Ok, some of you know that i posted another Byzantine timeline, which sucked, so i deleted that and started over from scratch. things you need to know are...
1. if it seems oddly generic, then that means i am unable to find the correct dynasty or person or even a nation.
2. i am employing a medium butterfly theory. butterfly effects take a long time to get anywhere.
3. Because i am literally unable to comprehend the world without mongols, i've included them, under the above reasoning. its a different person with a different tribe.
4. please excuse all spelling or grammar errors.
5. there is mention of the Greek people gaining independence. remember there are two cultures of the greeks. the roman one and the Hellenist one. the latter controls Greece proper.
6. the Roman and hellenist Greeks worked together to settle north america. they didnt get too much land, but its still somewhat better than the other states in the area. even in 1810, and independent, it still retains good relations with Byzantium.
7. i still need to come up with a unique name for the Byzantines.
the timeline stops at 1810, and I welcome ideas in which direction, generally, to go from there. a fractured world in which there are no true superpowers, a world united in peace after a horrific war somewhere, or the world ends due to a nuclear war instigated between two or more superpowers, and so on.
its also open to expansion. particularly the 296 years at the end coudl do with some expanding.
the point of divergence is in 995, when Basil II married, and had a son.
995: Basil II marries a low-born female, to the displeasure of some in the senate, and gets an heir soon after.
(things pretty much stay the same until...)
1025: Basil does not die, but instead is as healthy as ever, even if a bit old, and he continues his reign as Emperor.
1026: barely 2 months in, Sicily is invaded by the Byzantines, who gain control of the island shortly after. meanwhile the Empire further stabilizes when even more money and population are available. the imperial treasury only gets larger and larger, affording a bigger army, more infrastructure and so on.
1027: Basil II declares an end to all offensive warfare to focus on the state itself. because there were no major enemies, and the countries surrounding Byzantium did not need to be pissed off.
1056: Basil dies, leaving behind his grandson, George, as Emperor. Basil did a good job educating his son, and in turn his son as well, therefore, George was an able Emperor with a family, but not as good as Basil. with a full treasury, a rock solid state, with an economic system the envy of other states, George continued the policies of Basil, although somewhat more guarded about his own weaknesses.
1071: with Byzantium still the major power, and its many allies, the Turkish peoples did not dare attack such a strong target, so they focus on the weaker ones. over time they settled in Iran and other places.
1090: under a rule of another Emperor of the same dynasty, Byzantium tried to expand its holdings. Wallachia was briefly invaded before agreeing to be a Byzantine Vassal. he then concentrated on the east, where the Fatimid caliphate was still at large.
1094: with 4 years of subtle preparation ( so that the Fatimid don't notice it) they then charge directly south straight to Jerusalem. the Arab armies, surprised, were destroyed as Jerusalem and the surrounding areas, including the Sinai peninsula, was taken.
the Fatimid's were shocked to see the Romans charge to Jerusalem and take it in less than 4 months, with the best Arab armies sent to oppose them were wiped out. they are afraid that Cairo would be next.
1096: they were wrong. the Byzantines made their way south again, this time with the support of the relatively ancient Abbasid Caliphate. together, they made their way south into Arabian lands. the Abbasid took care of the eastern half, while Byzantium focused on the western half.
1097: a year later, Byzantine troops entered mecca, and their superior discipline held themselves from razing the Islamic capital. as agreed beforehand, the Abbasid Caliphate took all of the Byzantine conquests that they made from 1094 onwards.
the effect is, there are two major caliphate powers. the Abbasid, friendly to Constantinople, and in a good overall position, and the Fatimid, hostile to Byzantium and the Abbasid, in a bad position. but Byzantium isn't finished.
1100: three years later, the doom of the Fatimid approach. the Emperor toured various European countries asking for their help to end the Fatimid caliphate with Byzantium and the Abbasid Caliphate. some western states, seeing the wisdom of the Emperors words (after all, a caliphate friendly to Byzantium and allies were not a threat to them, as Byzantium can keep them in line) agreed to help.
Three things happened in relatively fast pace: the First Crusade, Aimed for Alexandria begins to sail there and Battle the Caliphate. then Byzantium and their new Abbasid Allies, stormed into Egypt from the Sinai. the Fatimid army fought hard, but the rule of the Fatimid caliph is harsh and he isn't very popular. a revolt in Cairo messed things up even more, spelling doom for the caliphate.
