Muezzins on the Seine
- Thread starter Polish Eagle
- Start date
Whats going on with the Byzantines? Shouldn't they be fighting the Abbasids?
Wouldn't Anglo-Norse or Anglo-Danish be more appropriate?
I'm pretty sure there was never a Viking race.
I'm pretty sure there was never a Viking race.
As much as Plains Indians in chariots is an awesome image, is it possible for them to develop so quickly? Do the Native Americans make more extensive use of the wheel ITTL?
Bump! This is an amazing time line and I'm hoping you'll be continuing when you get the chance! Cheers! 
Bump! This is an amazing time line and I'm hoping you'll be continuing when you get the chance! Cheers!
Thank you! I planned to update last Friday, but I fell behind. I've no excuse. But I assure you I'll have one up tonight.
Update:
The elephants released by the Muslims into South America did very well. They exploited a niche that had been empty since the extinction of the giant sloth and the mastodon; that of a large forest browser. Elephants filled the jungles and grasslands, and this simplified the operation of selling them and their ivory in the New World greatly.
But back in Europe, things were unstable. The Caliphate of Cordoba, long overstretched, finally broke apart in 1413, when the Caliph Muhammad XI died, and left no heir. Two contenders rose up from Cordoba and Massilia, each endorsed by their own armies. After a series of bloody wars, the Massilian candidate was killed, and the Cordoban claimed the title. But he had little money and few soldiers to hold on to anything far outside Al-Andalus by the end. The large mercantile middle class of Massilia took control of the government there, and established a new form of government; the Merchant's Republic. Though not limited to merchants, that group made up much of the voting membership. It's laws were that those with a certain amount of money could vote for the Emir, who would make decisions once elected.
As the chaos continued in Europe, the Emirate of Tunis broke off, its own Emir deciding they profited more from trade with the two waring powers than they ever could from war.
The situation between the Roman Empire and Abbasid Caliphate was a back and forth series of wars for centuries. One decade the Romans would win, the next the Abbasids would take their land back, and then the Romans would reclaim their own territory. It was punctuated by occasional great military leaders who took their forces deeper into enemy territory than anyone before. None were so significant to the long-term situation in the Middle East than Emperor Basil VIII.
The Emperor knew that, for the greater benefit of his throne, some principles, namely that of the War of the Cross against the 'heathens' who occupied the Holy Land, needed to be ignored temporarily. He brought in Muslim allies, the Persians, who his predecessors refused to even meet with. The Persians proved instrumental to his plans. They'd long had their eye on Mesopotamia, and when Basil launched his war against the Abbasids, they went in to grab Mesopotamia, one of the great centers of wealth and power (next to Mecca, Medina, and Egypt) in the Abbasid caliphate. Basil himself conquered Lebanon and Syria, and established the puppet Kingdom of Jerusalem, with his own brother as King. The Caliphate fell apart from this pressure. The center of power moved from Damascus (conquered) to Fustat, where the Caliph agreed to recognize the King of Jerusalem, and to the conquests of Mesopotamia and Syria. Though he nominally retained control of Arabia, he couldn't enforce it. Soon, the trading city-states of southern Arabia were breaking off, and his power was soon confined to the area around Mecca and Medina.
Map:
The elephants released by the Muslims into South America did very well. They exploited a niche that had been empty since the extinction of the giant sloth and the mastodon; that of a large forest browser. Elephants filled the jungles and grasslands, and this simplified the operation of selling them and their ivory in the New World greatly.
But back in Europe, things were unstable. The Caliphate of Cordoba, long overstretched, finally broke apart in 1413, when the Caliph Muhammad XI died, and left no heir. Two contenders rose up from Cordoba and Massilia, each endorsed by their own armies. After a series of bloody wars, the Massilian candidate was killed, and the Cordoban claimed the title. But he had little money and few soldiers to hold on to anything far outside Al-Andalus by the end. The large mercantile middle class of Massilia took control of the government there, and established a new form of government; the Merchant's Republic. Though not limited to merchants, that group made up much of the voting membership. It's laws were that those with a certain amount of money could vote for the Emir, who would make decisions once elected.
