Monday, April 7, 2014

Map Monday: The Restored Roman Empire by mdc_1957

So everyone likes to write timeline where the Roman Empire never fell, but those timelines seem to think that the only real Roman Empire is the western one, not the eastern one which didn't actually fall until 1453. I am speaking of course of the Byzantine Empire as it is more well known. We don't see many timelines where they do not fall, so I was happy to see this map from mdc_1957:
Set in the year 1900, it presents a familiar map of Europe coalesced into different nation-states that includes a surviving Byzantine Empire. There are enough differences, however, that you get the idea the author took the flapping of butterfly wings into account.

You can read more about this wold here, but the point of divergence generally focuses on a different line of emperors coming to power in the 15th century. Whether that would be enough to prevent the decline of the Roman Empire, I will leave that to you, the reader, to decide. If you are interested in other Byzantine and Roman alternate histories, check out Sean Korsgaard's showcase on "An Age of Miracles, the Revival of Rhomanion", The Economics of a Roman Suez Canal by Christopher Brielman, Inceptio by Alison Morton or "The Anointed One" by A.J. Nolte.

No honorable mentions this week. Sorry, just didn't see anything else I liked. If you want to submit a map for consideration for the next Map Monday, email me at ahwupdate at gmail dot com with your map attached and a brief description in the body of the email.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.

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