Changes: Superpowers

Revision as of 19:08, 10 May 2012

This is a featured alternate history!

Superpowers is a featured timeline, which means it has been identified as one of the best alternate histories produced by the alternate history community. If you see a way this alternate history can be updated or improved without compromising previous work, please say so on this page's talkpage.

A Superpower is a state which dominates its immediate geopolitical region and has a global sphere of influence. The first civilization to wield power on this scale was the Achaemenid Persian Empire in the Ist Millennium BCE. In its heyday, Persia owned land on the three Eurasian continents and was positioned on the silk road as a commercial mediator between Rome and China. Years later, the Romans themselves were the primary Old World superpower. The Mongols followed shortly with their dominance of the entire Eastern World. In our reality, no superpower was a world leader for more than a few centuries, as every one eventually collapsed under its own weight. This alternate history explores a possible world where three minor divergences allow some empires to persist and create a world ruled by Superpowers.

Introduction

2000 AD Superpowers Map — The world in the present day (*2000 CE*)

This timeline diverges from our reality at three events. Each occurs at its own point in time and in a unique part of the world. The PODs are as follows:

173 AD: During his tour of the Greek Provinces, Marcus Aurelius meets a promising young boy named Gaius Correlus Sulla. Endeared by the child's intelligence, Aurelius adopts young Gaius and declares him the successor to the imperial throne over Commodus, the emperor's biological son. Sulla becomes Caesar in 180 CE and with a clearer mind than Commodus, prevents the Empire's tumble into centuries of unrest that would have ended in its collapse.
394 AD: Quich'en Ch'onle Mayapan is born in a family from the mighty Maya city-state of Calakmul. Mayapan grows into one of the greatest minds in history, and unites the Maya city-states by 452, thereby creating the greatest empire ever seen in the New World.
1185 AD: Genghis Khan successfully protects his wife Borte from Merkit raiders and the legitimacy of her son Jochi is never in question. The father and son grow closer than they otherwise would and Jochi is named the sole successor of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty when Genghis Khan dies.

The speculative goal of the timeline is to imagine the change that can be made by a single person. Two parts of the scenario give the helms of a country to a genius in a period of great potential, and a third gives a growing nation the leader needed to maintain its internal cohesion. If there is a plausible theory behind the events of this timeline it is that good leadership can change the game. The right person can make the difference between plunging a country into ruin and leading it into prosperity.

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 {{featured}}
-A Superpower is a state which dominates its immediate geopolitical region and has a global sphere of influence. The first civilization to wield power on this scale was the Achaemenid Persian Empire in the Ist Millennium BCE. In its heyday, Persia owned land on all three Eurasian continents and was positioned on the silk road as a commercial mediator between the Romans and Chinese. Years later, the Romans themselves were the primary Old World superpower. The Mongols followed shortly with their dominance of the Eastern World. In our reality, no superpower was a world leader for more than a few centuries, as every one eventually collapsed under its own weight. Now, this alternate history explores a possible world where three minor divergences allow some empires to persist, creating a world ruled by '''[[Superpowers]]'''.
+A Superpower is a state which dominates its immediate geopolitical region and has a global sphere of influence. The first civilization to wield power on this scale was the Achaemenid Persian Empire in the Ist Millennium BCE. In its heyday, Persia owned land on the three Eurasian continents and was positioned on the silk road as a commercial mediator between Rome and China. Years later, the Romans themselves were the primary Old World superpower. The Mongols followed shortly with their dominance of the entire Eastern World. In our reality, no superpower was a world leader for more than a few centuries, as every one eventually collapsed under its own weight. This alternate history explores a possible world where three minor divergences allow some empires to persist and create a world ruled by '''[[Superpowers]]'''.
 ==Introduction==
 [[File:2000_AD_Superpowers_Map.png|thumb|640px|The world in the present day (''2000 CE'')]]
-This timeline has three points of divergence from Our reality. Each occurs at its own point in time and in a unique part of the world. The PODs are as follows:
+This timeline diverges from our reality at three events. Each occurs at its own point in time and in a unique part of the world. The PODs are as follows:
 #'''173 AD:''' During his tour of the Greek Provinces, Marcus Aurelius meets a promising young boy named '''Gaius Correlus Sulla'''. Endeared by the child's intelligence, Aurelius adopts young Gaius and declares him the successor to the imperial throne over Commodus, the emperor's biological son. Sulla becomes Caesar in 180 CE and with a clearer mind than Commodus, prevents the Empire's tumble into centuries of unrest that would have ended in its collapse.
 #'''394 AD:''' '''Quich'en Ch'onle Mayapan''' is born in a family from the mighty Maya city-state of Calakmul. Mayapan grows into one of the greatest minds in history, and unites the Maya city-states by 452, thereby creating the greatest empire ever seen in the New World.
@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 ==Contents==
-[[File:Magnus_the_Great.jpg|thumb|250px|The finest Caesar of Rome, <br> Magnus II the Great]]
+[[File:Magnus_the_Great.jpg|thumb|250px|The finest Caesar of Rome, <br> Magnus the Great]]
 *[[Portal Page (Superpowers)|Portal]]
 *[[Timeline (Superpowers)|World's Timeline [160 - 2000 CE]]]