Alternate History Thread II...

[North King]

Why, thank you, even if most of that is laziness, since I'm waiting for the modern age. Quite a few are there deliberately, though, so your comment isn't too far off the mark.

 

[das]

Jolly good, as usual. Now for comments/nitpicks/questions:

Caesar of the Roman Empire.

I guess it is perfectly understandable (not sure if the Ottomans claimed that title in OTL, but makes sense anyway), but how about Arabifying that title? Not sure how exactly will it sound, but how about the "Qaysar of Rum"?

Portugal, and Georgia

Why them? Portugal at the time is too busy looking with suspicion at Castille and monopolizing the Indian Ocean trade (which means another reason to support the Turks, if anything - if they lose big, Venice might regain the monopoly on trade with India by conquering Egypt), Georgia was too weak. Although I guess that it could've tried something... but if the civil war is just beginning, such an action seems too suicidal for Georgians to contemplate.

After the great Christian defeat at the Battle of Constantinople, he led a fearsome war machine on several campaigns, and crushed the Georgians at the battle of Amisus, going on to put down the Armenian rebellion with brutal efficiency, bribing some of the better cavalry units to serve in his own army.

Then, in a stunning campaign of maneuver, he shattered several Timurid armies in Mesopotamia, and forced their sultan to sign a white peace.

Striking north again, he forced to Georgians to do the same thing

Spectacular, but wouldn't it make more sense to leave some troops to intimidate Georgia to surrender instead of wasting one's time on travelling back to Caucasia.

New Corsica

Why New Corsica if Corsica isn't French? Or was it discovered by a Genoan explorer by the last name of Buonoparte in French service?

Taíno Empire emerged.

With no tradition of statehood and lots of tribalism, I'm afraid it will fall like a house of cards... That said, ofcourse, it might get very lucky and even find some European advisors and allies. Maybe then - but even then, there's economic colonization (like in India or China).

Russia was essentially stillborn in the cradle as of now.

Weird sentence (not that I didn't make lots of those, especially in battle descriptions)...

where the Poles are inevitably a superpower at some point.

Heh. Rather funny that you should mention it...

*laughs maniacally, but in Polish*

very pro-French Aragon

I doubt it will stay so for long, dynastic ties or not. Too many points of conflict (Roussilon, Italy, Mediterranean commerce... although technically, if the Aragonese dominate the latter, France will have no choice but to turn to much greater involvement in colonizing America than in OTL, which seems to fit in with the TL).

(now we have to add little summaries of this, thanks, das! )

Muwhahahaha.

As for the map:
- Nice, but I see that, uh, Japan was overran by barbarians.
- Just to make sure - you put Murmansk there to not have to put it again later, or was it built 400 years early?
- Moldavia is somewhat more to the west - Yedisan was Tartar at the time.

(And I wouldn't post all those nitpicks, etc, etc if I weren't interested in this, and happen to believe that, apart from imitation, this is the best form of flattery. )

 

[North King]

I guess it is perfectly understandable (not sure if the Ottomans claimed that title in OTL, but makes sense anyway), but how about Arabifying that title? Not sure how exactly will it sound, but how about the "Qaysar of Rum"?

Yeah, they had that title in real history. Arabifying it might make it sound stupid.

Why them? Portugal at the time is too busy looking with suspicion at Castille and monopolizing the Indian Ocean trade (which means another reason to support the Turks, if anything - if they lose big, Venice might regain the monopoly on trade with India by conquering Egypt), Georgia was too weak. Although I guess that it could've tried something... but if the civil war is just beginning, such an action seems too suicidal for Georgians to contemplate.

Portugal wants Gibraltar. As for Georgia, you have to understand the Ottomans looked like they were about to die spectacularly.

Spectacular, but wouldn't it make more sense to leave some troops to intimidate Georgia to surrender instead of wasting one's time on travelling back to Caucasia.

He needed every man. While I didn't describe the Timurid battles because they were boring, Timurid armies are huge.

Why New Corsica if Corsica isn't French? Or was it discovered by a Genoan explorer by the last name of Buonoparte in French service?

'Twas the quickest name I could think of. I might change it.

With no tradition of statehood and lots of tribalism, I'm afraid it will fall like a house of cards... That said, ofcourse, it might get very lucky and even find some European advisors and allies. Maybe then - but even then, there's economic colonization (like in India or China).

Well, it all hinges on their charismatic ruler... once he dies... We'll see.

Weird sentence (not that I didn't make lots of those, especially in battle descriptions)...

I don't profread enough.

I doubt it will stay so for long, dynastic ties or not. Too many points of conflict (Roussilon, Italy, Mediterranean commerce... although technically, if the Aragonese dominate the latter, France will have no choice but to turn to much greater involvement in colonizing America than in OTL, which seems to fit in with the TL).

