2012-09-04, 21:24 | Link #141 | |
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Last edited by NoemiChan; 2012-09-05 at 02:08. Reason: Thanks Aegir... |
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2012-09-05, 08:33 | Link #144 | |
Knight Errant
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I don't know about that... Alexander made a career out of beating impossible odds. He did not know the meaning of the word "Retreat". |
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2012-09-06, 00:18 | Link #145 | ||
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2) Yet he did retreat from India. And for the next time, please don't argue with anything along the lines of "I don't know about that... [followed by non-academically supported flowery remark]" with so much certainty. Treat every discussion that emerges inside this thread as the chance to cross-check with others. And for the last time, don't confuse any fictionalized version of a historical figure with the real world's version. Now, for the next topic : Quote:
A pretty antiquated TL. But it's the first real attempt. You can check it out yourself. It's pretty good. As for my own thoughts on the question : I think it's to be noted that the heydays of Iraq had already passed by this time. Check my reply to Xellos a couple of pages back. Of course, it will still remain a prestigious and populous urban place without Mongol disaster, but it's quite doubtful that Baghdad could've rebuild their former glory. Should they ever rebound politically, at most it will be as a decent empire covering Al-Mashriq, but pretty much nothing more. And yes, lots of books don't get burned and numerous technologies don't get lost. Baghdad will at least remain an cultural intellectual center for quite a while, but it'll be more an Italy of muslim world then a France. By this time, Abbasid domain was already bordering Khwarazm Empire, their most likely next patron. I wonder how long the Crusader States will last in this scenario contra OTL. I'm inclined to say 'shorter'. Europe without Mongol devastation would be different indeed. More populated sans Mongol carnage and the accompanying black plague, especially eastern part. I don't know much about medieval Europe, unfortunately, but I at least know that later social evolution from feudalism owed a lot from the Mongols, since the the falling population due to Black Death sapped its foundation. The age of knights will likely last longer ITTL. Let's not counting out Black Plague. It's still possible that it will still appear, but without Mongols as lightning vector, it'll spread more gradually. And perhaps, the world will be generally better-prepared to face it.
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Last edited by Ridwan; 2012-09-06 at 00:28. |
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2012-09-06, 05:27 | Link #146 | |
Knight Errant
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Alexander was not a man with a shred of humility, he was a megalomaniac. It's highly probable that by the end of his life he thought of himself as a god. Read any historical account and you'll see that this was his personality. India was the only time he retreated from a fight, and he didn't retreat because he thought he couldn't win. He retreated because his soldiers mutinied. Alexander was a military genius, but he also had a large dose of Hubris. Early on in his career he might have been willing to retreat, but by India he (a bit like Napoleon) had won so many times, many of which against overwhelming odds and numbers, that he did not think he could lose. This is not the "fictional" version of Alexander. This is the "factual" version of him. A man increasingly divorced from reality, obsessed with his own godhood. Don't forget, this was a man who thought it was his destiny to conquer the world. You don't conquer the world by retreating. |
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2012-09-06, 06:22 | Link #147 |
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I'm admittedly not very attentive of Alexandrian topics and typical mainstream topics in general. I'm willing to be proven wrong with concrete back up evidences and references. That's why I got rather irked with one-liner remarks as if they're self-evident that will never contribute to any discussion.
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2012-09-06, 07:56 | Link #148 | |
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There are several historical episodes that point to Alexander's growing god complex, not the least of which is the fact that he had himself made a god, and never objected to the rumours that Zeus was his real father. He also murdered a close companion (Cleitus) when he objected to Alexander's megalomaniacal claims (One account was that Alexander boasted his achievements far surpassed his father's(Philip II), which cleitus objected to this, claiming Alexander's achievements were due to his father. Another version has Cleitus reminding Alexander that he only got to where he was due to the blood and sacrifice of his Macedonian army. Either way, Alexander likely murdered Cleitus due to Cleitus bruising his ego. There are other episodes like this one, but the Cleitus episode really stands out. Another good episode was that after the Battle of Hydaspes, when his men mutinied and forced him to bring them back home, Alexander sulked for a good 3 days. Some say his march through the Makran was revenge on his own soldiers, though it's impossible to really know for certain. He also founded over 20 cities named after himself ("Alexandria"). This was not a guy known for his modesty. Alexander was losing touch with reality, he had the same "winner's syndrome" that Napoleon did when he decided to invade Russia. The difference is that Alexander died before he could have his comeuppance. Last edited by DonQuigleone; 2012-09-06 at 08:08. |
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2012-09-06, 08:26 | Link #149 |
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Fair enough then. Certainly wasn't positing his modesty, but perhaps I was overestimating his sensibilities.
