The Rise of the White Huns

[Practical Lobster]

The Long March

Egypt in the ninth century had opportunities for expansion and continued economic dominance, but was largely unable to exploit them due to major challenges. Basileus Shenoute Heshanos, (834-847) was primarily preoccupied with a series of local famines - and despite implementing strict controls on the price of grain, revolts broke out, particularly in the south where the foreign-influenced dynasty was least popular. The Saihists continually pressed inwards, seeking to settle the more fertile Levantine lands. Under a series of capable commanders, or Amirs, they managed to wreak havoc, much as they had under Shenoute's predecessors. Retaliatory strikes were generally swallowed whole by the desert.

Shenoute, largely due to these blunders, nearly lost his throne in 845 to a coup, engineered by a group of native Coptic army Legates with the backing of the Alexandrine patriarch. However, if there was one thing Shenoute possessed it was an ability to watch his back, cultivated by the frequently deadly court politics of the Heshanid state. The officers were arrested and the Patriarch pardoned but placed under close surveillance - he would die mysteriously several months later.

Shenoute for his part would be persuaded the following year of the importance of leading a personal expedition against the Saihists. The plan was ambitious - an overland march supported by an expanded Egyptian Red Sea Fleet and many merchant ships heavily laden with foodstuffs. The goal was to take Al-Taif and demonstrate clearly the weakness of the Saihist "state." In collaboration with the Buddhist population of Hadhramut, who deeply resented their subordinate status, they would wreak havoc, sack the city, and gain control of the Red Sea for Egypt directly - eliminating the middleman who grew so impossibly rich off their Indian ocean trade.

As the expedition set off, it immediately came under frequent attacks. The Ghatafanid Amirs, led by the capable tactician Abdulilat ibn Uthman, shadowed the army on its march inland, harassing it lightly. It would be a journey of some six hundred miles over the desert. Even with the navy shadowing the army's march and providing water and grain, attrition was inevitable. Their first goal was to reach Yenbu, a small fertile oasis town which could be a springboard for further expeditions deeper into the interior.

However, they would not even make it this far. The Egyptian navy had assumed that they would not be overmatched by the Saihists - but their naval dominance had never truly been challenged. A fleet dispatched from Aden, including several fireships, set a large portion of the Egyptian navy alight, destroyed much-needed supplies, and sank or captured almost all of the warships. Shenoute needed to continue his march, however - he could not turn back - they had come too far, and retreat would mean certain death - they could not repeat the past month of marching without provisions, with the enemy so near and their own lack of local guides with knowledge of where to dig for water. They had to march onwards.

Yenbu was their only hope - a few days march south. If they could make it, they could survive. The heat would claim thousands. The army's horses were the first to die of thirst or be killed. Shenoute himself walked, hoping to set a positive example and be seen to suffer with his men, but morale dropped rapidly as men began to suffer for their thirst. Men caught fighting over the remaining rations of water were executed swiftly.

And then the Arabian cavalry came on hard and swift, descending from the foothills and striking with relative impunity. Yenbu was still many miles off, and the Egyptian army had, in its exhaustion become stretched out over a great distance. The slaughter was immense. Those who surrendered were shipped into slavery. Those who refused to surrender were killed. Shenoute himself was captured alive, paraded through Al-Taif and then strangled and decapitated.

Alexandros Heshanos, regent in his father's absence, would receive the Emperor's head. A huge army had been annihilated in the deserts thanks to what could only be described as a series of immense tactical blunders. As word spread of this defeat, Egypt's weakness became clear. Syrian Eftal raided south, sacking Emesa without fear of reprisal. The Arabians returned north and now threatened Jerusalem itself - a city which meant nothing to the pagan Saihists but everything to the under-strength Egyptian armies tasked to defend it.

The Sons of the Goddess

Saihism had emerged as a reaction to growing criticisms of traditional Arabian polytheism, and a response to the invasive Christian and Jewish traditions which were becoming vogue among a small but growing middle class of Arabian traders. By adapting Eastern traditions popularized by Hindu traders, the Arabs had been able to keep their gods, calling them beautiful birds and the companions of Alilat, the supreme god.

