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Description
This world diverged from ours during the Greco-Persian Wars, where the Persians secured victory against the Greek city-states. The Greeks became part of the Achaemenid Empire, with pro-Persian city-states gaining at the expense of their rivals. After a few unsuccessful rebellions, massive population transfers, mostly from Athens, to the eastern region of Pakhtar(Bactria) were carried out. Many Greeks fled to Italy, eventually intermingling with the natives.

In the absence of Rome, the Gauls unite under the Arverni and conquer what is our world’s France, Britain, Spain, Italy and Germany. They drive many Germanic tribes north into Scandinavia, east into Russia and south into Italy. Italy becomes a hodgepodge of Greek, native Italian and Germanic civilizations. Qarthasdt (Carthage) becomes a regional power, but neither the Arverni nor Qarthasdtinian empires enjoy the dominance of Rome.

But the Achaemenid Empire was not to last. A dynastic crisis led to Pakhtar breaking away and attempting to conquer the rest of the empire. This was only successful in destroying Persian hegemony in the Middle East, leading to the independence of Egypt, Babylon and Pakhtar, with the old Persian core constantly changing hands.

Migration patterns change dramatically. Southern Europe, including newly-independent Greece, is overwhelmed with Germanic and Slavic nomads escaping the Arverni and becomes a mix of Germanic, Greek, Persian, Slavic and local Balkan culture. This area would be engulfed in war for most of history. Meanwhile, the Germanics displace many tribes in the east and force them into the Middle East, causing massive instability among the Babylonians and Pakhtari. These tribes later move west against the Arverni and dismantle their empire. Europe is engulfed in war for centuries. These Germanics ultimately move east, merging with Turkic peoples displaced by the expanding states in China, forming the ethnic core of the Auzwendel Empire. Later in the 8th and 9th centuries, a Slavic European nomadic tribe centered in Hungary unites and moves down into the Middle East through Anatolia and north against the Europeans, and destroying the empires there. While the Middle East is able to rebuild, the Europeans will not recover from this assault until the 18th century.

Qarthasdt fell to internal struggle and Slavic invasion in the 9th century, but not before creating a significant Mediterranean and West African trading empire. Qarthasdt also absorbed the Egyptian empire, which regained its independence after Qarthasdt’s fall. Many African slaves were transferred to Qarthasdtinian holdings in Iberia and Italy, forming an African minority that is present to this day. Even after the fall of Qarthasdt, Africa continued to be important in the minds of the civilized world. Pakhtar and the Indian states traded significantly with East African peoples and kingdoms. While these kingdoms became significantly more powerful in comparison to the “developed” world than they were in our world, they still succumbed to industrial might. However, colonialism proper wouldn’t start until the 14th century. But Qarthasdt would be revived as a great power in the 17th century and the Mali Empire would remain a regional empire well into the 21st century.

Meanwhile, the east became more powerful. The Indian cultures would remain the primary rival of the Persian-derived cultures, but it could never unite for any prolonged period of time and spent just as much time fighting themselves, especially when the western states converted to Mazdaism. Wars between the Achaemenids (and the Pakhtari) and the Indian kingdoms drive nomads such as the Scythians to the east. This has the effect of subjecting the nascent Qin Empire to frequent raids, giving the Chu in southern China ultimate victory, becoming Jingia. This southern-oriented “Chinese” empire replaced the Indian kingdoms as the primary trade and cultural power in Southeast Asia. This dominance is later challenged by Bactrians and other Persian states in the 8th and 9th centuries, but Chinese culture remains dominant even as Mazdaism became the dominant religion in the region. During the 9th century, the continent of Pinglai (Australia) was discovered by Chinese traders. The continent was heavily settled until the 16th century, when Pinglai declared its independence from Jingia and fought a revolutionary war against them. Pinglai became the center of anti-colonial ideology and supported independence movements throughout Southeast Asia and beyond. Ironically, Pinglai itself would absorb these newly independent states and become a colonial power itself, ultimately establishing colonies in Africa and South America in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Americas were not discovered until the 14th century and were but a curiosity. Colonial empires, eager to prove their worth, carved up the continents with little regard for the natives within, who quickly succumbed to Old World disease. However, since settlement remained light, many native cultures survived, if in a weakened state. Colonialism remains strong well into the 21st century and the Americas remain some of the most underdeveloped areas in the world.

Technologically, the world is far more advanced than ours. The advent of the printing press in Jingia during the 11th century, followed by the steam engine in Babylon during the 14th century sparked an industrial revolution that spread through the Middle East and Asia. Jingia and Pinglai quickly became workshops of the world and sought new markets for their products. This would accelerate conflict between the world’s industrialized powers, placing even more incentive to develop technologically. Poison gas was first used in anger during the Yanguk (Korea)-Jingia war of 1555 and the first nuclear weapon would be detonated by Pakhtar on the Caspian coast in the early 17th century, sparking a worldwide arms race. The first man-made object in space would be launched in 1685 and Jingian men would land on the Moon at the turn of the 18th century.

The 21st century world is one that is at the brink of war. The totalitarian Fashgia political movement, based on Legalism of old China, has taken control over Pinglai, and Yanguk, with the absolutist Pakhtar Empire in support. The old conservative monarchies of Europe are starting to crumble as Fashgia militants and pro-democracy groups fight over the bloated corpses of old empires. Weapons are churned out by the millions by the great powers to any group eager to take up arms to marginally advance their interests. The only thing preventing war between the Pinglai-Yanguk- Pakhtar axis and their Jingian, Qarthasdtinian and Auzwendel rivals are hundreds of thousands of nuclear weapons and thousands of orbital “defense” stations. The foundation of the first self-sustaining Martian colony in 2005 by Pinglai only served to increase tensions beyond the Earth’s atmosphere.