1101: the Fatimid Caliphate falls under the combined Crusader, Byzantine and Abbasid might. Cairo was taken and the caliph executed. the Abbasid caliphate is restored to most of its former glory.
1102: Byzantium is in an amazing state. the Arabs are removed as a threat (until a new caliphate comes along at least), they had no hostile enemies in the Danube frontier, with everything secured, Byzantium stops all the offensive campaigns again and focuses inwards.
1154: 52 years later, the Abbasid caliphate no longer exists. it seems that they had a series of bad caliphs, and the last one died heirless, so it pretty much fell apart. Byzantium increases security on the eastern frontier, saying that it cant lose its guard.
1182-1208: Bulgarian rebels, apparently funded by a vengeful frankish King, eventually won aganst Byzantium and established the second Bulgarian Empire. however, both empires exhausted themselves, and heavy taxes were levied on the Serbians.
...which they themselves revolted. Byzantium really was in no fit state (militarily) to continue suppressing them so they just let them go in 1214.
1216: the Byzantines gradually lowered taxes until the income rate matches the expenses, which is at a reasonable level for a state of this size.
1218: Byzantium adopts gunpowder, when Chinese merchants demonstrate the power of it. the reason for giving Byzantium gunpower was that the mongols destroyed the chinese state, and is making their way west, destroying all those who oppose them. Byzantium decides to heed the cryptic warnings after several Turkish nations on the eastern end of Iran are wiped out.
1250: Iran is defeated and conquered by the mongols. a caliphate ruling from Jerusalem to Kuwait is on the front lines. that same Caliphate decided to resist the mongols, because they know they have to be defeated at some point.
1252: barely two years later, Baghdad and Kuwait city is captured and razed pretty horrifically. still they continue. also, this brings Byzantium into direct contact with the mongols.
1254: Byzantium, learning of their true power and scope realizes that it cannot hope to resist the mongols and emerge fine after it, particularly if the major cities were razed. so when the mongols met the Emperor in Constantinople, the Emperor went out of his way to be nice to the diplomats, and offering them gifts and stuff.
the gifts, and their nice behavior paid off. the mongols promised to leave Byzantium alone, if they have free passage through the state, and military assistance whenever required. Byzantium accepted.
1256: the caliphate was destroyed as the mongols took Jerusalem, and razed it. the Byzantine bribe to save the city failed.
1259: Bulgaria made to fight the mongols, and was quickly destroyed as the mongols armies came from the south and north of the Empire. Byzantium, seeing an opportunity asks the Mongolians to turn the area over to them. they agreed.
1260: Serbia, in full war mode, attacks the mongols at Sofia. only to find that it wasn't just the mongols. they attacked a major city jointly defended by Byzantium and the mongols. the results aren't pretty. it resulted in the defeat of the Serbian army.
for this outrage, Byzantium provided Mongolia with the troops necessary for the Serbian campaign. Serbia, for its part, knew what was coming and prepared for it.
1264: four years later, Serbia is destroyed, with the capital city razed. Byzantium takes over administration of the area.
1270: Mongolia collapses when its leader dies. seems he didn't name a successor. Byzantium takes the opportunity, and frees itself from mongol control. the various mongol khanates...don't really care. or cant force the issue. no one really knows.
1271-1400: the Balkans is slowly rebuilt. the Serbians and Bulgarians recognize that they need to fix their homelands before even thinking about rebelling again.
the eastern border, due to various caliphates trying to invade merely settles on the Euphrates river. the Arabs aren't much of a threat.
1423: the Serbians and the Bulgarians request their independence, peacefully. the Byzantine Emperor considers it, and lets them go. better to have friends in the Balkans, than bitter enemies. its also way cheaper.