However, in the two centuries since the birth of Saihism (roughly dated from the circa 650 standardization and codification of the Suwar) the religion had struggled to maintain relevance. Modern threats to the orthodoxy of the faith came in the form of ecstatic Albudhist rituals or exiled Bhakti mystics from Savahila. Christianity in the Middle East was on the decline - most of the immediate neighbors of Arabia practiced Buddhism and various Iranian inspired mystery cults.

Furthermore, growing maritime trade had left Al-Taif increasingly irrelevant economically - diminishing the power of any single organization to control religious orthodoxy. And even the Albudhists in the south were willing to at least give lip-service to the Suwar, treating it as an inspired text rather like the Upanishads rather than a singular holy revelation. Like Zoroastrianism before it, Saihism struggled not with direct competition but rather with gradual assimilation.

And yet military victory over the Egyptian army at Yenbu would provide Saihism a breath of fresh air. The Goddess had proved her power. The Saihists, and Abdulilat ibn Uthman, would move from strength to strength - for a time. In 849, they would sack Jerusalem, destroying many relics so as to prove their power. However, Alexandros was more capable than his late father, and won an indecisive victory at Lake Tiberias, repulsing the Saihists, and shoring up the Empire. Despite ceding Emesa, Damascus, and several other cities to the Syrian Padivayan, the borders were again relatively secure.

Saihism was also threatened in the south. King Gul Cawil of Hawiya made a treaty with Egypt - the Hawiya desperately needed the food imports due to recent famines. Granting special trading privileges to Coptic merchants, he effectively allowed them to bypass the Arabs altogether. Increasingly, the Saihists were surrounded and isolated. The Hadhramut had thrown off their Saihist Malik and raised a Buddhist nobleman to the throne.

In 863, a Hadhrami army would sack Al-Taif, accomplishing Shenoute's ambition. Little record survives of the event, but it would not be the end of Saihism, or of Alilat. Despite the collapse of the traditional priesthood, clans such as the Ghatafan would ensure that Saihism did not die. Under Katir ibn Abdulilat, the Ghatafan would finally claim the title Malik over the broad expanse of the Hejaz. In time, the Ghatafan like many others would claim to be a part of the broader Albudhist community, but like most of their brethren, their traditional gods and legends would be preserved by way of the Suwar.

True Saihism would survive, of course. Isolated communities of Saihists would endure for centuries to come, in the territory of the Hawiya and across the Hejaz and the interior deserts. Musqat would maintain a large Saihist community, although in time this community would become deeply heterodox.

The growing weakness of the Saihists also led to a resurgence of the Abrahamic faiths in Arabia. The large Jewish population of Aden continued to grow, and Judaism remained a substantial minority faith among the Hawiya as well. Gul Cawil, and his successor Samakabe were both patrons of Judaism, although both refrained from personally converting, so as to not anger their polyglot populations, and the large traditional pagan elements who were the backbone of their military forces. Christianity, in its Monophysite Egyptian incarnation, once again made inroads into Arabia as well, and the Saihists lacked the strength or inclination to persecute it.

 

[XanXar]

Ah I see, Saihism emerges from many of the same socio-political factors OTL Islam did? But due to different circumstances won't be anywhere near as successful (at least short term)?

 

[Practical Lobster]

To recap, Saihism emerged from pretty much the same factors that meant that some sort of monotheistic or pseudo-monotheistic religion would catch on in the region. Here, it was an synthesized version of indigenous Arabian paganism, with a mother figure as the chief god. Could easily have been something totally different.

It addressed a lot of the social concerns of the time in a way very similar to Islam, but drew from a totally different theological tradition, one which had a good bit in common with the early proto-Bhakti cultists who followed Kaosha Shah into Awalistan.

However, this also meant it had no universal appeal and never really tried to gain it. Rather than co-opting local institutions or focusing the energies of Arabia against an outside foe it sapped its strength fighting the Nestorian tribes and insisted on a very traditionally Arabian notion of kingship and tribal identity. The "Believer Kings" enjoyed a lot of autonomy, and Fadia never managed to become quite what the Prophet Muhammad was.

