What if Rome Never Existed? Part III

[@AlternateHistoryHub]

Reposted due to reasons. But it's here to stay! If you want to catch up on the Rome series, watch Part 1 and 2 here: bit.ly/35wkCXf

[@nathanaelsallhageriksson1719]

Nice it's here, I watched it completely yesturday. Why was it taken down? Also, love your videos.

[@minutemanchan7232]

prob his schedule

[@Danny-cm6dl]

U. Do. Not Know. M doing the exact same here

[@Trekkie46]

I had just finished watching the last post when it vanished. I was trying to figure out if it was an issue on my phone at first.

[@minutemanchan7232]

Cody what got you into alternate history

[@2nd100k]

Technically its "part 3" because without Rome Roman numerals wouldn't exist

[@Jonnyc448]

@allblocked1322 Big brain

[@blaz2892]

The Romans basically copied their numerals from the Etruscans.

[@DarDarBinks1986]

What the hell were the Romans thinking not having a zero? WHY? WHY DON'T YOU USE A ZERO, ROME? Doing long division would be a pain in the ass with Roman numerals, too.

[@user-vn7ce5ig1z]

BZZBBZ Gaming> The Romans basically copied their numerals from the Etruscans. Someone like the "Those Crazy Etruscans" category on _Jeopardy!_ 😀 Jokes aside, as BZZBBZ said, Roman numerals were derived from Etruscan numerals and the Etruscans used I for 1, so it would still be III.

[@imortalones]

people would still count its just the term that would be different. grammar isn't a big deal.

[@duchi882]

*"What if Rome never existed?"* *Metatron:* _I refuse to even think about that_

[@zakback9937]

Duchi give him his pasta to calm down

[@nooneshome8746]

Possibly his videos are about Greece or Carthage.

[@fadhilnugraha195]

@@nooneshome8746 Or he probably will only make videos about Samurai

[@awesomebearaudiobooks]

Metatron: has a bigger beard

[@macmittens16]

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s the Seljuk Turks, AAH!

[@yusufemir8314]

Never gets old!

[@vaulttecrepresentative414]

“AAH, said The Pope.”

[@nielk.]

Ayy bill wurtz

[@mm88deatmatch]

And they’ve got ✨spices✨

[@Kastra_k]

@@vaulttecrepresentative414 there is no pope

[@afinoxi]

"The nomadic Turks - influenced only by 'Ey , this land is good.'" As a Turk , I must say , you couldn't have summed up our history in a better way

[@christiandauz3742]

What if a Time-traveler Industrialized Ancient Sumeria? No Scythians, Turks and Abrahamic religions for sure

[@afinoxi]

@@christiandauz3742 bro a Sumeria with modern day technology would dominate the world

[@christiandauz3742]

@@afinoxi And beyond. Space colonization, Immortality and full-blown Atheism before 2700 BCE!!! A much better Alternate Earth than this one

[@FictionHubZA]

The British are similar.

[@DopaminedotSeek3rcolonthree]

Turks moved in and kicked up their feet... :)

[@alexandercolefield9523]

The year is 1492, the Turkish Empire is in turmoil with the Carthaginian Caliphate and the Alexandrian League. In the turmoil, the Druidic Kingdom revolts against the Carthaginian rule. Meanwhile, with the rest of the continent in strife, the Nordic Emirate, under the blessing of the one true god, Wotan, and his angels, explore the lands of the Skraelings.

[@navilluscire2567]

Strangely this sounds like it could be the basis for an awesome fantasy series, with yes functional magic and (mostly real) folkloric creatures. Also like the idea of a drudic kingdom, is it the only one in this alternate timeline or are there other Celtic-descended, drudic nations? Also an Islamic based nordic state sounds super interesting!

[@alexandercolefield9523]

@@navilluscire2567 My thoughts, maybe you can make better ones in your brain, I am not a writer nor historian: For the Druidic Kingdom I was thinking of something parallel to the short lived Gallic Empire. However, with the Celts more dissatisfied with the Carthaginians adopted Monotheism, the Kingdom / Revolt is larger and there is an emphasis on the following of the old gods. So its more of a nationalistic revolt than the simple power grab that the Gallic Empire was. The Druidic Kingdom is lead by Druids, hence the name. My thought is Carthage does not fall to the Islamic expansion, but rather accepts it in a coup. Celts were willing to deal with the weird mixing of Carthaginian gods and their gods, but Monotheism is a step too far. Islam spreads very far and fast in this timeline, but it is not really codified as it reaches the frontier. Someone converts a powerful Nordic war lord to Islam by convincing him that Odin and Allah are one and mixing the religions, similar to what Christian missionaries did in our time. However this backfires with Nordic Islam being more Nordic with a focus on Odin as the primary god, but with all the same ferocity of expansionist Islam. By the time the error is realized, the heresy has spread too far. The only group which doesn't succumb to Islamic expansion in any way is the Alexandrian league, they hold off the Arabic just like they held off the Persians of old. The League is in reference to the Athenian league and run similarly but with an Autocratic bend, but the pride for Alexander is now a primary focal point for the people. The Turks is Turks, they take advantage of the crumbling Arabic caliphates.