As the chaos continued in Europe, the Emirate of Tunis broke off, its own Emir deciding they profited more from trade with the two waring powers than they ever could from war.
The situation between the Roman Empire and Abbasid Caliphate was a back and forth series of wars for centuries. One decade the Romans would win, the next the Abbasids would take their land back, and then the Romans would reclaim their own territory. It was punctuated by occasional great military leaders who took their forces deeper into enemy territory than anyone before. None were so significant to the long-term situation in the Middle East than Emperor Basil VIII.
The Emperor knew that, for the greater benefit of his throne, some principles, namely that of the War of the Cross against the 'heathens' who occupied the Holy Land, needed to be ignored temporarily. He brought in Muslim allies, the Persians, who his predecessors refused to even meet with. The Persians proved instrumental to his plans. They'd long had their eye on Mesopotamia, and when Basil launched his war against the Abbasids, they went in to grab Mesopotamia, one of the great centers of wealth and power (next to Mecca, Medina, and Egypt) in the Abbasid caliphate. Basil himself conquered Lebanon and Syria, and established the puppet Kingdom of Jerusalem, with his own brother as King. The Caliphate fell apart from this pressure. The center of power moved from Damascus (conquered) to Fustat, where the Caliph agreed to recognize the King of Jerusalem, and to the conquests of Mesopotamia and Syria. Though he nominally retained control of Arabia, he couldn't enforce it. Soon, the trading city-states of southern Arabia were breaking off, and his power was soon confined to the area around Mecca and Medina.
Map:
Another fine update! Keep up the great work! I'm looking forward to seeing how things unspool in the Americas...especially in Central America and Vinland!
Transporting elephants, especially males, especially across the Atlantic, would be ... interesting...
Enraged elephants in the hold during a storm... storing enough hay to feed them for a month or two.... Male elephants are not precisely docile at the best of times.
I figure the merchants would drug them with some sort of plant. The Amazonians were familiar with various plants in the region that could put people down, so perhaps there's one that the merchants can use for elephants.
***
In the aftermath of his successful conquest of the Holy Land, Emperor Basil VIII married into the royalty of the Magyar Kingdom, and when their king died, Basil inherited the crown. The union of the Roman Empire and Magyar Kingdom brought the area under the rule of Constantinople to its greatest extent since Justinian's reign. Basil retired from military expansion after 1423, and focused on internal improvements, such as the growing controversy in the Church between the Ibrahmist faction, and the Purists.
The Ibrahmists, following the ideas of an Infranjan scholar, believed that Muhammad had been sent by God to 'clean up' Christian teachings, specifically those about circumcision and the eating of forbidden foods. They believed that circumcision was a necessity, and that dietary laws must be followed (it should be noted that a growing number of Muslim scholars, and Ibram himself, were more lenient on this, considering restraint from foods to be an 'ideal,' that could be ignored if there was little alternative). The Purists believed that these issues had been solved in the centuries before Muhammad with the direct intervention of the Holy Spirit, and that giving Muhammad any veneration was heretical.
After much debate, politics, and back-stabbing (sometimes literally, as Bishops were known to be hit by carts, or fall off bridges), the Ibrahmists won out, and the Council of Constantinople declared a new regulation against the forbidden foods.
The decision split the Christian church, ending the central authority of the Patriarch of Constantinople (and, by extension, the Emperor) that had lasted for centuries. It was highly unpopular in northern Europe, and, as a result, the local churches made a comeback. Now, the Bishop of a town was the final authority on theological matters in many cases, with some in the closer (geographically) regions meeting every few years for a council to address issues that affected all of them (for example, the Bishops of London, Yorvik, and Nottingham convened in 1509 to condemn the smoking of Hashish). The Patriarch of Constantinople, and the other Patriarchs (Alexandria, Jerusalem, Rome, etc.) remained supreme in much of the Mediterranean world, but their authority was limited further north.
By 1430, two other groups of people had established outposts in the New World. The Japanese had established fishing and whaling posts in the Aleutian islands, and the English did the same on the Atlantic coast.
Thanks! I wish I had more time to update, but I just got a job, so I've less time than before. But I'll try to have one up tomorrow.