Now, two hundred years later, Saihism is just one of many religious movements, like Manichaeism or Neoplatonism or any number of others, that have had their time in the sun and started to fade. It's kind of sad, cause it was one of my favorite things that I've invented wholesale for this timeline (my true favorite was probably the Rhom Shahdom... RIP) but I don't see it ever regaining a place of true prominence again.

 

[HonestAbe1809]

1. I hope that Asiana would eventually reunite into a single nation. It's one of my favorite nations, and I'm eager to see the creole culture take shape.
2. Will we be able to see more of the Buddhist Poles? That's my other favorite nation.
3. Are the Norse going to conquer Britain? I'm eager to see how a heavily Norsified Britain would turn out.
4. Could the Kirichan's territory see some shrinkage in the future or is it going to stay that way?

 

[Practical Lobster]

1. I hope that Asiana would eventually reunite into a single nation. It's one of my favorite nations, and I'm eager to see the creole culture take shape.
2. Will we be able to see more of the Buddhist Poles? That's my other favorite nation.
3. Are the Norse going to conquer Britain? I'm eager to see how a heavily Norsified Britain would turn out.

The Buddhist Polish will be a consistent facet of the timeline, so they will be covered in more detail down the line - especially as they now directly border the Frankish Empire. Their culture is a challenge for me to describe, as it's truly like nothing which happened in history - a version Eastern Europe being influenced by Indian religious tradition is pretty out there. As such, I'm trying to do a lot of research and work to make sure I describe it in a convincing way.

I can't comment on the rest without spoiling things I have planned, but Britain will be in the next update.

 

[LostInNewDelhi]

What's been happening in Makuria all this time? They are sandwiched between the Hawiya and Egypt, both of whom are pretty active in regional interaction, and they always appear on the map, but as of now I know pretty much nothing about how Makuria's doing other than that it has an ill-defined western border

 

[Salvador79]

The weakness of Shanoute's fleet is quite surprising. Shocking even.
Arabian developments seem logical, even though I always liked Saihism, too.

 

[Practical Lobster]

@LostinNewDelhi

Makuria, being centered around the Nile, has fewer chances to interact with other various polities around it - although it maintains trade links with the Egyptian Heshanids and the Daju. I covered them in a post a while ago, but it looks to be about a century out of date by this point.

So in brief, they're remaining rather isolationist, but generally their regime is stable and prosperous. A flourishing of local art, pottery, and the like was briefly interrupted by the famine mentioned in the above post, but all in all they're doing quite well for themselves, with the only worry being Awali raids at their periphery. Recently, their southern border has been settled by Axumite refugees, who provide a reliable source of soldiers for the state.

Economically, the state, like most premodern polities, is primarily an agricultural one, but capable of supporting a relatively dense population clustered around the Nile river valley. There is a sizable indigenous metalworking industry, and Makuria has access to some mining - but generally they import most of their luxuries from Egypt. They use Egyptian currency and otherwise barter, with taxes and tariffs being paid in kind, in foreign currency, or in corvee-style labor on grand state building projects. Their cities tend to be fortified, to protect against various desert raiders.

The monarchy gains legitimacy on a sort of divine right principle, with the ruler being considered appointed by the Christian God to rule. As in many things, the priesthood and the bureaucracy is liberally inspired by the Egyptian, and thus Roman, example.

@Salvador,

I imagine the Heshanids were equally shocked! Of course, in many respects the Saihists got lucky in winning that, but there are good reasons. The Heshanids logically anticipated the big struggle to be the overland part of the expedition - the Saihist cavalry were always going to be a major threat. They didn't expect to lose their resupply fleet to a surprise attack and once chaos started spreading through the fleet it was easily defeated.

Equally key is the fact that Heshanid naval dominance is focused on the Mediterranean, where they expect to encounter hostile fleets. Naval battles in the Red Sea are comparatively rare and operate on a very different paradigm.

