Deviation Actions
Description
Rome Won't Be A Republic:
A Gladiator ATL conceived by HeliosMegistos. In the version of events Marcus Aurelius never considers reviving the Roman Republic. However the prospect of Commodus succeeding him does lead to him confiding in Maximus Decimus Maridius, his most skilled and trusted general, where he tells Maximus that Commodus will not become emperor. Instead Marcus Aurelius declares Maximus his successor. When Commodus is informed he murders his father and orders Maximus's execution.
Events carry on as they do in the film until the final fight. Medics are able to save Maximus's life from a near fatal wound inflicted upon him before the gladiatorial match against Emperor Commodus. Maximus, no longer having anything worth truly living for, declares that Commodus' nephew Lucius will become the next emperor. At the insistence of everyone around him he does agree to become Lucius regent until the boy is old enough to rule legitimately.
A short, brutal civil war ensues that finally sees Maximus die on campaign. However he is able to defeat the opposition and potential usurpers before he expires, securing Lucius' reign.
The Nerva-Antonine Dynasty continues for even longer. Instead of appointing his son Lucius decides to declare his adopted son, an exceptional soldier and commander, as his heir. This restarts the tradition of adopting or legitimising imperial heirs who are not the blood related children of the previous emperor. Though this practice is not strictly adhered to at all times it does see regular use and often justifies the more intellectual leaders who deem their true born successors unworthy. Much like Trajan, several emperors decide to expand into new territories to the north and east. These new campaigns of conquest have varied results and only some lands remain stable provinces of the empire. It is these campaigns that led, in part, to the decline of Rome.
Christianity becomes increasingly popular in the eastern half of the Empire as well as North Africa. In Western Europe the cult of Sol Invictus rises to prominence despite the spread of Christianity into these regions as well. None of the emperors outright declare support for any one faith as an official state religion, usually in an attempt to prevent religious unrest. Still occasional occupants of the throne will declare for their personal faith and commit persecutions against the other popular Roman religions. Missionaries eventually began to spread these two popular faiths even further into Northern Europe and West Asia.
Corruption, imperial overstretch, internal strife and barbarian migrations do eventually lay the Roman Empire low but more of it survives with Rome itself remaining in the hands of a steady Italian successor state. States claiming to be the inheritors of Rome's legacy also coalesce in the eastern and African territories which survive in much more stable fashions. Through these nations 'Roman' culture bounces back repeatedly, leading to the creation of several competing 'Roman Empires'.
Rome's legacy also survived in the Invictine faith which had picked up quite a few cultural attributes that were unmistakably Roman. In the more unstable environment of post-Roman Europe the Invictine faith proved popular, especially to soldiers. Christianity on the other hand practically took over the Eastern Mediterranean with many post-Roman states eventually declaring it their official religions. These two faiths pretty much divided Europe with Christianity taking over everything East of the Adriatic though it also successfully spread throughout the British Isles. The Invictine faith on the other hand expanded across Western Europe, converting the various fledgling German nations and slowly making its way further east into some of the Slavic and Nordic ones as well.
However on the whole Rome's legacy failed to survive beyond the Mediterranean as the lack of Roman Catholicism meant that the German's were not assimilated in the same way they were in OTL.
There was no Mongol Empire but a massive steppe nomad Empire built by the Turks did perform the same task. What's more it arrived earlier than the OTL Mongols and made it even further into Europe. Unfortunately for the Turks it failed to solidify and collapsed completely but it did upset the balance of power enough to usher in an ATL Renaissance of sorts as the Turks brought the things they liked about the many cultures of Asia into Europe and exposed scholars to new ideas. Explorers from the Iberian Peninsula eventually discover the Americas (named the Antonides in this world) and begin an age of colonialism.
History happens.
Rome is a republic again. Despite being the supposed heart of European culture and the Invictine faith Rome is a very meagre state with little significance beyond their cultural value. Tourism is now the primary source of income with most of the cities monuments having been made more accessible to the public. Despite their openness to foreign tourists and other visitors the government is very oligarchic and restricts the franchise to legally accepted citizens.
By far the most powerful 'Roman' successor state is the Empire of Rome, now more commonly called the Alexandrian Empire. Despite still claiming the full legacy of the Roman Empire, they are based in Egypt, are fully Christian and speak Greek. Despite not taking Rome or that much of the old Roman Empire outside of North Africa and the Middle East they have still managed to build an impressive empire. They capitalised on the discovery of the Antonides shortly (in a relative sense) after they were discovered, their conquest of Mauritania at the time making access to the Atlantic easier. Despite imperial overstretch having ended their empire building they rule over an impressive imperium and are counted amongst the more powerful nations.
Alexandria, like most monarchic Roman states, is an enlightened despotism. Whilst the Basileus is supposed to hold all of their traditional authority in reality the government has evolved into a very complex system. It is oligarchic but not necessarily exclusive as the meritocratic bureaucracy allows anyone of sufficient talent and political savvy to rise through the ranks regardless of their background. Despite still being a very conservative society with a stable and respected class system the government does encourage public education and innovation though they prefer that the scientists and researchers do not get involved in politics or philosophy.
The Alexandrian Christian Church is one of the most organised Christian denomination. It has only recently managed to separate itself from the state apparatus though it is still heavily involved in politics. Centred in the Grand Basilica of Alexandria, the Alexandrian Church is a centralised religion with a clear dogma and hierarchy that sets itself apart from most other faiths. Despite their official separation from the state the Church does still support the government is most things, especially their conversion missions overseas. Though not the immensely influential institute they used to be they still have a lot of sway in the religious society of the Alexandrian Empire and do also have a lot of wealth from donations, much of which has been invested in other organisations, and property which they still own and try to make a profit off of. These business ventures are usually tolerated because most of the profits are then spent on other, more ecclesiastical and charitable, matters.