1424-1512: crisis of the 15th century. the previous Emperor died, and bad ones came into power. the result s that they set Byzantium back about 50 years, empty the treasury, alienate the Greeks in their homeland so much they broke away from Byzantium. finally the people had enough, stormed the palace and killed the last of the Macedonian Dynasty. they elected Constantine XI of the Palaiologan Dynasty (same dynasty, different people)
1513: Constantine knew that he had a difficult job to do. firstly, he reduced expenses as much as he could without sacrificing the military or the social policies of the state. then he repealed all the ridiculous laws that his predecessors made, and finally, he ensured that to prevent future bad Emperors, the imperial senate can impeach him, and elect a new person of the same, or different dynasty.
he also knew that Byzantium, despite tis earlier troubles, is still considered the strongest power in the region, capable of challenging Arabian or Turkish power in the east, Russian power in the north, and various powers in the west. Byzantium needed to keep up the power and prestige, knowing that it would save them eventually.
1514-1810: the next 296 years of Byzantium being relatively isolated form the outside world is fairly uneventful. they normalized relations with the Hellenist Greeks, the Arabs states stabilized, and prospered to a point. Byzantium underwent an industrial revolution when they tried to find a faster way of moving people and cargo across the state. they invented rail roads, which in turn cause many new industries to form and flourish.
and that, in turn, made a number of social issues. it was really difficult, with revolts nearly toppling the state, but the social situation improved, education made compulsory, improved medical care, and so on. lastly they took the currency out of Gold standard.
they also tried to expand, both peacefully and militarily. they weren't successful in the west, and were only temporarily successful in the east. even the Jewish state of Israel only lasted a century, before begin overrun by Arabs.
In the international side, its relatively stable. the british, Byzantine, french and Spanish Empires discovered America, and settled it. apparently china settled the west coast. the result is, there are five states in america by 1810. Gumshan, centered in a difficult to type Chinese city in the bay, the Greek states of America, centered in Nova Angora (where new york is), Mexico, centered in Mexico city, Canada, centered in Toronto, and the Confederates, centered in Richmond.
apparently, the British hated the fact that the romans managed to steal the north eastern lands from udnerneauth their noses. they settled on the south eastern coast instead, and tried, but failed, to take the north, their lands declared independence for tax reasons.
in south America, the French still lost colonies, but due to independence. modern Argentina, chile, Uruguay, and parts of Brazil is french, while Peru,Columbia, Venezuela are Spanish, while Brazil and the Guyanese states are all British.
timeline ends here.
1. if it seems oddly generic, then that means i am unable to find the correct dynasty or person or even a nation.
2. i am employing a medium butterfly theory. butterfly effects take a long time to get anywhere.
3. Because i am literally unable to comprehend the world without mongols, i've included them, under the above reasoning. its a different person with a different tribe.
4. please excuse all spelling or grammar errors.
5. there is mention of the Greek people gaining independence. remember there are two cultures of the greeks. the roman one and the Hellenist one. the latter controls Greece proper.
6. the Roman and hellenist Greeks worked together to settle north america. they didnt get too much land, but its still somewhat better than the other states in the area. even in 1810, and independent, it still retains good relations with Byzantium.
7. i still need to come up with a unique name for the Byzantines.
the timeline stops at 1810, and I welcome ideas in which direction, generally, to go from there. a fractured world in which there are no true superpowers, a world united in peace after a horrific war somewhere, or the world ends due to a nuclear war instigated between two or more superpowers, and so on.
its also open to expansion. particularly the 296 years at the end coudl do with some expanding.
the point of divergence is in 995, when Basil II married, and had a son.
995: Basil II marries a low-born female, to the displeasure of some in the senate, and gets an heir soon after.
(things pretty much stay the same until...)
1025: Basil does not die, but instead is as healthy as ever, even if a bit old, and he continues his reign as Emperor.
1026: barely 2 months in, Sicily is invaded by the Byzantines, who gain control of the island shortly after. meanwhile the Empire further stabilizes when even more money and population are available. the imperial treasury only gets larger and larger, affording a bigger army, more infrastructure and so on.
1027: Basil II declares an end to all offensive warfare to focus on the state itself. because there were no major enemies, and the countries surrounding Byzantium did not need to be pissed off.
1056: Basil dies, leaving behind his grandson, George, as Emperor. Basil did a good job educating his son, and in turn his son as well, therefore, George was an able Emperor with a family, but not as good as Basil. with a full treasury, a rock solid state, with an economic system the envy of other states, George continued the policies of Basil, although somewhat more guarded about his own weaknesses.