 

[altwere]

I've been working on this TL for the last couple of weeks. I have greatly enjoyed it.

 

[Practical Lobster]

I've been working on this TL for the last couple of weeks. I have greatly enjoyed it.

Glad to hear that!

 

[altwere]

I'm wondering if Wodan will be recast as a seeker of wisdom.

 

[Practical Lobster]

I know I was bound on a wind-shaken tree,
nine whole nights, nine whole days,
with a spear wounded, to Odin offered,
myself to myself; I felt no pain
on that tree, of which no one knows
from what source it springs.
Bread no one gave me, nor a horn of drink,
so inward I peered,
until my wailing ceased,
until I learnt true awakening,
until nine truths I grasped,
then stepped down thence.
- The Words of the Wanderer, Anonymous (first written circa 1100 AD)

The Saxon Shore

Britain of the "Middle Ages" was a disunited country, splintered into many warring states. The dominant Saxons were divided into numerous states known to historians as the Pentarchy: Mercia, Wessex, Essex, Northumbria, and Anglia. To the East, the Welsh remained independent, as did the Picts and the Celts of Alt Clut. Lesser kingdoms rose and fell with astonishing regularity, and indeed the term Pentarchy itself has begun to fall out of favor as an inaccurate descriptor - however for the purposes of this brief history, it accurately defines the five major players vying for supremacy across what was far and away the wealthiest part of the isles.

None of these kingdoms would ultimately achieve the supremacy they craved. Viking raids along what the Romans had called the "Saxon Shore" had become a part of life - but Viking armies, bent on colonization, would upend the old paradigm. Continental Europe was becoming increasingly hostile and well-defended against their raids, but England lacked the necessary resources to embark on similar programs of fortification, and were too preoccupied with local matters to recognize the existential threat until it was far too late.

Unlike in the great plains and windswept forests of the East, however, the native Anglo-Saxon population could not simply disappear deeper into the countryside if they took umbrage with Norse encroachment. New land was less available - to a greater degree, coexistence was necessary. Viking settlements at places like Jorvik and Torksey were directly adjacent to Anglo-Saxons burhs and conflict was frequent.

Led by the far-famed Einar the Black, the Danes in particular wreaked havoc across the isles. While the Norwegians carved out petty kingdoms in the north, it was Danish warriors who took on the wealthy Anglo-Saxon world, taking advantage of internecine wars between the local Pentarchs. In a pattern that would become familiar elsewhere in the world, Danish warriors served as mercenaries, often in exchange for treasure or land. Then, regardless of whether they were properly paid, the Danes would frequently expand their position at the expense of the locals, causing anarchy and weakening popular trust in the ability of the Saxon kings to defend their people.

Finally, Jorvik became itself an independent power, having swallowed much of Northumbria. Einar the Black named himself King, and his ambitions would quickly outstretch his capacity. Marching south he defeated Oswin, the King of Mercia, at Leicester. After a brief siege, he gave the town and its surrounding lands to his son Ragnar and moved quickly onwards. However, Aella, King of Wessex, with all the men of his house and the fyrd, intercepted him and fought a bloody battle. Aided by Harthacnute "Stonebreaker" Ivarsson and a small but capable band of mercenaries, Aella triumphed. Einar was killed in the thick of the fighting.

However, Einar's campaigns were little more than a violent beginning to a war nowhere near finished. His death only inspired his sons to bloody vengeance. The following wars would last nearly until the end of the century, and at their conclusion, the mercenary Harthacnute was the last man standing. After Aella's death he had become one of several regents for his young son Aedelwine, and finally, as the tide of the Danes became overwhelming he betrayed the young King and became himself ring-giver, backed by his loyal company of hardened warriors. The fall of Wessex is dated roughly to 890, and it marks the end of the era of Saxon hegemony.

With the fall of Wessex, the Pentarchy ceased to exist. The new era would be known as the Danelaw. Roughly, the lands of the Angles and Saxons were divided into three kingdoms - one centered on Jorvik, another on Leicester, and a last on Winchester, each ruled by a petty Danish monarch. Beneath these three kingdoms existed lesser lords and those who had carved out their own small dominions, such as around Kent and East Anglia.