[@emperorhyperion9228]

How would China factor in to this? Would they be behind the Nordic conquests?

[@profharveyherrera]

This would be so cool as the foundation of a novel

[@johnidchannel6877]

Don't forget about Armenia.

[@themathhatter5290]

Once again, it's ironic to use _Roman_ numerals in this series.

[@loldiamond1017]

@@lmsforgrt9849 I fail to see how this relates to what he said

[@jahfield9116]

@@loldiamond1017 because III is a Roman numeral but in maths we use 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,0 which are Arabic numbers.

[@hotpockethunter4886]

Tally marks

[@themathhatter5290]

@Alien Alien Hey now. This was a nice, light-hearted comment about numbers. Take your religion-bashing elsewhere.

[@retf8977]

@Alien Alien stop trying to ruin shit

[@EmperorTigerstar]

ONLY XXI CENTVRY KIDS REMEMBER PARTS I AND II.

[@jmansup]

Fancy meeting you here

[@sultanmustafa71]

Why are there only 12 likes on here.

[@dokidoki777]

*The third video in this Trilogy was like one of Gabe Newell's games.* _We never knew if it was going to come out, but when it did we all rejoiced._

[@SafeRemain]

why the hell is that ur pfp

[@end9409]

7:41 "Spain fell to the Moors, there was the battle of tours, and raids occured in the Mediterranean, in scores." Did anyone else notice that rhyming?

[@ekintopuz7594]

Almost thought I was watching KnowledgeHub for a second there

[@alanpennie]

Byzantium had to multiply its oars.

[@luisdergroe8944]

That was probably one of the most interesting scenarios yet. It not only had Muslim celts (as an alternative history lovers that’s probably one of the coolest things i have heard!), but it also shows how important Rome really was in our own timeline. Great work, keep it up!

[@Drace90]

"I'll see you in the twenties." Now that's something I totally forgot to think about.

[@lewisbaitup6352]

The twenties has had a bad beginning

[@Perririri]

2773 \ MMDCCLXXIII AUC, actually

[@YataTheFifteenth]

@@penumbra0182 still a bad start.

[@gameguy8101]

@@penumbra0182 It's even worse

[@brookiecookie472]

@@penumbra0182 about that

[@Longshanks1690]

What if this video was never reuploaded?

[@mathieuleader8601]

it would be on Curiositystream

[@ojpickle5923]

I would be bored

[@ianhines2302]

🦏 🥛

[@BLINDrOBOTFILMS]

It would be a dark timeline.

[@joshuatraffanstedt2695]

Then this stupid comment would be wiped from the face of KZbin.

[@emperor_ra]

What if KZbin liked history???

[@jonnunn4196]

What if KZbin hadn't massively enlarged thumb nails on its home page?

[@memoofjacoboarbenzjuanarev9724]

What if KZbin didn't sellout to advertisers?

[@METALFREAK03]

@@memoofjacoboarbenzjuanarev9724 what if the original creators never soldout to google?

[@memoofjacoboarbenzjuanarev9724]

@@METALFREAK03 Less tech support lol and a lot of law suits. Those labels and studios are a pieces.

[@christianali5431]

Emperor R They wouldn’t be doomed to repeat it.

[@odethious5639]

I just realized this is the end of a decade...... So many memories.

[@registeelix]

Imperator Rome used to be awful, but Paradox has made tremendous efforts to make it a much better game.

[@arawn1061]

Hello unbot

[@bocchithean-cap3404]

They should add china

[@anguseverist4178]

Imperator Rome annoys me so much, because it has the potential for an absolutely incredible game. The population system is innovative, the governance system is great, the army system is really unique, yet it falls short of being truly exceptional because of a few too many weird, bloated features, and too much mana shit like the stability modifier. if they made the state system a bit more intuitive, government types more concise with a few variations for certain cultures and government types, overhauled the province and region system to make it more intuitive, and dramatically improved the civil war mechanics, it would be a game good enough to rival their best products like CK3 or HOI4. Also the siege mechanics kinda suck.They should make it more like CK3.

[@Jonnyc448]

Excellent video as usual sir! I just wanted to take a second to thank you, your videos are what got me into the great universe of history and alternate history. You truly are one of the greatest history channels on KZbin

[@user-vk3uz3ml6t]

"Great video" *commented on a 19 minute video about a minute after its upload*

[@Jonnyc448]

@f Thanks a lot bud, hope you feel good pointing that out, if you didn’t know, this was a reupload, the videos already been out. Also, why feel the need to comment this.

