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Message: <blockquote data-quote="s/LaSH" data-source="post: 488984" data-attributes="member: 6929">Just be glad I didn't branch off into my Mexican Hitler timeline...One thing I didn't really consider was the impact of religion. One of the great weapons the Romans had against a conquered people was their pantheon; they were generic and could adapt to nearly any other pantheon, which made building new temples easy. (Come on, how many people don't know that Juno is Hera, or Venus is Aphrodite?) This would have served them well in a militaristic regime.The rise of Christianity in the Empire was largely independant of the Emperors. I suspect, however, that it would have made things more difficult for a conquering entity; monotheism is quite a stretch from saying, "Well, Amun-Ra is kinda like Apollo, really, so let's use the name interchangeably". Also, a culture that accepts Christianity has a certain predisposition towards peace and love (see the Crusades). In all seriousness, if there were a sizable Christian component to this Rome, it would have difficulty expanding as fast and would probably delay any major conquests by one to four hundred years, increasing as you approach the modern day. (If your culture preaches peace, and you have a microwave, there's no need to go beat on your neighbour to steal his firewood. If you followed Mars, god of War, instead, you'd consider it your duty to beat on him. While religion is rarely the ruling factor in people's lives, it has an influence, and over 2000 years Christianity has permeated Western culture to an extent most people can't imagine, even if they're not Christian.)To that end, I'd revise my first timeline to include a Christian Vinland state and Rome. Most satellite countries thereof would be Christian or Islamic. The Aztecs and all Asian nations, of course, would persist in their indigenous beliefs, but the exchange of ideas would become more common around the 1500s and it is my suspicion that Christianity would creep in. (History has shown that it's almost impossible to squish it.) I suspect that a communist theory would be developed during the 1600s in Rome or possible China (as industrial urbanisation continues), and the Aztecs or Vinlanders to adopt it as they are less industrial. (Sounds strange, but really, Russia and China were both largely rural when they had their communist uprisings. I always found that grimly amusing.)The second timeline, which is freer of technological advance because of slave use, would probably require Christianity to remain a minority because of the timeline's militarism and slavery. I could easily see the Americas being colonised by religious exiles or refugees, which would create a colonial power similar to the Vinlanders, albeit slightly less militaristic. This would alter the world power balance slightly, and take some of the Roman heat off China.One thing I find interesting is that, no matter how I think things through, North America always seems to get Christian colonists who set up some form of democracy. And I don't even like America! I think it's probably because North America features little in the way of indigenous infrastructure and is comparatively easy to settle, so the first major expansionists are likely to settle there. (I know I'd rather try to settle a place with plains and grassland than the Amazon jungle - white folks have been there for five hundred years now and still haven't finished chopping it down!)Anything I've overlooked? Factors that could swing the tides of history? I'm no history expert (I said, wondering where I've put my copy of Herodotus' Histories; I know exactly where Gibbon's Decline And Fall is), and I haven't even touched on the possibility of an empire whose renaissance is thaumaturgical, not technological.</blockquote>

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