Alternative History
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Zoroastrian Temple

The Sassanid Empire and the ancient Zoroastrian culture were lost along with the collapse of the ancient pre-Islamic Iranian Empire. But what if they didn't?

The Sassanid Empire was not defeated from without but within. Khosrow II's own son would betray and assassinate his mighty father, an action which resulted in a devastating civil war which made Iran ripe for the taking for the Arabs. So what if Khosrow was more successful in cementing his legacy? What if Khavad failed in his coup and was killed instead?

What if we had a better Iran?

Point of Divergence[]

  • Mardanshah, Khosrow's son by Shirin and preferred heir, learns in advance of Khavad's intentions and managed to seize him before his half-brother had the chance to orchestrate the death of their father and siblings. Learning of this, Khosrow chooses to forge peace with Byzantium and return east, with much of his spoils intact and himself - alive. Khavad is executed, while Khosrow and Mardanshah work to clean Iran of traitors and conspirators to Sassanian rule and Mardanshah eventually succeeds his father as Shahanshah of Iran.

ATL vs OTL[]

  • The Sassanid Civil War never happens. Mardanshah safely ascends the throne upon Khosrow's death and is at the helm of a strong and stable empire, which is at peace with Byzantium. Following the rise of the Arab Rashidun Caliphate, which managed to take Egypt, Mardanshah and Byzantine Emperor Heraclius form an alliance to combat the threat, but Heraclius's death puts an end to active Byzantine resistance to the Arabs, since they had lost all land outside Anatolia and did not have the means to continue. As a result, Mardanshah has to fight alone.
  • Due to being united and strong, Iran managed to fight off the Arabs and defend Mesopotamia. As a result, the Muslim influence fails to spread through Iran and South Asia.
  • The Turkic tribes do not invade Iranian territory but are invited as mercenaries to fight against the Byzantines. Ultimately, they rebel against the Sassanids but are crushed and forced into exile towards Byzantine territories, where they still accept Islam due to Arab influence and still cause the collapse of the Byzantine Empire.
  • Due to the Ottoman threat, Catholic countries such as Portugal and Spain allied with Iran and often aided them in their wars against the Ottomans.
  • The Ottoman-Persian rivalry still exists in this timeline, although Iran is far more successful, in no small part due to its more organized structure and supply of weapons and technologies from Western Europe.
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