Superpowers
From Alternative History
Throughout history there have been many examples of world superpowers; such as the Romans and the Mongols, but most of these have fizzled out over time. This alternate history explores the, slightly unlikely, world events that would lead to a few of these empires staying strong.
[edit] Introduction
There are "multiple" points of divergence for this timeline, each occuring in entirely different parts of the world, having virtually no direct relation to one another. All other changes in history stem from just these three changes, with the very first point of divergence occuring in the year 173. During his tour of the Eastern provinces, Marcus Aurelius encounters a Greek by the Roman name of Gaius Correlus Sulla. Seeing promise in this young man, he adopts him as his successor, as opposed to his son Commodus. This, instead of ending the period of the Five Good Emperors, allows it to continue on for six more successors.
The next diverging point occurs in the year 394. The Mayan civilization, while still in its Golden Age, gives birth to one of the greatest minds in all of history, he is named Qhich'en Ch'onle Mayapan. This genius, after experimenting on various rocks, accidentaly creates gunpowder in 419 AD. The tremendous discovery of this powerful mixture is followed nearly a decade later by the invention of the Mayan wheel by this same ingenious individual. The man is hailed as being inspired by the gods and is placed upon the head of his home city-state. His continuous reforms lead into what can only be called a "Platinum Age", his state becomes reknowned throughout Mesoamerica and eventually over half of the Mayan city states are joining to form the greatest nation their region had ever seen, only continuing to grow into a mighty empire from that point onwards.
The final main diverging point is in the early 13th century AD. Instead of quarreling with his eldest son, Jochi, Genghis Khan develops a close bond with him. This would lead to Jochi being named his successor in the year 1218. This prevents the fragmentation of the great empire his father had created.
[edit] Contents
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