Really outside option: Due to changes in socio-military structure, the Levant and Middle East aren't able to withstand the Mongol Invasions of the 13th century nearly as well, with the OTL Muslim regions largely falling completely under the political control of the Khanates, and ultimately the cultural sway of Central/East Asia in general, and the Yuan Diaspora in particular...
Meaning? Among other things, by the 1680s...Syria has become famous for it's haute dogmeat cuisine.
Why wouldn't? Byzantine probably would be much stronger so it could still stop Mongols assuming that Mongol invasion is not butterflied away.
Pork, as someone mentioned, is out of the question. You'd need a significant POD for that one. More successful long lasting conquest by Alexander the Great in Arabia and the surrounding regions? Did the Greeks really like pork?
Pork goes bad fast in warm climates where there are more bacteria etc and it is more common the further north you (Odin served it as the finest of meats in Valhalla, which is give me a great mental image of a Muslim warrior in the wrong afterlife). I know the Minoans ate it so presumably the Greeks did too.
That said, here in the tropical Philippines, pork is a staple especially for feasts, so I can imagine pork in some regions of the Middle East could remain a dish for kings.Pork goes bad fast in warm climates where there are more bacteria etc and it is more common the further north you (Odin served it as the finest of meats in Valhalla, which is give me a great mental image of a Muslim warrior in the wrong afterlife). I know the Minoans ate it so presumably the Greeks did too.
this city will probably not exist or have the same importance as the otl.you might get an exotic situation where the Ilkhanate seizes Baghdad intact and peacefully
now something along these lines is possible with the Mongols demanding a princess in the peace accord., the Khan marries in to the Byzantine Empire (or, as some scholars later put it, "Abaqa bought Constantinople with Constantinople's money")
this city will probably not exist or have the same importance as the otl.
for all we know the new persian empire kicks the mongols or any empire caused by the climatic change of the time and they never conquer persiaReally outside option: Due to changes in socio-military structure, the Levant and Middle East aren't able to withstand the Mongol Invasions of the 13th century nearly as well, with the OTL Muslim regions largely falling completely under the political control of the Khanates, and ultimately the cultural sway of Central/East Asia in general, and the Yuan Diaspora in particular...
Pork, as someone mentioned, is out of the question. You'd need a significant POD for that one. More successful long lasting conquest by Alexander the Great in Arabia and the surrounding regions? Did the Greeks really like pork?
Pork wasn't common food even before arrival of Islam so probably it is not very widespread altough not prohibited
Pork was among the most common preserved meats in the late roman and early byzantine empire especially in anatolia even during the middle empire book of the prefect Pork butchers are mentioned so the byzantine control lasting for potentially longer Pork and sausages would be a thing in anatolia and likely also in the levant.Pork goes bad fast in warm climates where there are more bacteria etc and it is more common the further north you
Pork goes bad fast in warm climates where there are more bacteria etc and it is more common the further north you (Odin served it as the finest of meats in Valhalla, which is give me a great mental image of a Muslim warrior in the wrong afterlife). I know the Minoans ate it so presumably the Greeks did too.
Any meat preserve pretty badly on warm climate. One major reason why it didn't become common food in Middle East is that on pig meat is lot of parasites and they couldn't figure how to deal with them.
Pork started out perfectly fine to eat in most of the ancient Near East - the Ancient Egyptians and the Akkadians were fond of the animal's meat. The reasons for why pork became prohibited, which afaik started in the Levante, may have just been that it competed with human food sources at a time when the region was rapidly desertifying (it still is btw). This means that pigs are a big liability for communities, and encourages the keeping of animals we don't compete with for food, like goats.Pork, I think, is less likely. My understanding is that consumption of pork was already fairly uncommon in the pre-Islamic Middle East. The notion of pigs as unclean animals not fit to be eaten had already become widespread in the region, so without Islam pork wouldn’t be prohibited but still not commonly consumed.
