migration Period that destroyed the Western Roman Empire, there was an Alanic kingdom in Iberia that lasted for about a decade before being conquered by the Visigoths.
The Alans seem pretty interesting to me as a people, since, rather than being a Germanic tribe, they're an offshoot of the Iranic Sarmatians, related to the modern Ossetians. So, my question is: could the Alanic kingdom in Hispania have lasted at least a bit longer?
 

TruthfulPanda

Gone Fishin'
It could. My understanding is that it were the Alans who were the "senior component" of the Alan-Silingi-Hasdingi triade.
Have them beat off the Visigoth attacks which in OTL savaged them and you are good :)
You could reverse the OTL events - have the Alans take in the weakened Vandals.
And you can have the Alans replace the OTL Visigoths as the rulers of Hispania.
With some luck you'd have Spanish aristocracy today claim Alanian descent.
Besides national/tribal identity the Alans will be thoroughly Romanised in language and (most of) culture before the 6th century is over. They don't even have a Holy Book in their language (Ulfilas Bible for Goths and Vandals).
For the shit and giggles the Visigoths - without Spain to fall back upon - fight the Franks tooth and nail and win in 507.
Thus Gaul splits forever along the Loire, with Francia to the north and Catalonia to the south. Burgundy stays independent.
With less exposure very few of the Salic Franks ever Romanise - the Franks gradually Germanise north Gaul.
There still could be a "Walloon" area, with Frankish speaking nobility and peasants speaking Harry Potter type of Latin.
 
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TruthfulPanda

Gone Fishin'
IMO in a "kick Goth butt" scenario they stay. The Vandal and Alan move to North Africa was (in part at least) flight from the Visigoths.
 

Arkenfolm

GauchoBadger said:
Bumping.
Could the Alans have crossed into North Africa? Or would they prefer conquering the rest of Iberia?
Click to expand...

Maybe in the sense the invasion of North Africa is spoken of the Alans and Vandals invading and not the other way around. They were the junior partner to the Vandals.
 
Cuāuhtemōc

Cuāuhtemōc

Banned
I'm curious to what the Alan policy towards Catholics would be like. The Visigoths were Arian for a time but seem to not interfere or discriminate against their Catholic subjects; the Vandals were well known for their persecution against the Roman Christians so would it be akin to the latter? Or somewhere in-between?
 
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