Caligo
Banned
Surely this is a common topic here but I thought I would take a crack at it. The divergent point for this alternate universe from our own occurs much later than most Byzantine survival scenarios. I like the idea of Alternate history running parallel to our own almost as if this scenario is the world's true history & perhaps we're the ones living in some unfortunate althist thread. This means that much of world history is destined to follow much of the same history. The Byzantine Empire in this universe plays much the same role as the Ottoman in our own. The divergent point in this universe occurs around the turn of the 13th century. In this universe the Bulgarian & the subsequent Serbian Empire never expand into Byzantine Territory. The Byzantine Army is able to squash the Bulgarians and the Empire is put in a better position to defend against Turkish incursions to the east.
I am refering to the Eastern Roman Empire as the Byzantine Empire because it's what we all know it by but in this universe it would be known officially as the Roman Empire & colloquially as Romania. I know this is confusing because we have a modern state called Romania which would seem to exist in my own maps below but this state is known as Wallachia & its language known as Wallachian as this term was used for the whole of the Romanian language during the middle ages. So from now on Romania = Byzantine Empire & Wallachia = (our) Romania. Because our history until the 13th century is the same, much of the Crusades & Turkish migrations occur just the same. The Sultinate of Rum spreads the Turkish language & costums to the native Anatolians of the peninsula's interior.
[Map of Romania in 1914. Purple = Romania proper, Light Purple = Territorially Adjacent Colonies]
[This is an ethnic map of Romania in 1914. Purple = Greek, Shades of Blue = Slavs (Bulgarians & Serbs), Hot Pink = Albanians, Gold = Turks & Azeris, Orange = Georgians, Red = Armenians, Yellow = Kurds, Green = Arabs & Arabized Berbers, Lime Green = Christian Arabs/"Arameans"]
[Greatest extent of Romania & Romanian territorial claims. Romania had several colonies in southern India in the early 1500s, however, the British ran them out in the 1600s. There are still pockets of Orthodox communities in Southern India to this day as a result.]
(Flag of Romania)
The motivating ideology of Romania from ancient Macedonia to the middle ages can be described as Helenic evangelism. Around the 13t & 14th centuries Romania turns away more towards Orthodox Evangelism as a binding ideology to keep the various ethnic groups of the empire from rebelling. Romania once the Bulgars & Serbs are subdued would begin to look east to retake Asia minor. Needless to say Romanian forces defeat the squabling Turkish warcheifs. The Romanians would work with some Turkish tribes against others. Defeated Turkish tribes would be given the option of aquiring interior lands in exchange for loyalty & converting to the orthdox faith. Obviously islam would continue to exist in private amongst some Turks for some decades. However, the Turks were relatively recently converted to Islam & would be pragmatic when it came to religion. By the 16th century Islam would have died out in Anatolia.
The mamluk sultinate would have existed in Egypt & the Levant placing much of the same hazardous trading condition for Christian powers as in our world meaning Columbus would still sail west in 1492. The history of the New World is virtually the same as in our world. For nearly 200 years since the Anatolian reconquista the borders of Romania would remain unchanged. Consisting of Greeks, Bulgarians, Serbs, Albanians, Turks & Armenians all united by the orthodox faith from the Danube to the Euphrates River. Spain next to the Mamluks like would be the main rival of Romania. When Spain discovers the New World & its great wealth Romania sees this as upsetting the power balance between the leading Orthodox & Catholic powers. Romania starts to look south as an oportunity to rebalance the two Empires. Through diplomacy & force Romania seizes Arab lands as colonial states with a necessary amount of autonomy.
The Greeks seeing the aquisition of these lands in the middle east & north Africa to be for economic reasons & not religiously motivated would be wise enough not to try to push Orthodox Christianity on Muslim Kurds, Azeris or Arabs. These new lands would make the empire look drastically bigger however they're considered "territorially adjacent colonies." As I said Romania would play much the same role as the Ottoman Empire in our own. Romania would not get along with it's Catholic neighbour Hungary. Little wars between the two would create the same circumstances that formed the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Romania would see Orthodox Russia as it's closest ally for much of the medieval period. Only until the 1850s would the relationship between Romania & Russia sour over territorial claims over Crimea. These two powers would fight their own Crimean War, Romania being supported by Western Powers. At the end of the war Romania loses any territorial claims north of the Danube & Caucasus Mountains. This perceived loss of territory sours its relationship with Russia and strengthens ties with Romania's former rival, Austria-Hungary. Just as the Ottoman Empire entered WWI on the side of Germany & Austria-Hungary so too does Romania against Britain, France & Russia. In this universe WWI begins after a Wallachian Nationalist assassinates Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Cluj. Wallachia has the support of Russia & Romania has an antagonistic relationship with Wallachia as they sided with Russia during the Crimean War. (Ik crimea is a turkish place name & probably wouldn't be what its called in the universe). You know how this story ends, the Central Powers loose the war. Arab nationalists are encouraged by the allies to rebel against Romanian rule. Romania is balkanized at the end of the war & the Roman Empire is finally ended in 1922. Let me know what you think about this scenario and how you think it would impact WWII.