Description
This world diverged from ours during the Greco-Persian Wars, where the Persians secured victory against the Greek city-states. The Greeks became part of the Achaemenid Empire, with pro-Persian city-states gaining at the expense of their rivals. After a few unsuccessful rebellions, massive population transfers, mostly from Athens, to the eastern region of Pakhtar(Bactria) were carried out. Many Greeks fled to Italy, eventually intermingling with the natives.

In the absence of Rome, the Gauls unite under the Arverni and conquer what is our world’s France, Britain, Spain, Italy and Germany. They drive many Germanic tribes north into Scandinavia, east into Russia and south into Italy. Italy becomes a hodgepodge of Greek, native Italian and Germanic civilizations. Qarthasdt (Carthage) becomes a regional power, but neither the Arverni nor Qarthasdtinian empires enjoy the dominance of Rome.

But the Achaemenid Empire was not to last. A dynastic crisis led to Pakhtar breaking away and attempting to conquer the rest of the empire. This was only successful in destroying Persian hegemony in the Middle East, leading to the independence of Egypt, Babylon and Pakhtar, with the old Persian core constantly changing hands.

Migration patterns change dramatically. Southern Europe, including newly-independent Greece, is overwhelmed with Germanic and Slavic nomads escaping the Arverni and becomes a mix of Germanic, Greek, Persian, Slavic and local Balkan culture. This area would be engulfed in war for most of history. Meanwhile, the Germanics displace many tribes in the east and force them into the Middle East, causing massive instability among the Babylonians and Pakhtari. These tribes later move west against the Arverni and dismantle their empire. Europe is engulfed in war for centuries. These Germanics ultimately move east, merging with Turkic peoples displaced by the expanding states in China, forming the ethnic core of the Auzwendel Empire. Later in the 8th and 9th centuries, a Slavic European nomadic tribe centered in Hungary unites and moves down into the Middle East through Anatolia and north against the Europeans, and destroying the empires there. While the Middle East is able to rebuild, the Europeans will not recover from this assault until the 18th century.

Qarthasdt fell to internal struggle and Slavic invasion in the 9th century, but not before creating a significant Mediterranean and West African trading empire. Qarthasdt also absorbed the Egyptian empire, which regained its independence after Qarthasdt’s fall. Many African slaves were transferred to Qarthasdtinian holdings in Iberia and Italy, forming an African minority that is present to this day. Even after the fall of Qarthasdt, Africa continued to be important in the minds of the civilized world. Pakhtar and the Indian states traded significantly with East African peoples and kingdoms. While these kingdoms became significantly more powerful in comparison to the “developed” world than they were in our world, they still succumbed to industrial might. However, colonialism proper wouldn’t start until the 14th century. But Qarthasdt would be revived as a great power in the 17th century and the Mali Empire would remain a regional empire well into the 21st century.

Meanwhile, the east became more powerful. The Indian cultures would remain the primary rival of the Persian-derived cultures, but it could never unite for any prolonged period of time and spent just as much time fighting themselves, especially when the western states converted to Mazdaism. Wars between the Achaemenids (and the Pakhtari) and the Indian kingdoms drive nomads such as the Scythians to the east. This has the effect of subjecting the nascent Qin Empire to frequent raids, giving the Chu in southern China ultimate victory, becoming Jingia. This southern-oriented “Chinese” empire replaced the Indian kingdoms as the primary trade and cultural power in Southeast Asia. This dominance is later challenged by Bactrians and other Persian states in the 8th and 9th centuries, but Chinese culture remains dominant even as Mazdaism became the dominant religion in the region. During the 9th century, the continent of Pinglai (Australia) was discovered by Chinese traders. The continent was heavily settled until the 16th century, when Pinglai declared its independence from Jingia and fought a revolutionary war against them. Pinglai became the center of anti-colonial ideology and supported independence movements throughout Southeast Asia and beyond. Ironically, Pinglai itself would absorb these newly independent states and become a colonial power itself, ultimately establishing colonies in Africa and South America in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Americas were not discovered until the 14th century and were but a curiosity. Colonial empires, eager to prove their worth, carved up the continents with little regard for the natives within, who quickly succumbed to Old World disease. However, since settlement remained light, many native cultures survived, if in a weakened state. Colonialism remains strong well into the 21st century and the Americas remain some of the most underdeveloped areas in the world.

Technologically, the world is far more advanced than ours. The advent of the printing press in Jingia during the 11th century, followed by the steam engine in Babylon during the 14th century sparked an industrial revolution that spread through the Middle East and Asia. Jingia and Pinglai quickly became workshops of the world and sought new markets for their products. This would accelerate conflict between the world’s industrialized powers, placing even more incentive to develop technologically. Poison gas was first used in anger during the Yanguk (Korea)-Jingia war of 1555 and the first nuclear weapon would be detonated by Pakhtar on the Caspian coast in the early 17th century, sparking a worldwide arms race. The first man-made object in space would be launched in 1685 and Jingian men would land on the Moon at the turn of the 18th century.

The 21st century world is one that is at the brink of war. The totalitarian Fashgia political movement, based on Legalism of old China, has taken control over Pinglai, and Yanguk, with the absolutist Pakhtar Empire in support. The old conservative monarchies of Europe are starting to crumble as Fashgia militants and pro-democracy groups fight over the bloated corpses of old empires. Weapons are churned out by the millions by the great powers to any group eager to take up arms to marginally advance their interests. The only thing preventing war between the Pinglai-Yanguk- Pakhtar axis and their Jingian, Qarthasdtinian and Auzwendel rivals are hundreds of thousands of nuclear weapons and thousands of orbital “defense” stations. The foundation of the first self-sustaining Martian colony in 2005 by Pinglai only served to increase tensions beyond the Earth’s atmosphere.