If a man seeks an example,
Let him look to Jarilo
Whose steps are blossoming fields
Whose body is as sea-foam
Born and died and born anew
In the flowering of youth
This too is the world
The god then is as the world is
And you are as the god is
Born to die and rise unknowing
- Samon of Wolin, 1084-1138

Polonia

King Czcibor ultimately would achieve an almost mythic status as the founder of the Polish nation. However, unlike many of his contemporaries who have slipped into legend, we have remarkably accurate records of his conquests and his actions. Early in his reign he was a patron of itinerant bhikkus from the country of the Xasar, and these learned monks would write his histories. Unlike the monks who lived among the Gardaveldi, they were in closer proximity to their own people and own monasteries, and frequently journeyed between the two. Accordingly, far fewer of the visitors to Poznan 'went native.'

The portrait of Czcibor we have received from these monks is one of a driven and energetic man who fought tooth and nail to overcome the tribal loyalties of his people and unify them under a single banner. He inherited a deeply divided, loose confederation of warring tribes, but Polish society was changing. The larger of the gords had grown into proper cities, overflowing the fort-walls and becoming local hubs of commerce and manufacturing. The development of these cities was itself a stressor on tribal loyalty: these communities of urban artisans and merchants tended to share common interests which were often at odds with the rural landholders. They expected representation in the regional tribal councils which decided matters of law, but frequently were denied access to these councils.

Furthermore, while the central tribes of the Polish plains were perhaps not the most populous or wealthy, Czcibor, rightly or not is credited with military reforms which would make them unbeatable. By training his warriors to fight in mounted formations in the style of the Avars or Xasar, his cavalry were able to outmaneuver and defeat their neighbors in any pitched engagement. Each defeated tribe was effectively dissolved into the greater nation, their lands broken up and divided amongst the victors. Plunder acquired from their conquests slowly turned the levied armies of Poznan into a force that was capable of remaining in the field indefinitely for pay - an almost professional fighting force, stripped of clan allegiances and dependent on the state for land grants.

Cities such as Wratislavia, Krakow, and Wolin would become major supporters of Czcibor in time, because unlike their local kings he was willing to negotiate with them independently, and treat them as entities unto themselves. As major centers of commerce they in turn became major sources of revenue, enabling policies of centralization modeled off the Frankish system. Magistrates from Poznan were dispatched to the outlying territories of the Kingdom, which was not divided along tribal lines but rather into provinces.

As time went on, Czcibor destroyed any notion of polyarchy amongst the Polonian tribes, reducing striking against local councils and by extension the power of the priesthood, whose presence and promise of divine blessing granted legitimacy to the proto-republicanism of the West Slavs. An autocrat by nature, Czcibor would become committed to curtailing the power of the priests, and fortunately this interest aligned with the interests of the monks in his court... Thus even the detailed records kept by Buddhist missionaries hint at cynical, secular motives for Czcibor's endorsement of Buddhism, as much as they praise him as a champion of the dharma. Those who donated to the new foreign monks received royal favor, particularly if they did so to the exclusion of the traditional 'pagan' priesthood.

[So, here we go. It's not as in depth as I'd like, mostly because I was struggling with writer's block. I tried to compromise by providing some poems. The first is based pretty obviously off of OTL Odin, but perhaps reflects changes that might seep through Norse society as a whole in this timeline. The latter is meant as an excerpt from a Polish sutra of some sort.

Apologies for the shortness. If people have specific questions I'll do my best to answer them, as I have a clearer picture in my head of these two parts of the world than I think I managed to convey here. Maybe I'll even work the answers into an edited copy of this post.]

 

[LastMartian]

I'm following the timeline for quite I while now and I really enjoy it!

Now for my first questions:

It almost sounds like, as if dharmic thought mingles with norse spiritual concepts. (This is at least how I interpret the introspection of Odin) Is this phenomenon still contained to Gardaveldi or did it reach Scandinavia and the Norse of the British Isles as well?