[@salutic.7544]

I Think My Dog Is a Cat don’t take it so personally it just looks kinda fishy

[@user-vk3uz3ml6t]

@@Jonnyc448 calm down, youre on the internet so if you cant take a comment like that then you won't last long.

[@Jonnyc448]

@enøziye two Maybe your right, but I can assure it’s not meant to be

[@sithdragon3333]

Well done Cody. You are the only channel I have enjoyed consistently throughout this decade as I reached my teens and now near their end. Thank you for making the 2010s that little bit better

[@Crick1952]

Hey look. Imperator Rome actually did something right.

[@fatetestarossa2774]

INDEED

[@CoachChef]

Yea they caused more genocides in countries that we call Western Europe people who have their own way of life religions and thought bringing the sense they weren't Roman they were destroyed or wiped off the face of history and off the face of the Earth

[@tnxpert3459]

@@CoachChef they are talking about the game

[@penumbra0182]

@@CoachChef a 2019 video game did all that? Impressive.

[@ORION00119]

@@CoachChef and? Everyone back then did that atleast with Rome its became the foundation of everything after it.

[@Sykersomatic]

Uhm, counter-point: Since Christianity is still a regional religion without Roman assistance, would Islam even still have the same appearance? Didn't the idea of Christianity inform Muhammad's doctrine? I thought Muhammad was the final prophet after Abraham and Jesus?

[@BennyGarrison]

This having Islam without Christianity is a stretch...

[@Samer-vj1cu]

Muhammad pbh would still have been the last prophet. And no Christianity didn’t have much impact on him.

[@Sykersomatic]

@@Samer-vj1cu Hm. Alrighty.

[@METALFREAK03]

@@Samer-vj1cu Don't know about that. Islam was the last religion of the abrahamic religions. This is why I think Christendom would still rise as being the most prominent because another power would sacrifice Jesus. And Islam would still fight against the Christian homeland (and Judea) so you would still have the wars there. The only difference is that christianity may not have reached as far as Britain or the northlands. But it would reach Italy and spain due to the naval routes.

[@iliveiniowa1]

Gotta agree with you, regardless of if Rome was controlling the area the events of Jesus and the first Christians probably still occur and probably draw the eye/ire of the dominant power of the region

[@rt6692]

I'm proud of you Cody. You managed to finish a three part series with so much passion. Happy Saturnalia!🏛🌿❄🌲

[@rfij3268]

God: Create Humans* Humans: Made what if rome never existed part III. God: Now that's what i Talking about

[@rbryangonzalez]

I've been watching this channel since I was a preteen (I'm 19) and was here when it only had, what, about 100,000 subs? I love to see how much it's grown since then and I'm glad to see that it's thriving with apparently no end in near sight. Love you Cody.

[@Wiebejamin]

"There'd still be one enemy who'd still come and invade" *It's the Seljuk Turks* aah!

[@bruinironside]

Didn't the Vikings discover the"new world?" I'm pretty sure they did.

[@mitch9651]

Yes. But in those 500 years (before colombo) did anyone know anything about it?!

[@caspianhorlick4529]

Alternate Scandinavian America?

[@GanyuSimpingDegenerate]

"But Oversimplified, Columbus didn't discover America, the Vikings did"

[@Brams2777]

I mean they "discovered" it but it had no significant consequences.

[@Niobesnuppa]

They did, but their settlement there died out pretty quickly, and it was kind of forgotten about afterwards. I'm guessing since it was so unsuccessful, they didn't think it was worth the long travel in order to attempt another settlement.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

All roads would lead to Slough

[@LedosKell]

Trucking to Slough.

[@pp6t]

I live in slough lmao

[@Kosiahswag1]

Yes Slough the most legendary town in the world

[@4scended498]

Slough

[@antiochus87]

No. Just no.

[@baconandeggs159]

What happened to the original, I saw that you privated it but why?

[@archirug]

probably for "bullying", aka KZbin didn't like it so they shut it down

[@Mr_Lo_]

Probably for mentioning a *_Certain, Allah be praised,_* religion

[@forgetful9845]

He had it scheduled to be released on the 20th but accidentally releashed it early. Check his Twitter. Nothin' to do with YT.

[@imortalones]

if romans weren't around there would of been less war. There would also be more witches and medicine/alchemy. There would also be more animals because Romans killed and tortured animals on a large scale never seen before.

[@imortalones]

people who are making rules on the internet are racists who like war..

