As Fickle As The Wind: Byzantium Contains Islam: A TL

DioSolitario

As Fickle As The Wind
Part One: Byzantium Contains Islam
Written by DioSolitario​


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"We are the descendants of Caesar Augustus, we are the heirs of Justinian and Roma Aeterna, we triumphed over the Persians and brought honour to our peoples and our Empire. Of all of our great deeds and in spite of the prior defeats, did you believe that in the end we could be washed away by barbarians from Arabia Deserta?"
- An excerpt from The Letters of Heraclius


"Alas, it would seem that Allah has shown us that war, like life, is as fickle as the wind"
- Caliph Umar, allegedly after hearing about the death of Khalid ibn al-Walid, as transcribed by Ibn Ishaq


The Battle of the Hieromyces is largely forgotten today, but it was at this river in Syria that the armies of Heraclius destroyed those of the upstart Rashidun Caliphate and cemented Byzantine rule in the Levant. One can only guess now what might have been had it been Khalid ibn al-Walid and not Prince Constantine, Vahan the Armenian and the assortment of allied generals who had taken the field.
- Michael Parker-Young, Tales of the Heraclian Dynasty, published 2009, pg. 89

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Hello, and welcome to a rather short introduction to my timeline, As Fickle As The Wind. The point of divergence for this TL is that the Byzantine Empire defeats the Muslim armies of the Rashidun Caliphate at the Battle of Yarmouk. Rather than simply a "What if Islam never existed TL", it will show a world where the unstoppable armies of Islam were, indeed, stopped. How may history change? How will the world go on? I hope to answer those questions and many many more as this work progresses forward.
 
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AvatarOfKhaine

AvatarOfKhaine

Watched.

I hope the Heraclian dynasty does well, and that North Africa and Egypt remain in their highly developed state that they had in Late Antiquity.
 

mikegold

Intriguing.

One major question is whether the Sassanids "contain Islam" as well, or whether they collapse. If Persia becomes Muslim, the Byzantines still have a great power competitor of at least their own strength. If not, Middle Eastern politics becomes much more interesting; a three-way competition with Axum sometimes participating as the fourth major player.
 
Thesaurus Rex

Thesaurus Rex

mikegold said:
Intriguing.

One major question is whether the Sassanids "contain Islam" as well, or whether they collapse. If Persia becomes Muslim, the Byzantines still have a great power competitor of at least their own strength. If not, Middle Eastern politics becomes much more interesting; a three-way competition with Axum sometimes participating as the fourth major player.
Click to expand...
Would Shi'a Islam develop as OTL?
 
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