Nah, France and Aragon have managed to reconcile very well. Aragon keeps the Italian states in line, and France lends support against Castile. Plus, they take the close dynastic ties very seriously.

As for the map:
- Nice, but I see that, uh, Japan was overran by barbarians.
- Just to make sure - you put Murmansk there to not have to put it again later, or was it built 400 years early?
- Moldavia is somewhat more to the west - Yedisan was Tartar at the time.

I'm too lazy to color in the far east when nothing has changed. Murmansk is there so I don't have to put it in later. As for Moldavia... interesting...

(And I wouldn't post all those nitpicks, etc, etc if I weren't interested in this, and happen to believe that, apart from imitation, this is the best form of flattery. )

That's good to know.

 

[das]

Yeah, they had that title in real history. Arabifying it might make it sound stupid.

Okay, but in that case you'll have to call Russian rulers Caesers as well.

He needed every man. While I didn't describe the Timurid battles because they were boring, Timurid armies are huge.

Then why won't he just finish off Georgia and THEN go to fight the Timurids?

'Twas the quickest name I could think of. I might change it.

Nah, keep it Corsica and add in Admiral Buonoparte, for Panda's sake if not for mine.

 

[North King]

Okay, but in that case you'll have to call Russian rulers Caesers as well.

Tsar sounds cool.

Then why won't he just finish off Georgia and THEN go to fight the Timurids?

The Georgians were not an imminent threat. The Timurids were.

Nah, keep it Corsica and add in Admiral Buonoparte, for Panda's sake if not for mine.

Fine. Admiral Buonaparte.

 

[das]

Tsar sounds cool.

And so does Kaiser. So why not Qaysar? IMHO it doesn't sound too bad neither...

The Georgians were not an imminent threat. The Timurids were.

Still, why can't he just persuade them to surrender instead of returning to fight them again?

 

[North King]

Georgians? Surrender? Ha!

 

[das]

While I work on the next part of the Unenlightened Althist (some countries unite, a dynasty falls, yet another war takes place), here's yet another Guess the PoD map.

The world map is for the year 1403 AD (the year when the Byzantine admiral Nicomedes Bryennius and his expedition first arrived in the Yuan port of Saigon, inaugurating a new era in Indian Ocean trade).

 

[Sheep]

Man that map is awesome. Byzantine Empire survived obviously and grew larger by conquering Italy and the like.

 

[das]

Thank you... But why exactly did it survive in this world? That is the question.

 

[erez87]

No Islam. Right?

 

[das]

No Islam. Right?

Right, but that is too easy a way out. So...

Why didn't Islam emerge in this world (there is a very precise PoD, and it might in a way be what you'd expect - i.e. the absence of Mohammed - so I'll instead ask why was he absent/died young/whatever)?

 

[erez87]

Well because I don't know that much historic things.. I assume it somthing with Byzantium going east and conquering Arabia?

 

[das]

No, that is a very recent development. But Arabia, or rather Hejaz, being conquered by a foreign (sort of) army is indeed the PoD. Now... who conquered it?

 

[North King]

Sabae Arabs? Or Africans?

 

[das]

Sabae Arabs? Or Africans?

Why the "or"?

More specifically, the event that took place was in 570 AD. An army of a defected Axumite general was besieging Mecca, and was only barely driven off. Said general, named Abraha, was a religious fanatic, so we could assume that few, few people would've survived the massacre that would've followed the fall of Mecca. They won't spare little babies neither, and that includes Abu al-Qasim Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim.

Okay, now try and guess the names of some of the countries here. Many of them aren't what you might expect.

 

[Kal'thzar]

British isles nations looks sorta like the Vikings won Capital at York is it? (Us scottish types no little of the Feeble English countryside, it gets burnt anyway ) and Hence american expansion united "Northen" kingdoms.

Rus, Novgrod capital is it?

and some of the other european nations look familiar :/

 

[North King]

Moravia, Franks, Visigoths, Suevii for Europe...?

Toltecs, Chimu, Mississippia, and... whatever those are, for the Americas?

Khazars, Uzbeks, and Sassinids for Asia...

India... that's odd. Rajputstan, I'm guessing for the tan, Kalinga, Western Chalukyas for the pinkish, I don't know what the bluish purple could be, maybe an exiled part of the Cholas, the Orangish... Pallavas? And the dark purple seems to be pretty obviously Sinhala, but that could be dead wrong.

Bagan, Khmers, and Majapahit, for the Southeast Asian zone?

Zanzibar, Zimbabwe, and Kanem-Bornu for the Africans just seem to easy to be true... But I don't know what the other could be. With a look at an atlas, I'll guess... Ghana?

 

[North King]

How many of those little North American states are colonial, anyway?

 

[Azale]

wow, that would be a fine nes to mod or play. Im finally getting the mod bug back, and Ive also finally found a time pattern that would allow me to mod it longer than 4 updates...but I want to play it so much!