1071: with Byzantium still the major power, and its many allies, the Turkish peoples did not dare attack such a strong target, so they focus on the weaker ones. over time they settled in Iran and other places.
1090: under a rule of another Emperor of the same dynasty, Byzantium tried to expand its holdings. Wallachia was briefly invaded before agreeing to be a Byzantine Vassal. he then concentrated on the east, where the Fatimid caliphate was still at large.
1094: with 4 years of subtle preparation ( so that the Fatimid don't notice it) they then charge directly south straight to Jerusalem. the Arab armies, surprised, were destroyed as Jerusalem and the surrounding areas, including the Sinai peninsula, was taken.
the Fatimid's were shocked to see the Romans charge to Jerusalem and take it in less than 4 months, with the best Arab armies sent to oppose them were wiped out. they are afraid that Cairo would be next.
1096: they were wrong. the Byzantines made their way south again, this time with the support of the relatively ancient Abbasid Caliphate. together, they made their way south into Arabian lands. the Abbasid took care of the eastern half, while Byzantium focused on the western half.
1097: a year later, Byzantine troops entered mecca, and their superior discipline held themselves from razing the Islamic capital. as agreed beforehand, the Abbasid Caliphate took all of the Byzantine conquests that they made from 1094 onwards.
the effect is, there are two major caliphate powers. the Abbasid, friendly to Constantinople, and in a good overall position, and the Fatimid, hostile to Byzantium and the Abbasid, in a bad position. but Byzantium isn't finished.
1100: three years later, the doom of the Fatimid approach. the Emperor toured various European countries asking for their help to end the Fatimid caliphate with Byzantium and the Abbasid Caliphate. some western states, seeing the wisdom of the Emperors words (after all, a caliphate friendly to Byzantium and allies were not a threat to them, as Byzantium can keep them in line) agreed to help.
Three things happened in relatively fast pace: the First Crusade, Aimed for Alexandria begins to sail there and Battle the Caliphate. then Byzantium and their new Abbasid Allies, stormed into Egypt from the Sinai. the Fatimid army fought hard, but the rule of the Fatimid caliph is harsh and he isn't very popular. a revolt in Cairo messed things up even more, spelling doom for the caliphate.
1101: the Fatimid Caliphate falls under the combined Crusader, Byzantine and Abbasid might. Cairo was taken and the caliph executed. the Abbasid caliphate is restored to most of its former glory.
1102: Byzantium is in an amazing state. the Arabs are removed as a threat (until a new caliphate comes along at least), they had no hostile enemies in the Danube frontier, with everything secured, Byzantium stops all the offensive campaigns again and focuses inwards.
1154: 52 years later, the Abbasid caliphate no longer exists. it seems that they had a series of bad caliphs, and the last one died heirless, so it pretty much fell apart. Byzantium increases security on the eastern frontier, saying that it cant lose its guard.
1182-1208: Bulgarian rebels, apparently funded by a vengeful frankish King, eventually won aganst Byzantium and established the second Bulgarian Empire. however, both empires exhausted themselves, and heavy taxes were levied on the Serbians.
...which they themselves revolted. Byzantium really was in no fit state (militarily) to continue suppressing them so they just let them go in 1214.
1216: the Byzantines gradually lowered taxes until the income rate matches the expenses, which is at a reasonable level for a state of this size.
1218: Byzantium adopts gunpowder, when Chinese merchants demonstrate the power of it. the reason for giving Byzantium gunpower was that the mongols destroyed the chinese state, and is making their way west, destroying all those who oppose them. Byzantium decides to heed the cryptic warnings after several Turkish nations on the eastern end of Iran are wiped out.
1250: Iran is defeated and conquered by the mongols. a caliphate ruling from Jerusalem to Kuwait is on the front lines. that same Caliphate decided to resist the mongols, because they know they have to be defeated at some point.
1252: barely two years later, Baghdad and Kuwait city is captured and razed pretty horrifically. still they continue. also, this brings Byzantium into direct contact with the mongols.