Update:
The Purist defeat at the Council of Constantinople (1425) led to an exodus of the newly-heretical bishops, mostly to Poland and Ukraine, though some went to England. This was encouraged by the Patriarchs, and by Emperor Basil's successor, Justinian, who wished to prevent civil strife between warring religious factions. These bishops soon gained much influence, steming from wealth acquired from the sale of properties back in the Empire.
The English whalers in Greenland and the New World thrived on the still-ample, even after 4 centuries of Norse exploitation, fish stocks of the North Atlantic, and the ones in the New World developed a strong trading economy, based on furs from further inland (beavers were mostly extinct in Europe, though there were some left in isolated parts of Russia). The emergence of the English trading posts also led to a naval arms race in the North Atlantic. The Norse never forgot their roots as raiders and pirates, and preyed on any English ships they could find. In response, the English built better ships, with cannons and fire tubes on multiple decks. Their ships also became faster, able to cross the Atlantic in a period of 2 months when currents and weather were favorable.
The Caliphate of Cordoba (also referred to as Al-Andalus) strengthened its own overseas colony, which had been named after the local tribal name for it (pronounced Roh-ahn-ok). Though initially struggling, it grew with the discovery that very high-quality strains of cannabis plant grew like weed there. The local tribes had been smoking a similar plant for decades, but cannabis soon rose to prominence in their traditions as well. This allowed an extractive economy to develop in Rohahnok. The local Algonquin natives would grow the plants on plantations using slave labor gained in wars with their neighbors, and sell the plant to the Andalusians (and occasional Vikings) for a profit.
By 1450, the dominant power in the Plains was the Cheyenne Nation. The Cheyenne had been among the first of the Indians to use horses on a large scale, and had domesticated them to a greater extent than did their neighbors (for example, only the Cheyenne independently developed horse-drawn carts). They used the horses to great effect in agriculture on the right bank of the Mississippi River, and established vast horse-powered trade networks. From the joining of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, they traded gold and silver from the mountains to the west for iron weapons. These iron weapons were then used to continue Cheyenne dominance of the eastern mountains.
The Purist defeat at the Council of Constantinople (1425) led to an exodus of the newly-heretical bishops, mostly to Poland and Ukraine, though some went to England. This was encouraged by the Patriarchs, and by Emperor Basil's successor, Justinian, who wished to prevent civil strife between warring religious factions. These bishops soon gained much influence, steming from wealth acquired from the sale of properties back in the Empire.
The English whalers in Greenland and the New World thrived on the still-ample, even after 4 centuries of Norse exploitation, fish stocks of the North Atlantic, and the ones in the New World developed a strong trading economy, based on furs from further inland (beavers were mostly extinct in Europe, though there were some left in isolated parts of Russia). The emergence of the English trading posts also led to a naval arms race in the North Atlantic. The Norse never forgot their roots as raiders and pirates, and preyed on any English ships they could find. In response, the English built better ships, with cannons and fire tubes on multiple decks. Their ships also became faster, able to cross the Atlantic in a period of 2 months when currents and weather were favorable.
The Caliphate of Cordoba (also referred to as Al-Andalus) strengthened its own overseas colony, which had been named after the local tribal name for it (pronounced Roh-ahn-ok). Though initially struggling, it grew with the discovery that very high-quality strains of cannabis plant grew like weed there. The local tribes had been smoking a similar plant for decades, but cannabis soon rose to prominence in their traditions as well. This allowed an extractive economy to develop in Rohahnok. The local Algonquin natives would grow the plants on plantations using slave labor gained in wars with their neighbors, and sell the plant to the Andalusians (and occasional Vikings) for a profit.
By 1450, the dominant power in the Plains was the Cheyenne Nation. The Cheyenne had been among the first of the Indians to use horses on a large scale, and had domesticated them to a greater extent than did their neighbors (for example, only the Cheyenne independently developed horse-drawn carts). They used the horses to great effect in agriculture on the right bank of the Mississippi River, and established vast horse-powered trade networks. From the joining of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, they traded gold and silver from the mountains to the west for iron weapons. These iron weapons were then used to continue Cheyenne dominance of the eastern mountains.