I was actually under the impression that the idea of pork as an unclean meat originated in Egypt and spread to the rest of the region from there. In any event, it seems pork consumption declined significantly after about 1000 BC despite being widespread up until that point.Pork started out perfectly fine to eat in most of the ancient Near East - the Ancient Egyptians and the Akkadians were fond of the animal's meat. The reasons for why pork became prohibited, which afaik started in the Levante, may have just been that it competed with human food sources at a time when the region was rapidly desertifying (it still is btw). This means that pigs are a big liability for communities, and encourages the keeping of animals we don't compete with for food, like goats.
Egypt has historically been very resistant to anti-pork ideology. In fact, the Egyptian domestic pig (still descended from an African breed around since the Pharaonic period) is still widely held and consumed there in the modern day, especially by Christians. Sure, it may be seen as impious by the Muslims there, but the same applies for alcohol and coffee, both of which have a huge market.I was actually under the impression that the idea of pork as an unclean meat originated in Egypt and spread to the rest of the region from there. In any event, it seems pork consumption declined significantly after about 1000 BC despite being widespread up until that point.
Well, I think a suitable replacement for pigs would have to be widespread and well-known before it could replace pork altogether. So it makes sense that the spread of chicken would precede the decline of pork consumption by quite some time. Something similar happened with horses, which only replaced asses as the prime mode of transportation in Mesopotamia after having coexisted for over a millennium.However, the timeline doesn’t totally match up since chickens were introduced several centuries before the regional decline in pork consumption, maybe as much as a millennia.
I find this theory unconvincing as many peoples in arid and semi-arid environments ate pork. I find it more likely that the pork taboo arose because of the perception of pigs as dirty and the fear of diseases.Pork started out perfectly fine to eat in most of the ancient Near East - the Ancient Egyptians and the Akkadians were fond of the animal's meat. The reasons for why pork became prohibited, which afaik started in the Levante, may have just been that it competed with human food sources at a time when the region was rapidly desertifying (it still is btw). This means that pigs are a big liability for communities, and encourages the keeping of animals we don't compete with for food, like goats.
Such as? Keep in mind that many areas that have now become desertified looked quite different 3,000 years ago. Syria was once fertile enough to support elephants and other megafauna; in the 3rd millennium BCE it was famous for its verdant plains and forests.I find this theory unconvincing as many peoples in arid and semi-arid environments ate pork. I find it more likely that the pork taboo arose because of the perception of pigs as dirty and the fear of diseases.
I was actually under the impression that the idea of pork as an unclean meat originated in Egypt and spread to the rest of the region from there. In any event, it seems pork consumption declined significantly after about 1000 BC despite being widespread up until that point.
Egypt has historically been very resistant to anti-pork ideology. In fact, the Egyptian domestic pig (still descended from an African breed around since the Pharaonic period) is still widely held and consumed there in the modern day, especially by Christians. Sure, it may be seen as impious by the Muslims there, but the same applies for alcohol and coffee, both of which have a huge market.
2.47.1. The Egyptians consider swine to be unclean animals: if an Egyptian touches a pig in passing, he goes to the river and dips himself in it, clothes and all. Swineherds, although they are of Egyptian birth, alone of all men are forbidden to enter any temple in Egypt; nor will any man give them his daughter in marriage or take a wife from them, but the swineherds give and take wives from amongst their own number. 2. The Egyptians do not consider it right to sacrifice pigs to any god, except for Dionysus and the Moon, to whom they sacrifice at the same time and in the same period of the full moon; and when the sacrifice is over they eat the flesh of the pig. There is a story told among the Egyptians explaining why they abhor pigs at other festivals but sacrifice them at this one; I know this story, but it is not fitting for me to relate it. 3. They sacrifice pigs to the Moon using the following method: when the priest is making the sacrifice, he puts together the spleen, caul, and the end of the tail, covers them over with all the fat he finds around the belly, and then consigns it to the flames. As for the rest of the flesh, they eat it during the full moon in which they made the sacrifice, but will not so much as taste it on any other day. The poor among them on account of their slender means mould pigs out of dough, which they then cook and offer as sacrifices.