I am refering to the Eastern Roman Empire as the Byzantine Empire because it's what we all know it by but in this universe it would be known officially as the Roman Empire & colloquially as Romania. I know this is confusing because we have a modern state called Romania which would seem to exist in my own maps below but this state is known as Wallachia & its language known as Wallachian as this term was used for the whole of the Romanian language during the middle ages. So from now on Romania = Byzantine Empire & Wallachia = (our) Romania. Because our history until the 13th century is the same, much of the Crusades & Turkish migrations occur just the same. The Sultinate of Rum spreads the Turkish language & costums to the native Anatolians of the peninsula's interior.
[Map of Romania in 1914. Purple = Romania proper, Light Purple = Territorially Adjacent Colonies]
[This is an ethnic map of Romania in 1914. Purple = Greek, Shades of Blue = Slavs (Bulgarians & Serbs), Hot Pink = Albanians, Gold = Turks & Azeris, Orange = Georgians, Red = Armenians, Yellow = Kurds, Green = Arabs & Arabized Berbers, Lime Green = Christian Arabs/"Arameans"]
[Greatest extent of Romania & Romanian territorial claims. Romania had several colonies in southern India in the early 1500s, however, the British ran them out in the 1600s. There are still pockets of Orthodox communities in Southern India to this day as a result.]
(Flag of Romania)
The motivating ideology of Romania from ancient Macedonia to the middle ages can be described as Helenic evangelism. Around the 13t & 14th centuries Romania turns away more towards Orthodox Evangelism as a binding ideology to keep the various ethnic groups of the empire from rebelling. Romania once the Bulgars & Serbs are subdued would begin to look east to retake Asia minor. Needless to say Romanian forces defeat the squabling Turkish warcheifs. The Romanians would work with some Turkish tribes against others. Defeated Turkish tribes would be given the option of aquiring interior lands in exchange for loyalty & converting to the orthdox faith. Obviously islam would continue to exist in private amongst some Turks for some decades. However, the Turks were relatively recently converted to Islam & would be pragmatic when it came to religion. By the 16th century Islam would have died out in Anatolia.
The mamluk sultinate would have existed in Egypt & the Levant placing much of the same hazardous trading condition for Christian powers as in our world meaning Columbus would still sail west in 1492. The history of the New World is virtually the same as in our world. For nearly 200 years since the Anatolian reconquista the borders of Romania would remain unchanged. Consisting of Greeks, Bulgarians, Serbs, Albanians, Turks & Armenians all united by the orthodox faith from the Danube to the Euphrates River. Spain next to the Mamluks like would be the main rival of Romania. When Spain discovers the New World & its great wealth Romania sees this as upsetting the power balance between the leading Orthodox & Catholic powers. Romania starts to look south as an oportunity to rebalance the two Empires. Through diplomacy & force Romania seizes Arab lands as colonial states with a necessary amount of autonomy.
The Greeks seeing the aquisition of these lands in the middle east & north Africa to be for economic reasons & not religiously motivated would be wise enough not to try to push Orthodox Christianity on Muslim Kurds, Azeris or Arabs. These new lands would make the empire look drastically bigger however they're considered "territorially adjacent colonies." As I said Romania would play much the same role as the Ottoman Empire in our own. Romania would not get along with it's Catholic neighbour Hungary. Little wars between the two would create the same circumstances that formed the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Romania would see Orthodox Russia as it's closest ally for much of the medieval period. Only until the 1850s would the relationship between Romania & Russia sour over territorial claims over Crimea. These two powers would fight their own Crimean War, Romania being supported by Western Powers. At the end of the war Romania loses any territorial claims north of the Danube & Caucasus Mountains. This perceived loss of territory sours its relationship with Russia and strengthens ties with Romania's former rival, Austria-Hungary. Just as the Ottoman Empire entered WWI on the side of Germany & Austria-Hungary so too does Romania against Britain, France & Russia. In this universe WWI begins after a Wallachian Nationalist assassinates Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Cluj. Wallachia has the support of Russia & Romania has an antagonistic relationship with Wallachia as they sided with Russia during the Crimean War. (Ik crimea is a turkish place name & probably wouldn't be what its called in the universe). You know how this story ends, the Central Powers loose the war. Arab nationalists are encouraged by the allies to rebel against Romanian rule. Romania is balkanized at the end of the war & the Roman Empire is finally ended in 1922. Let me know what you think about this scenario and how you think it would impact WWII.
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