Update:
1457 is the first date of Polynesian contact with the bronze-working cultures of the Andes. The natives here were semi-nomadic, but this did not stop them from establishing some degree of mettalurgy. The Polynesians had been visiting South America occasionally for some time, introducing chickens and bringing home sweet potato. But this was the start of sustained contact with the Polynesians. The chief of the Polynesian expedition saw much utility in the bronze weapons, and, on the third day of his stay in the native village, had his men massacre the village population and take all the bronze they could find. He started himself off as a warlord of the region, taking over a handful of towns, and then expanding by sea. The Polynesian ships soon sailed up and down the coast of South America, claiming tribute from local tribes for their chiefs. Their ships could be found as far north as Purhepecha territory.
In Massilia, a Muslim philosopher rediscovers al-Khazini's experiments with steam power, but with a different goal in mind. He reads al-Khazini's notes, and wonders why steam propels the aeolipile. He comes up with the theory of air pressure, and devises a tool to measure it, a glass tube filled with quicksilver. He builds one, and places it inside a closed tank filled with steam. He notes that steam inside the closed tank does indeed exert pressure, similar to wind. With this, he devises a new steam-powered device: the piston. He experiments with types of pistons, and, using a series of precision gears, produces a device which turns the reciprocating motion of the piston into rotating motion. However, it is very inefficient, and little comes of it. Its applications are limited to pumping water out of very deep mines in the Rhineland.
1457 is the first date of Polynesian contact with the bronze-working cultures of the Andes. The natives here were semi-nomadic, but this did not stop them from establishing some degree of mettalurgy. The Polynesians had been visiting South America occasionally for some time, introducing chickens and bringing home sweet potato. But this was the start of sustained contact with the Polynesians. The chief of the Polynesian expedition saw much utility in the bronze weapons, and, on the third day of his stay in the native village, had his men massacre the village population and take all the bronze they could find. He started himself off as a warlord of the region, taking over a handful of towns, and then expanding by sea. The Polynesian ships soon sailed up and down the coast of South America, claiming tribute from local tribes for their chiefs. Their ships could be found as far north as Purhepecha territory.
In Massilia, a Muslim philosopher rediscovers al-Khazini's experiments with steam power, but with a different goal in mind. He reads al-Khazini's notes, and wonders why steam propels the aeolipile. He comes up with the theory of air pressure, and devises a tool to measure it, a glass tube filled with quicksilver. He builds one, and places it inside a closed tank filled with steam. He notes that steam inside the closed tank does indeed exert pressure, similar to wind. With this, he devises a new steam-powered device: the piston. He experiments with types of pistons, and, using a series of precision gears, produces a device which turns the reciprocating motion of the piston into rotating motion. However, it is very inefficient, and little comes of it. Its applications are limited to pumping water out of very deep mines in the Rhineland.
Update:
The rise of Purist Christianity in 15th Century Poland and Kiev can be traced to its defeat in Constantinople. The exile of the heretical Purist clergy from an increasingly Ibrahmist Roman Empire led to these same clergy moving to those nations, taking their wealth with them. Their numbers and influence led to the great majority of Christians becoming Purists, and a correspondingly more radical tone to the faith in those regions. Soon, the Patriarch of Lwow, as their leader, out of communion with Constantinople, styled himself, began calling for the driving of the blaspheming Muslims and the heretics out of Germany, and the liberation of the Holy Land from the heretical Emperor of Rome.
Eventually, the latter goal took precedence, and the First Magyar War, as it was later called, commenced in 1463. The combined armies of Poland and Kiev poured into Dacia, populated by Magyars who were still majority Purist, and met the armies of Emperor Basil X in open combat in the Crimea and around the fortress of Iasi. Around that city, the Emperor emerged victorious, but the Poles and Kievans plundered the countryside around it, for many years. The availability of long-range (300 meters accuracy) rifles on both sides led to the adoption of camouflaged clothing on both sides. Shining, plate-steel armour for horses and men was smeared in mud and paint, and the feathers and bright, fine clothing favored by officers became deadly. Even the Kings and Princes and Emperors wore no more distinctive markings than finger rings.