[@TheAtlasReview]

One thing that strikes me as odd with alternate histories like this one is when historical figures end up existing despite vast differences in the world, like Muhammad in this case. If the Roman Empire hadn't existed, the odds of Muhammad's ancestors being completely unaffected all the way down to the exact circumstances of his conception is mathematically impossible. Sort of like how, if Hitler were killed, the lives of nearly everyone on earth would be different to some degree, so even if their lives are only one moment out of sync the odds of them having the same children as in our timeline are impossible. I know I'm taking this too seriously, but I think it would be more appropriate to hypothesise an Islam-like religion forming from similar origins, given that the chances of Islam fermenting centuries into a vastly different world being so minute.

[@rikafurude6275]

The thing is that while the exact figures and ideas wouldnt exist, the circumstances that shaped them still would, so equivalents would arise instead. And in that case, you may as well simply refer to the equivalents with the names of the corresponding people and ideas from our timeline.

[@retf8977]

I don't thing the romans affected the Tribe of quraysh, or any of the Arabian tribes all that much, not much would've changed

[@TheAtlasReview]

@@rikafurude6275 Yeah, I suppose that's fair enough. He did say something similar in the video just after I commented. I just wish he had emphasised that it could have just as easily been a monotheistic cult that sprang up elsewhere.

[@TheAtlasReview]

@@retf8977 IDK much about the Qurayshi I admit, but my understanding is that they were a mercantile people and would have been in contact with traders from the rest of the world quite regularly. If one of the superpowers of the age never existed, the trade networks would be substantially different (except for China, who don't really care where their products are going as long as someone in the west wants to buy them). All it takes is, for example, for an Arab merchant in 0AD to have a slightly-different conversation with another trader and that will butterfly into vastly different descendents for the entirety of Arabia by the time of 570AD. It may not change social or cultural trends much, but pretty much not a single individual would be the same. The only people who wouldn't be altered this way are those who were completely isolated from Rome and it's influences, like the far-east, sub-saharan africa and the New World.

[@jeffbenton6183]

@@retf8977 If you only mean tribes on the Peninsula, then yes, maybe. But the areas in and around Damascus, Petra and Aleppo (then Antioch) were part of the Roman Empire. What is now Baghdad fell to the Romans briefly but was under the control of empire that rivaled and were deeply affected by Rome.

[@LifeEnemy]

This series made me appreciate how Rome actually influenced the modern world, and made me appreciate alternate (and then 'regular') history. Glad to see it finished! I'd actually forgotten about the series but it was nice to have an excuse to watch them all again :D

[@Dovahhatty]

>What if Rome Never Existed? Chaos. Eternal, G*rmanic Chaos

[@y7va]

ey man i love your vids, hope coppa doesn’t take your things down

[@scipio7994]

Dovahhatty Dovahtranny

[@teathesilkwing7616]

Why did you censor Germanic

[@aleembaksh1880]

@@teathesilkwing7616 Check his channel

[@sanaddaoud6541]

Ave Dovahhatty

[@jaflob6610]

I caught a glimpse of the thumbnail and thought it was McDonald’s, so I thought the video was “What if McDonald’s never existed” and now I need to have that within a week or I’ll riot

[@garybrown2039]

That’s actually a good question. Or really the thought of “what if (insert company name at any historical period here) never existed?”

[@festethephule7553]

@@garybrown2039 What if the Hudson's Bay Company didn't exist?

[@OCinneide]

@@PhoenixHorseGuy The British India company appears

[@JMajik24]

what if GE didn't exist?

[@megashitpost2513]

VOC.

[@joshguest1104]

Thank you so much for reposting!

[@thathistoryiscoolguy]

What happened

[@joshguest1104]

@@thathistoryiscoolguy He uploaded this two days ago, before privating it.

[@thathistoryiscoolguy]

@@joshguest1104 I know he uploaded it early but why would he reupload it

[@joshguest1104]

@@thathistoryiscoolguy I don't know, he only made it private before reposting

[@thathistoryiscoolguy]

@@joshguest1104 ok

[@ianryan5225]

You seem to have downplayed the Celts MASSIVELY. The ancient Celts probably would be by far the most capable of resisting the Islamic Conquest. Gaul likely would've already united centuries before Muhammad's Revelation, as it would've if it was never conquered by Rome. Vercingetorix's father Celtillus tried to unite all of Gaul before being killed in a stroke of bad luck for the Celtic world. Celts traditionally were extremely protected by both geography and their fiercely isolationist and militaristic culture. Plus, all Celts dwelling by the coast by Caesar's time had formidable navies. If just a subunit of the Celtic world, such as Britain or Gaul united, it would've been both a competitor of an expansionist Caliphate and a likely destroyer of Carthage centuries before said Caliphate.

[@michaelpothoven1041]

This. I would definitely like to see this idea examined in more detail.

[@RickReasonnz]

There was always a crazy about of division among the Celts, tho.

[@jeffbenton6183]

He never said the Caliphate would conquer Gaul, etc. He only said Islam would come to influence it through trade the same way it did with Indonesia.