One of the greatest powers on the European continent is the Navarian Empire, a Slavic founded nation that contains several other, very distinct cultures within its borders. This diversity has hamstrung the Empire on several occasions and the Navari have had to make many concessions in order to prevent nationalist violence from tearing them apart.
Though still primarily Slavic (different migration patterns forced more of the Slavs into much of what would be OTL Germany), the Navarian Empire has to perform a complex ethnic balancing act to remain stable. This is further complicated by the religious issues as the Invictine majority clash with the significant but regional Christian and Buddhist minorities over certain issues. The Navari are infamous for being one of the first nations to embrace religious tolerance and end the persecution of faiths not backed by the individual governments of a given nation.
Navarian society is very cosmopolitan. The reformations to their political system have allowed for the intermixing and interaction of the various ethnicities and cultures of the Empire. Of course a basic 'Slavic' culture and language serves as the dominant culture of the Empire still with the Navari dialect seen as the language of the upper class. Unlike many of their rivals the Navari Empire maintains an almost explicitly democratic government. Though the Chyzar is supposed to still hold absolute power the Senate now holds the real power. Representatives from around the empire are elected to stand in the Senate and balance the power within the Empire. However the actual franchise still has standards and requirements for eligibility that ensure the system remains very exclusive. Each constituent province of the Empire has been granted regional autonomy (they are often made up of the kingdoms the Empire has conquered or annexed). Each province has a senate of their own but they have no real power outside of their provinces borders and are still subordinate to the central government.
One of the more bizarre powers that has emerged in recent decades is the Union of Britannic Nations. The old Britannian Empire that used to be a major power in the 19th Century collapsed around the 1870s after a series of disastrous wars and rebellions. However a new political union has emerged as the more stable and settled states have renewed ties with one another.
The leader of the Union is the Kingdom of Chimara, one of Britannia's former settler colonies. The British were not as good at colonising the region as OTL Spain and therefore allowed more of the local languages to survive. Chimara still considers itself a Britannic state but the majority of the population are Amerindian or creole and their version of Britannic incorporates a lot of Quecha dialects and words. However they are firmly Christian and the king is a relative of the old Britannic royal family. The monarchy, much like Alexandria, are supposed to have absolute authority but have been relegated to a figurehead position by a new network of power that is divided between the aristocracy, clergy and meritocratic bureaucracy. Their development by the Britannians not only allowed the Chimara to survive but also gave them the opportunity to thrive as their own independent nation. As they eventually pioneered the formation of the Union and are have the largest economy of any constituent state they are the leader for now.
Magniveridia, another of Britannia's settler colonies, was less successful when the Britannian Empire collapsed. After struggling against the Alexandrians they stumbled on for a little longer until the Union was formed. They were happy to join after that and have experienced a more stable global position since then. They are a republic, albeit an oligarchic one, with an exclusive electorate. The government is largely dominated by a small number of political families that usually decide the elections before they take place.
The British Isles themselves are still divided between the various post-Britannian states that were built after the collapse of the Empire. Rebuilding the bonds between them has been difficult, especially the attempted reconciliation between the more Latin Britannian Republic of the south and the Celtic kingdoms in Brythonia, Caledonia and Hibernia.
The Chinese states never unified completely in this world. Instead they continued to fight one another, which made them a little bit more accepting of some of the new weapons and other technology that the Europeans brought them when their ships finally reached East Asia. One of the empires was close to actually uniting them when the Manchu people came down from the north.
Waou China, built on top of the Manchu empire that conquered much of the north and the west, is the larger of the two Chinese states but also the weaker. They still focus inwards more than their Vei rivals and have less modernity. Whilst they are modernised and have picked up a lot of modern organisational skills they suffer from the corruption of their absolutist government and their technologically backward economy. Secessionists and rebels have been proliferating in Waou China for decades now and are quickly becoming too much for the military to handle without martial law, especially now that the Vei are covertly arming the rebels. Vei China is smaller but much more compact and has adopted a lot of modern technology very well. They have also picked up Christianity to a large extent because of centuries of contact with European and Persian merchants. The Vei still intend to reconquer the north and west and have been preparing for an invasion for a long time now, especially as the Waou become more unstable.
Chattel slavery was abolished long ago but various forms of indentured servitude are still common. Personal slaves are reserved only for the rich now that the cost of keeping a slave is too much for anyone else. New legislature has been signed granting certain rights to indentured servants that transcend property rights and new programs to help people more easily work their way out of indentured status. Criminals and debtors are those most likely to end up being enslaved in these manners.
Technologically this world is at about the same level as OTL. The ATL Renaissance did establish the foundations for the development of a scientific method. A more widespread technological development (through the development of nations like both Chinas) helped compensate for the conservative and regressive values of the world. Publicly funded and managed scientific development is very compartmentalised as the governments of most nations prefer that their scientists focus on their particular field and not get involved in issues like politics. Nuclear power was discovered shortly before the end of the last major war and saw some use before the cessation of conflicts (and in certain ways contributed to the end). The lack of conflicting ideologies led to a Cold War that was based more around nationalist interests as opposed to ideological ones. This Cold War has largely died down as the major conflicts died down.