1254: Byzantium, learning of their true power and scope realizes that it cannot hope to resist the mongols and emerge fine after it, particularly if the major cities were razed. so when the mongols met the Emperor in Constantinople, the Emperor went out of his way to be nice to the diplomats, and offering them gifts and stuff.
the gifts, and their nice behavior paid off. the mongols promised to leave Byzantium alone, if they have free passage through the state, and military assistance whenever required. Byzantium accepted.
1256: the caliphate was destroyed as the mongols took Jerusalem, and razed it. the Byzantine bribe to save the city failed.
1259: Bulgaria made to fight the mongols, and was quickly destroyed as the mongols armies came from the south and north of the Empire. Byzantium, seeing an opportunity asks the Mongolians to turn the area over to them. they agreed.
1260: Serbia, in full war mode, attacks the mongols at Sofia. only to find that it wasn't just the mongols. they attacked a major city jointly defended by Byzantium and the mongols. the results aren't pretty. it resulted in the defeat of the Serbian army.
for this outrage, Byzantium provided Mongolia with the troops necessary for the Serbian campaign. Serbia, for its part, knew what was coming and prepared for it.
1264: four years later, Serbia is destroyed, with the capital city razed. Byzantium takes over administration of the area.
1270: Mongolia collapses when its leader dies. seems he didn't name a successor. Byzantium takes the opportunity, and frees itself from mongol control. the various mongol khanates...don't really care. or cant force the issue. no one really knows.
1271-1400: the Balkans is slowly rebuilt. the Serbians and Bulgarians recognize that they need to fix their homelands before even thinking about rebelling again.
the eastern border, due to various caliphates trying to invade merely settles on the Euphrates river. the Arabs aren't much of a threat.
1423: the Serbians and the Bulgarians request their independence, peacefully. the Byzantine Emperor considers it, and lets them go. better to have friends in the Balkans, than bitter enemies. its also way cheaper.
1424-1512: crisis of the 15th century. the previous Emperor died, and bad ones came into power. the result s that they set Byzantium back about 50 years, empty the treasury, alienate the Greeks in their homeland so much they broke away from Byzantium. finally the people had enough, stormed the palace and killed the last of the Macedonian Dynasty. they elected Constantine XI of the Palaiologan Dynasty (same dynasty, different people)
1513: Constantine knew that he had a difficult job to do. firstly, he reduced expenses as much as he could without sacrificing the military or the social policies of the state. then he repealed all the ridiculous laws that his predecessors made, and finally, he ensured that to prevent future bad Emperors, the imperial senate can impeach him, and elect a new person of the same, or different dynasty.
he also knew that Byzantium, despite tis earlier troubles, is still considered the strongest power in the region, capable of challenging Arabian or Turkish power in the east, Russian power in the north, and various powers in the west. Byzantium needed to keep up the power and prestige, knowing that it would save them eventually.
1514-1810: the next 296 years of Byzantium being relatively isolated form the outside world is fairly uneventful. they normalized relations with the Hellenist Greeks, the Arabs states stabilized, and prospered to a point. Byzantium underwent an industrial revolution when they tried to find a faster way of moving people and cargo across the state. they invented rail roads, which in turn cause many new industries to form and flourish.
and that, in turn, made a number of social issues. it was really difficult, with revolts nearly toppling the state, but the social situation improved, education made compulsory, improved medical care, and so on. lastly they took the currency out of Gold standard.
they also tried to expand, both peacefully and militarily. they weren't successful in the west, and were only temporarily successful in the east. even the Jewish state of Israel only lasted a century, before begin overrun by Arabs.
In the international side, its relatively stable. the british, Byzantine, french and Spanish Empires discovered America, and settled it. apparently china settled the west coast. the result is, there are five states in america by 1810. Gumshan, centered in a difficult to type Chinese city in the bay, the Greek states of America, centered in Nova Angora (where new york is), Mexico, centered in Mexico city, Canada, centered in Toronto, and the Confederates, centered in Richmond.
apparently, the British hated the fact that the romans managed to steal the north eastern lands from udnerneauth their noses. they settled on the south eastern coast instead, and tried, but failed, to take the north, their lands declared independence for tax reasons.
in south America, the French still lost colonies, but due to independence. modern Argentina, chile, Uruguay, and parts of Brazil is french, while Peru,Columbia, Venezuela are Spanish, while Brazil and the Guyanese states are all British.
timeline ends here.