[@ianryan5225]

@@RickReasonnz Give them until the end of the 4th century CE. Even in our timeline, they attempted to unify in the first century BC. Why wouldn't the same be true of this alternate timeline? Cody should've done more research on this potentiality before he posted the video.

[@ianryan5225]

@@jeffbenton6183 The polities of Indonesia had a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT view on outsiders attempting to spread their religion in than the Celts. As soon as the king of a unified Gaul would've found out that this new religion missionaries were spreading had ANY threat potential to their current way of life/religion, heads would be removed from shoulders. The geopolitical map of this alternate timeline as far as the Iberian Peninsula and Gaul by the 10th Century is concerned would look VERY much like our timeline. They'd probably be much more capable of defending themselves than the Frankish Kingdom though.

[@Dragonfire425]

"Success leads to comfort...". Perfect answer as to why things in history happen or don't happen. People like many things in nature follow the path of least resistance. Why do more if you have no reason to.

[@julez2106]

The background music is absolutely beautiful, hopefully you'll continue making videos Cody, Patreon is still and option to support your efforts, your channel will always be one of my favorites on KZbin❤️

[@beb6c2a]

I love these Videos Keep It Up 👍🧡

[@mrsammyg3125]

What if the Christmas Truce ended WWI?

[@digitaldexmaster]

oh wow that would have been something. If only cooler heads prevailed

[@jesseberg3271]

The most likely way for that to happen would have been for the Armies to turn on their Governments. Given the political situation at the time, you could easily see France and Germany going Communist, while the British and Russian Empires try to contain them.

[@RC15O5]

Monsieur Z covered that on his channel.

[@susannebemis3311]

good one!

[@ninjaman830]

Your wish has been granted. He made that idea to come true a week ago.

[@Alecsmore]

Amazing, well worth the wait as always! I wish youtube valued this type of content more, I really don't want to see it disappear.

[@michaelpothoven1041]

Truly epic finisher to a great series! The butterfly effect is so mind-numbing to think about, especially when you remove something as big and far back as Rome, and the vid definitely does it justice.

[@yagizkart1]

name of the song playing around 11:20-12:30? it peaks in 11:35. please, anyone?

[@이동연-c6d]

I love it! Please make a video about what if Korean Empire survives, What if French Revolution never happens, What if Russian Empire won the Russo Japanese War, and What if Qing Dynasty won the First Sino Japanese War?

[@yikana7535]

If the korean empire survived it would still be less powerful because the power of the crown was already on the decline. If the Qing won the first sino-japanese war....bruh i think that would cement their logic that China does not need to completely modernise. I feel like some other war would completely destroy their ideological view of China

[@yikana7535]

@SomeoneDraws 420 i think diplomatic relations (trilateral system) would occur if Qing won the sino-japanese war. In efforts to legitimate their standing in Asia. But Qing China still had to deal with the British and other western countries tearing it apart. I don't think they would have the time or resources to either establish dominion over, place their influence or outright conquer. In real life during this time China's power was waining. The Chosun dynasty (korean) hated the Qing Empire. And after the Sino-Japanese war a treaty was established to remove korea from China's sphere of influence and into Japan's. I understand China's power compared to other players but with that in mind i don't think it would spend too much time trying to over exert itself when its busy trying to defend itself against the drug lords (british empire) and vultures ( other european empires)

[@BirdTurdMemes]

He already did the french one

[@jeffbenton6183]

@@BirdTurdMemes Sort of, indirectly. He made what if there was no Napoleon and what if there was no US, and I think "no French Revolution" factored into both of those. (I might be misremebering, though)

[@TheOswards306]

이동연 There was a Korean Empire?:\

[@defiance514]

this was here yesterday but then it was gone???

[@smuu1996]

@Milorg Mapping Wtf.

[@SovetskieSoldat]

Yeah he took it off, teased us with it. Clicked and it was private

[@ianmckenna6146]

He released it early by mistake

[@thegadsdenman7873]

FINALLY Rome Part 3 has Come Back Home.

[@yayhay1]

Please make what if the boers won the 2nd boer war

[@jacobkobald1753]

He has or that was monsieur z it all starts to blur lol

[@yayhay1]

jacob kobald yeah that was monsier z and in my opinion althishub makes better videos but the other ones are still ok

[@jacobkobald1753]

@@yayhay1 oh alt host is my favorite Monsieur z makes alot of assumptions and is clearly ultra right wing

[@bayern1445]

@@jacobkobald1753 proof?

[@yayhay1]

jacob kobald no yeah I agree with u

[@nerdorama009]

"Boy, you know, maybe I should buy Imperator Rome to play this scenario out mysel--" **This video was sponsored by** Damn you, sensible advertising strategies.