What about the Christians in contact with the Norse. Are there any efforts to proselytize and create potential Christian allies among the pagan Northmen? Are the Christian kingdoms aware, that the vile Buddhists are making inroads into the pagan kingdoms around them? (This may be reason enough to be a worry for all, who remember that many, if not all, enemies of Christendom are Buddha ... erm ... Devil worshippers)

 

[Zulfurium]

Awesome update! I really enjoyed both parts of the update, especially the semi-professional army of Poland and Einar the Black (great name btw).

So as far as i can understand the situation in Britain is three Norse kingdoms, with the one based in Jorvik descended from Einar and the one in Wincester from Harthacnut, but what about the one in Leicester? What is the relationship between these three kingdoms? Are they more likely to fight each other than their non-norse neighbours or are they willing to band together and work against others?

How are the Welsh doing, in OTL they were able to win a significant victory over the viking raiders that forced a change in focus, did that happen ITTL?

How significant are the northern Norse kingdoms around Scotland? Are they likely to take over the area any time soon?

What are the prospects for a fully Norse Britain considering the failure of the Anglo-Saxons to beat them?

 

[Practical Lobster]

I'm following the timeline for quite I while now and I really enjoy it!

Now for my first questions:

It almost sounds like, as if dharmic thought mingles with norse spiritual concepts. (This is at least how I interpret the introspection of Odin) Is this phenomenon still contained to Gardaveldi or did it reach Scandinavia and the Norse of the British Isles as well?

Thanks! The "Words of the Wanderer" is a poem which ultimately becomes popular across much of the broader Norse world. That's all I really want to say for now. I don't want to imply that Buddhism will necessarily spread beyond Gardaveldi, but some notions will spread and the Norse religion in this timeline will look different.

What about the Christians in contact with the Norse. Are there any efforts to proselytize and create potential Christian allies among the pagan Northmen? Are the Christian kingdoms aware, that the vile Buddhists are making inroads into the pagan kingdoms around them? (This may be reason enough to be a worry for all, who remember that many, if not all, enemies of Christendom are Buddha ... erm ... Devil worshippers)

The Christians have sent some missionaries to the Norse, but they've not made a whole lot of headway. Informally, merchants and the like have perhaps had more success, just from passively spreading their religion. The Franks are perhaps not entirely aware of the implications of Buddhism spreading into Poland - to them 'Boddo' is just a diabolical deity a lot of their foes seem to worship.

Of course, even with Poland patronizing Buddhist monks and monasteries, I can't see them getting along too well with the Khirichan.

Awesome update! I really enjoyed both parts of the update, especially the semi-professional army of Poland and Einar the Black (great name btw).

Thanks!

So as far as i can understand the situation in Britain is three Norse kingdoms, with the one based in Jorvik descended from Einar and the one in Wincester from Harthacnut, but what about the one in Leicester? What is the relationship between these three kingdoms? Are they more likely to fight each other than their non-norse neighbours or are they willing to band together and work against others?

Leicester is under Ragnar Einarsson. Jorvik is ruled by Bjorn Einarsson. They're brothers but they don't necessarily get along all that great. As of this update, the Norse kingdoms haven't had much reason to fight - there are easier nuts to crack by raiding Saxon holdouts and whatnot. Overtime that may change.

How are the Welsh doing, in OTL they were able to win a significant victory over the viking raiders that forced a change in focus, did that happen ITTL?

The Welsh are holding their own. Under Hywel ap Elisedd Mwar, King of Powys they've managed to repulse some light raids, and generally the hilly countryside of Wales makes it difficult to invade.

How significant are the northern Norse kingdoms around Scotland? Are they likely to take over the area any time soon?

The Norse kingdoms on the Scottish isles are essentially as OTL, with the exception of a small viking settlement near Edinburgh. Ireland is also roughly as OTL, with the exception of some Norse settlement among the Ulaid kingdoms.

Generally, the Norse just got slightly luckier than OTL, but their conquests are otherwise pretty much as historical - that additional 'luck' can easily be attributed to loads of Norse avoiding settling on the Continent due to the relative strength of the Franks and preferring weaker targets.