The Kingdom of Avaria, while letting soldiers march through its territory unimpeded (assaults on farmland and peasants were punished, however), tried not to get involved. In fact, by 1467, they had entered into an alliance with the Republic of Massilia for protection against both the Romans and the Poles and Kievans.
In North America, a massive outbreak of an influenza-like virus shattered the cultures of the Pacific Northwest. Polynesian traders arrived, carrying chickens as they did for long-range journeys. But the chickens and their owners carried a form of avian virus, one which the natives were entirely unprepared for. Within a decade, the single most deadly disease outbreak up to that point had decimated the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest. Later Polynesian traders found nothing of value but fish, and soon abandoned their posts in the region.
An entirely different group of Polynesians, however, became the first mariners to cross an isthmus they named the Ikaukau. Their chief, who gave his name to the Isthmus, had learned from the locals that it was just a few kilometers across, and ordered their vessels taken apart and hauled on the backs of slaves and llamas (which earlier mariners had introduced after finding them in Peru) across the land. They soon found a vast freshwater lake, and sailed through it, down a river, and into another body of saltwater. When they finished crossing it, they journeyed north, where they were caught by Maya sailers in bronze-prowed canoes. The majority of the expedition was sacrificed, but the chief was spared, though branded with the mark of the King of Itza. Maya records documented this voyage, but it was not repeated for many years.
The rise of Purist Christianity in 15th Century Poland and Kiev can be traced to its defeat in Constantinople. The exile of the heretical Purist clergy from an increasingly Ibrahmist Roman Empire led to these same clergy moving to those nations, taking their wealth with them. Their numbers and influence led to the great majority of Christians becoming Purists, and a correspondingly more radical tone to the faith in those regions. Soon, the Patriarch of Lwow, as their leader, out of communion with Constantinople, styled himself, began calling for the driving of the blaspheming Muslims and the heretics out of Germany, and the liberation of the Holy Land from the heretical Emperor of Rome.
Eventually, the latter goal took precedence, and the First Magyar War, as it was later called, commenced in 1463. The combined armies of Poland and Kiev poured into Dacia, populated by Magyars who were still majority Purist, and met the armies of Emperor Basil X in open combat in the Crimea and around the fortress of Iasi. Around that city, the Emperor emerged victorious, but the Poles and Kievans plundered the countryside around it, for many years. The availability of long-range (300 meters accuracy) rifles on both sides led to the adoption of camouflaged clothing on both sides. Shining, plate-steel armour for horses and men was smeared in mud and paint, and the feathers and bright, fine clothing favored by officers became deadly. Even the Kings and Princes and Emperors wore no more distinctive markings than finger rings.
The Kingdom of Avaria, while letting soldiers march through its territory unimpeded (assaults on farmland and peasants were punished, however), tried not to get involved. In fact, by 1467, they had entered into an alliance with the Republic of Massilia for protection against both the Romans and the Poles and Kievans.
In North America, a massive outbreak of an influenza-like virus shattered the cultures of the Pacific Northwest. Polynesian traders arrived, carrying chickens as they did for long-range journeys. But the chickens and their owners carried a form of avian virus, one which the natives were entirely unprepared for. Within a decade, the single most deadly disease outbreak up to that point had decimated the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest. Later Polynesian traders found nothing of value but fish, and soon abandoned their posts in the region.
An entirely different group of Polynesians, however, became the first mariners to cross an isthmus they named the Ikaukau. Their chief, who gave his name to the Isthmus, had learned from the locals that it was just a few kilometers across, and ordered their vessels taken apart and hauled on the backs of slaves and llamas (which earlier mariners had introduced after finding them in Peru) across the land. They soon found a vast freshwater lake, and sailed through it, down a river, and into another body of saltwater. When they finished crossing it, they journeyed north, where they were caught by Maya sailers in bronze-prowed canoes. The majority of the expedition was sacrificed, but the chief was spared, though branded with the mark of the King of Itza. Maya records documented this voyage, but it was not repeated for many years.
You're going to have an organism drugged for the month or two it takes to cross the Atlantic and then hope it recovers? Well maybe some will.
The few males that survive may be very VERY happy