[@ahmedmuawia2447]

Sometimes as a Muslim I forget how out of nowhere Islam came, or at least that what a man in Iberia might have thought. Ofc that just looking at this piece of sand that is Arabia. Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition more like nobody expects the Islamic Religion.

[@JustHatcheted]

I'm not a Muslim but everytime I read about the conquests of the Rashidun Caliphate, I'm absolutely astounded by the political acumen, tactical ability, and sheer fighting ability demonstrated by all those involved, from the footsoldiers to the Caliphs. Living in the 7th century, I would've never expected the wealth of ability from such a remote part of the world. Even later Caliphates like the Abbasids or Ottomans were sheer forces of power for centuries, and not just military, but philosphical and economic capitals in their own right.

[@skeleton2082]

I'm amazed by how fast Christianity and Islam had spread. By 500 AD, virtually every part of the old world was either Muslim or Christian.

[@chinesehotdog8960]

@@skeleton2082 Scandinavia and Russia is not catholic or muslim.

[@JustHatcheted]

@@chinesehotdog8960 What? They're both Christian, even if they're not Catholic lol

[@chinesehotdog8960]

@@JustHatcheted Oh no, I meant in 500 AD.

[@perkele2845]

Déjà vu

[@fetyrol7108]

suomi

[@olibearws]

I have been in this place before

[@end9409]

olibearws higher on the street

[@Aravaganthus]

and I think it's my time to go home

[@lizardgirl413]

wait, i know you...

[@ardt1912]

Great vid to end the decade with, merry Christmas everyone

[@MajoraZ]

I can't say I agree with the assumption that the Americas still gets colonized in it's entirety by Islamic powers or Spain. People seriously underestimate the vast amount of flukes and near-misses that needed to line up for it to play out how it did, particularly in relation to Cortes's expedition (who lucked upon translators, allies, and a chance outbreak of smallpox one of the men were carrying); and subsequent outbreaks which decimated the population were only as bad as they were due to the sustained Spanish occupation and expansion enabled by that early success of Cortes's expedition. Not to mention that Spain wasn't even really all that invested in mass scale widespread colonization of the American mainland till after Cortes's success proved it was worth doing. I'm sure some degree of Old World imperialism in the Americas is inevitable, barring massive changes going even further back/also in the Americas then what this video explains; but without Cortes showing up right when he did, to happen upon the shipwrecked sailors who had learned local languages to act as translators; without the Republic of Tlaxcala still being unconquered by the Aztec Empire, but worn down enough to be desperate enough to spare the Conquistadors to use them against the Aztec; and without one of the Spanish men happening to be carrying smallpox to break out then to cripple Tenochtitlan, make it vulnerable, at which point then more local states and kingdoms joined with Conquistadors to topple it (not out of any sort of hatred for Aztec rule, as it is often framed, but geopolitical opportunism wanting to take out a vulnerable more powerful player to further their own standing and influence in the new system they'd help prop up, which is pretty common in Mesoamerican history), then Spain nor anybody else is going to get that initial foothold, logistical base, and source of local wealth, resources, and allied troops to make quick, major expansions as they did historically in Mesoamerica Prehispanic Mesoamerica had 20 to 30 million people, and most of the region was filled with organized, complex societies in cities and towns, not tribes. Even with all of the above lining up in the Spanish's favor, it took decades of hard fighting to actually gain control of most of the region, with dozens of additional campaigns in Oaxaca, West Mexico, the Yucatan, etc to subjugate the remaining Mesoamerican city-states, kingdoms, and empires; and this is WITH the Spanish still relying on local allied armies to do most of the fighting and diseases ravaging the population. If that initial foothold, base of operations, local resources, wealth, troops, and sustained occupation to then have continued outbreaks past the intial smallpox one (historically the 95% population loss only got to that point after a century or so), then whatever the colonizing party is going to be is going to have a way, way, WAY harder time making any actual headway directly conquering the region, and if they don't manage to do it fast or start in some other part of the Americas, disease resistance is going to build up before they can cement themselves on top politically or to directly conquer places like Mesoamerica and the Andes, which have their own established civilizations. I imagine much of what's now the US, Central America, and South America could still be subjugated, but it would have to be a much more gradual process with more of the native population surviving, and with more pockets of independent, unconquered areas; and Mesoamerica and the Andes, with their established urban populations, formal governments, organized armies etc would be largely impenetrable to anything other then indirect imperialism (such as via controlling and monopolizing naval trade) without that blitzkrieg establishment Cortes was able to do due to luck and circumstance, enabling the aid of armies of local states (who deserve most of the actual praise) and diseases to do the work for them. I'd go into more detail (I've written like 20+ paragraph posts on this before, and I've actually contributed to some videos on Aztec history on other youtube channels, maybe i'll reach out to AltHistoryHub here to collab at one point), but for now that's my tl;dr.