What are the prospects for a fully Norse Britain considering the failure of the Anglo-Saxons to beat them?

Whether you mean culturally or linguistically, rather slim. Assimilation is inevitable to some degree - the Norse tended to happily adopt the traits and lifestyle of the peoples they lived among.

However, plenty of Norse loanwords and cultural traits will endure in this new Anglalond.

 

[Deleted member 67076]

Yo, I just wanted to pop in and note I've nominated this work for the Turtledoves.

 

[Hobelhouse]

Given the pattern of OTL Vikings, I can't see the Anglo-Danes staying pagan forever - they will likely convert to Catholicism sooner or later. The real interesting place to watch will then be Scandinavia. Will Buddhism or Catholicism bounce back to Scandinavia from their disparate waves of colonization?

Buddhist penetration in Poland can't be too much deeper than it is in the historically Tengri peoples. I'm surprised Czcibor seems to be persecuting the pagan religion in general as a power game... it might serve him better to install a puppet high priest for some diety proclaimed to be a manifestation of a boddhisatva... Jarilo seems like he might be headed this direction from the snippet.

 

[Practical Lobster]

Yo, I just wanted to pop in and note I've nominated this work for the Turtledoves.

Thank you very much! That's an unexpected honor, all right.

Given the pattern of OTL Vikings, I can't see the Anglo-Danes staying pagan forever - they will likely convert to Catholicism sooner or later. The real interesting place to watch will then be Scandinavia. Will Buddhism or Catholicism bounce back to Scandinavia from their disparate waves of colonization?

Buddhist penetration in Poland can't be too much deeper than it is in the historically Tengri peoples. I'm surprised Czcibor seems to be persecuting the pagan religion in general as a power game... it might serve him better to install a puppet high priest for some diety proclaimed to be a manifestation of a boddhisatva... Jarilo seems like he might be headed this direction from the snippet.

Oh we can definitely expect the Danes of England to convert. I think in general Catholicism has some strong advantages in the 'battle' for the hearts and minds of Scandinavia, but I'm not entirely decided on the final outcome of that. I have a lot of future stuff planned out, but that's one thing I'm debating.

Czcibor's plan will possibly see backlash down the road - after all very few of his people are genuinely Buddhist (mostly clustered in the south) and there's no way to arrange a "mass conversion" to Buddhism in the same way one could have say, a mass baptism. However, there's no real persecution or anything - it's just an unspoken rule in the royal court at Poznan that being a supporter of this new religion is a good way to enjoy the King's favor.

The Jarilo thing was meant to be a hint as well.

 

[Salvador79]

Awesome update! Glad you overcame your writing block...
I loved your "Words of the Wanderer". Feels right: at the same time decisively Buddhist (relinquishing desires/needs; turning inwards; the symbolical number 9), Christian (analogy to the crucified) and Norse pagan (a sacrifice offered unto the God, not a God sacrificed).

 

[Practical Lobster]

Alternate Linguistics - a brief update:

[It's been at least a century or two since I discussed the split of the Eftal languages. So here goes another post on that... and more.]

The Eastern Eftal dialect survived the Turkish invasion and conquest with much of its prestige and position in society intact. Aghatsagh Shah himself spoke the Eftal language as well as his own native Turkish, and demographic shifts across most of the Iranian plateau prevented any revival of Middle Persian among the elite. The Eftal language provided a clear bridge between the vast array of languages spoken by the peoples of Central Asia and the central Eftal state in whose shadow all steppe empires lived. The White Huns had left their mark upon Iran, for better or worse, and the Iranian people had long ago accepted that notion.