But that has further convinced me that he had stretched it too far by the time of Indian campaign. He will not succeed in India, nor that his empire really could've grown any larger then historically IOTL (perhaps Arabia would be doable, but that's about it) EDIT : This is a TL draft by someone from another forum. It is themed on the Revolt of The Three Feudatories that happened during the early years of Qing Dynasty in China. Warning : It's meant to be a Morbid Rollercoaster reading experience. Spoiler for Morbid Rollercoaster's Concept:
I'm basically just sharing this, wondering if I can gather some perspectives from you guys. Thoughts ?
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Last edited by Ridwan; 2012-09-06 at 09:35. |
2012-09-06, 11:32 | Link #150 |
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@ Alexander: I think he could have done other campaigns closer to his powerbase in Macedonia. It was already 10 years after he had left, and so a new generation of soldiers would have been available to go west with. Also, he could have raised troops in his newly conquered territories in Persia. Certainly an expedition to Arabia, or west to Carthage or Italy was a distinct possibility. Certainly, Alexander would have gone on another military expedition. It was not his character to relax and enjoy the fruits of his conquests. He would have wanted more. These were the wishes he expressed to his followers on his death (from Wikipedia, these were all mentioned in my readings of Alexander myself, so are authentic):
1. Construction of a monumental tomb for his father Philip, "to match the greatest of the pyramids of Egypt" 2. Erection of great temples in Delos, Delphi, Dodona, Dium, Amphipolis, and a monumental temple to Athena at Troy 3. Conquest of Arabia and the entire Mediterranean Basin 4. Circumnavigation of Africa 5. Development of cities and the "transplant of populations from Asia to Europe and in the opposite direction from Europe to Asia, in order to bring the largest continent to common unity and to friendship by means of intermarriage and family ties." I can't say whether he would have succeeded in his grand schemes. Point 5 in particular was a real sticking point between Alexander and his generals. Now as to whether the Empire could have held together after his death... Even if he did have an established heir, I find it highly unlikely. But the influence of Macedonian and Greek culture would have been much more widely spread. That said, when his Empire fell apart, all the successor states were ruled by Macedonian. The Persians did not rise up against their Macedonian overlords, so it's conceivable that if Alexander could have overcome the divisions within the Macedonian generals, that he could have created an Empire that lasted longer. But we'll never know. Last edited by DonQuigleone; 2012-09-06 at 11:52. |
2012-09-06, 15:22 | Link #151 |
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Had the Qing not consolidated power as quickly as it had, the protracted chaos in China may have spurred increased technological advancement. When China does get reunited, it may not be until the 1700s, and thus the Qing (or w/e dynasty) would reacht he peak of their power perhaps at a later date and thus be in a better position to face the Western powers.
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2012-09-06, 15:25 | Link #152 | |
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2012-09-06, 15:58 | Link #153 |
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Yes, that is possible. The main point, however, is that a longer civil war era would lead to better weaponry and technology, and the new dynasty would not begin to stagnate (like the Qing did historically) until the world became more globalized.
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2012-09-06, 17:38 | Link #154 |
Knight Errant
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You might also get a warring states period that lasts several hundred years. Long enough for the Europeans to come along and get involved in some way. Though a warring states period might strengthen China in the long run.
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2012-09-06, 23:46 | Link #155 |
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Civil War doesn't strengthen countries. It does the opposite. Though of course they can then recover, but a united China that will immediately come out of this Three Feudatories Rebellion goes bad scenario will definitely be worse off then OTL Qing Empire, as the quoted author said so himself. Strength depends on many more things then simply military technology, like the often-overlooked boring stuff such as economy, population, infrastructures, all will be devastated by this hypothetical prolonged-civil war.
In a period of total chaos, everything can come out of it. Besides the warlords and the Qing, we have the Kingdom of Tungning based in Taiwan, the Dzungars, and possibly even the Khalka Mongols. IOTL, Tungning had some grip in the coasts of Fujian and Guangdong which was only lost because the Qing was successful in consolidating southern China, a factor absent from this scenario. Besides all those mentioned, let's not count out the frenzy millenarian sects such as White Lotus Society (but that won't be all. Watch for the muslims !!) I wonder why he mentioned Japan. By this point Japan had been 60 years under Sakoku. That suggests a possible armed engagement with Tungning. Anyone knows how the things were around that broad area between Taiwan and Korea ?
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2012-09-07, 01:55 | Link #160 |
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I remember reading somewhere that the Qing had quite an advanced military when it took power, but that this technological progress was allowed to stagnate and even regress to a certain degree. Like they used guns at first but went back to swords. Or something.
So a more fractured or civil-war Chinese region would accelerate technological and perhaps also philosophical development. Keep in mind that the great Chinese schools of thought were created during the pre-Qin Warring States era. |
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