[@JustHatcheted]

This is one of the first comments I've seen on here without a sense of a deterministic POV where the actors change but the broad strokes of history stays the same. Mesoamerica and the Andes in particular were a perfect storm of bad events for the Aztecs and Inca. Without a powerbase in the New World to project outwards and without the Encomienda system wreaking ruin on the rich and populace lands of the Spanish, the New World would at a minimum, be a hell of a lot more rich and indigenous. More of a New Zealand or Polynesia situation than what happened OTL. If I could like your comment twice, I would, lol

[@scubasteve3778]

MajoraZ Didn’t read it all, due to the length, but you get a like for the effort.

[@Viktor16161616]

It certainly was a perfect storm. Two additional things worth mentioning are the proposed visions of doom or end of days that the last Aztec ruler had. He acted in a very strange way towards the Spanish, and the sources, of which there are very few and limited examples, suggest that he just gave in to what he though was the gods decision to end his nation. On top of that, it is worth mentioning that the aztecs, whilst vastly more advanced than given credit for, did not have much of any metalworking technology as the region did not have softer metals to work with and develop advanced armament. There is also the third factor. That Aztech warriors sought prisoners from battle, at the cost of victory at times.

[@blugaledoh2669]

America's is going to discover Ed sooner or later.

[@MajoraZ]

@@Viktor16161616 It's largely thought by Mesoamericanists and other researchers dealing with this subject matter that the sorts of things you see in those accounts about occidental prophecies or Cortes being seen as a god; where actually just retroactive myths which took hold in the colional period, as a way to present Spanish rule as pre-ordained by divine right, or to justfy Conquistador hostility and actions and subsequent campaigns as taking over polities which were already "surrended" by Montezuma, and therefore Spanish expansions as "quelling rebellions" rather then conquest. I'm not gonna type out the full explanation here, but I recommend checking out "7 Myths of the Spanish Conquest" and "When Montezuma Met Cortes", both go into this in great detail. Likewise, the idea that Mesoamerican warfare was purely or mostly ritualistic with captive taking being valued above tactcal objects has also fallen out of favor: Captive taking was certainly important, we know that it's the primary way soldiers advanced through the ranks, but they probably weren't exclusively aiming for it. Keep in mind that The Aztec literally had a separate word and concept for the more ritualistic, captive-centric battles (xochiyaoyotl , "Flower Wars"), and even these have been increasingly seen as often used pragmatically: Since flower wars were smaller in scale with less of a logistical cost, they could be used to launch year-round engagements to wear down an enemy state over time (due to a variety of reasons I won't get into here, Mesoamerican Warfare, at least in Central Mexico, was seasonal and traditional sieges weren't much of a thing) in contrast to normal wars. You consistently see Aztec launching flower wars against larger states they wanted to swallow up, alongside invasions to the areas around said states to turn them into enclaves and then blockade them, to slowly whittle them down before conquering the area itself. This is what was happening to the Republic of Tlaxcala when Cortes and co showed up.

[@nematolvajkergetok5104]

Video suggestion: What if the 1908 Tunguska meteorite arrives just two hours earlier and hits Saint-Petersburg dead-on?

[@alanpennie8013]

No WW1.

[@diprogamer3294]

Next make what if the western Roman empire survived but the East fell. I Fine thai interesting because it would heavily change history of Europe, north africa...

[@IDK-ue1gy]

can the west slow down the Muslim invation better than the east?

[@sphereyahya]

@@IDK-ue1gy no but maybe they could if they they destroyed every german tribe, and if they werent weakened like the byzantine maybe.. but then islam would have to wait for khalid ibn al walid

[@Setarko]

If Rome never existed i would be forced to play Never Existed: Total War

[@madmarvshighwaywarrior2870]

Or it would be Carthage: Total War ot Arabia: Total War

[@Martintheauthor]

This sounds like the foundation of a D&D campaign.

[@miles12pega]

This video made me truly appreciate that the timeline is the way it is. I know other timelines may look more enticing but lets all live in this one we are in and appreciate whats in this one.

[@Wasnas_lasmas]

Same

[@dillenbeck53531]

Back in the "What if the Communists Lost the Chinese Civil War" video 6 months ago you had a link to an unlisted video on why Part III was never going to exist. Glad that changed. Thanks for the video, even if it does get you banned.

[@tunamaker1368]

I love how “Part III” is in Roman Numerals

[@SSDTV123]

Islam probably wouldn't have exited without the Roman Empire either. One of Mohammed's grandparents was an Egyptian Christian. If Christianity would be a small regional faith without Rome. so would Islam. And in all seriousness, putting the religious folklore aside, Islam probably wouldn't exist at all without the "export" of Abrahamic faiths by the Romans. And as another commentor pointed out: Crucifixion is a Roman practice. Without Rome, Jesus is never crucified, so Christianity would never exist. Or it would be DRAMATICALLY different than how it exists today

[@TechnoMinarchist]

I was thinking the same thing. This thought experiment is way too simplistic a look at alternative history.