However, over the course of the eighth and ninth centuries, the Eftal language largely disappeared. The Aghatsaghid court began to speak Iranian, and ultimately is considered a Turko-Iranian dynasty by most historians, rather than a Hepthalo-Turkic dynasty as it might have been by those who experienced its rule. These changes stem not from any major social upheaval but rather the fact that the Eftal language had thoroughly permeated and mixed with Iranian over the past several centuries, to the point that beyond regional dialects, there was little distinguishing the two. The language of the Aghatsaghid court might have been a bit more formal than the language of a peasant in Pars, but the educated and literate had adopted the Sogdian script used by Eastern Eftal and by the tenth century there is no functional reason to differentiate between the two languages. The Eftal had already long since considered themselves Iranian, and while ruled by the Turks this notion merely increased. The word Ifthal came roughly to mean "cavalryman" and the distinct Eftal identity gradually blended with the Iranians as the Turkic ruling class rarely discriminated between the two.

By contrast, the Western Eftal dialect would in time splinter into "Syrian Eftal" and "Rhom Eftal" - the latter of which would eventually die out and intermix with the dialects of Asiana, and the former of which would become the language of Syria over time, supplanting Aramaic.

In Western Europe, Classical Latin remained the language of religion, writing, law, and bureaucracy, however, it was by the 9th century entirely incomprehensible to the common people. Local dialects, mostly without formal written forms were spoken by both the common people and increasingly the aristocracy. These regional dialects in turn drifted rapidly towards mutual unintelligibility. As the Frankish state was effectively divided into many small petty kingdoms, or Duchies, and as the average person would rarely travel any great distance from the estate upon which they lived, languages drifted apart with astonishing speed. However, because any educated individual could use classical Latin as a lingua franca[1], there was little incentive to encourage any standardization amongst the common people.

In Italy, regionalization of dialects occurred more slowly but even the Isidorians, who promoted a more modern form of Latin as the language of the state, struggled to keep the various regions of their Empire from becoming divorced from one another. Limited trade and commerce allowed the region around Florentia to speak a language entirely different from that which was spoken in Rome, which in turn was different from the Mauri-influenced dialect of Sicily.

It was only in the ninth century that the first vulgar texts were written. In Spain, a vast peninsula relatively detached from the broader Franco-Latin world, the vulgate[2] language of the Cordoba region was first used to write poetry and short works of fiction. This would prove an inspiration to the broader literate population. While their languages frequently lacked clear written forms, the Latin alphabet was easily adapted, and by using vulgate languages, authors and artists could reach a far broader audience than the relatively narrow clique of priests and bureaucrats who could read Latin.

As the Frankish Empire entered into its decline, the distinctions and regionalization provoked by the emergence of vulgate languages would only increase, and the vulgate languages would rise in prestige, providing a vehicle for proto-nationalistic tendencies. While the purpose of Latin would endure, especially as a language of diplomacy and administration, the role of the early vulgate languages should not be overlooked - they provided the earliest regional identities as they drifted further and further away from mutual intelligibility.

While the West adopted the various vulgate dialects, Eastern Europe spoke a separate family of Greek-descended languages known as the "Rhomance Languages." These tongues made heavy use of Slavic and Iranian loanwords. Only in Western Asia Minor was anything like a 'pure' successor of Roman-era Greek maintained, and even there Eftal and Slavic influences could be felt. Ironically, a dialect of Coptic would become the lingua franca for merchants across much of the Mediterranean, owing the dominance of Egyptian merchants over trade.

[1] The term lingua franca will probably not exist in this timeline. Apologies for the... allo-anachronism?

[2] Similarly, vulgate has a somewhat different meaning here.

[Salvador: I thought nine was a symbolic number for the Norse, that's why I picked it. Didn't know it was symbolic for Buddhism as well - that's a fortuitous coincidence! And Odin hanging himself on a tree in pursuit of knowledge is one of the more potent images in OTL Norse mythology, in my opinion. Adding additional symbolism is almost cheap, but I think reflects the mindset of TTL's Norse.

Everyone: here's a quick post on languages. One of the toughest things for me has been getting the names of characters and places in this timeline to feel realistic, considering often they should be written in languages that never existed in our timeline. Hence we get places like Medilano instead of Milan and Ionnis and Hadriano as popular names. The naming in this timeline has to reflect a reduced Germanic influence on Western Europe, while still sounding like a plausible evolution of Latin.

And I thought coming up with pseudo-Iranian names for the Eftal was hard! ]