[@MrAaaaazzzzz00009999]

1. Hejaz was already Abrahamic/Jewish long before the Romans due to Abraham. Though the prevalence of Abrahamic practices diminished over time there was still always a small Jewish community living there. 2. Crucifixion is not a uniquely Roman practice and is used all across the world. Romans just liked doing it. Although crucifixion is a part of Christianity in the whole Jesus sacrificed himself thing, the thought could still be transferred via another means of punishment. So long as Jesus was persecuted, he would indirectly create Christianity. The point about Islam not conquering everything is correct though. It would be very unlikely but still possible.

[@Ali-bu6lo]

Maybe Islam wouldn't exist, but some alternate monotheistic religion could have arised in Arabia.

[@zenebean]

Just because Muhammad's specific religion doesn't form, it doesn't mean another arabian based Abrahamic religion doesn't appear.

[@madha4826]

Crucifixion is a Greek practice, it wasn't developed by the Romans but borrowed from the Greeks

[@Rougepelt]

Great videos. Would be great to see some videos about missed opportunities for tech progression i.e. Have you thought about an early industrial revolution based on Hero's engine? Or a Harrappen revival?

[@TristanTzara100]

This has been a fascinating series. Thank you. One thing you could have mentioned, though, is how language would have been effected. The spread of Latin had such a huge impact on all European languages in one way or another (well, most anyway). So how would the likes of French, German or English have developed? In fact, would there have been an "English" at all? Interesting thoughts.

[@mxyellowo]

Because Latin doesn't exist, Celtic and Germanic languages would've became much more powerful in their respective regions. Also Southern Europe would've been influenced by Arabic and they would've gotten some loanwords and Arabic script. Which means Northern Gaul would be more Celtic and Germanic influenced, Southern Gaul would be more Celtic and Arabic influenced, English wouldn't exist and instead Cornish and Welsh would've taken its place, German most likely wouldn't have big changes. Also there may be a possibility of Greek and Slavic having some effects on Central Europe but I can't really say if it could be true. But yeah,generally speaking Arabic would've been the best contender to the Latin of our timeline in this timeline.

[@corneliu-mihaimagureanu6626]

One of the best series on this channel

[@velozio]

KZbin sucks but hello AlternateHistoryHub!

[@RileyRivalle2]

@Super Noob Oh please, do point me to the alternative platform where you can watch all of these videos. Really justified your username on that one.

[@RileyRivalle2]

@Super Noob Doubt it. People have been saying the same thing for a decade, with sites like Vimeo, Dailymotion, Vidme, Yahoo... Ain't happening, and most certainly not "soon".

[@whafflete6721]

Either Armchair historian or Nebula i think Riley

[@stachestar]

Rome Part III: Blu-ray edition

[@MrWolfman229]

Thank you Paradox! Imperator is looking like it will be a great game with some more content that will inevitably come! :)

[@Gamesbozz]

Why didn’t you mention Illyrians thracians and Dacians

[@keithharper32]

Illyrians and Thracians would have been part of the greek influenced world. The Dacians were another Celt group

[@Ardeshir8]

The real question is what happened to their Arch nemesis; the Persians/Iranians. both Parthians and the Sassanids! who whooped Roman asses way too many times!

[@takkorinus7909]

@@keithharper32 >Dacians >Celtic It is known that Dacians were similar to Thracians south of them, similar culture and similar language (idk about religion, ik that the Dacians had Zalmoxism but idk about the proper Thracians).

[@usergiodmsilva1983PT]

Uh... If Rome didn't exist, how would Christianity and Islam exist?

[@anemu3819]

This is just one scenario Also why does Christianity exist in the first place

[@Miquelalalaa]

Good point. Rome is crucial.

[@rikafurude6275]

Watch the first two videos

[@sinanozaydin2609]

Sérgio D. M. Silva rome wasnt the founder of religions. Yes it did shape them but didnt create them, they might have been diferent but they would still exist

[@retf8977]

They are called abrahamic religions, not the roman religions

[@phasmas1803]

Ah, again, something went wrong

[@KnightlyNerdandDork]

My proposal for your first scenario of the 2020s: What if the Mongol Empire successfully conquered Japan?

[@troodon1096]

In order for such a scenario to play out, you may only need to change the weather. Two of the Mongol attempts to invade Japan unfortunately (for the Mongols) took place during typhoons that destroyed a large portion of the invading force. It's not hard to imagine they could have been more successful if more of their armies managed to actually set foot on Japan.

[@icaricc]

RIP first upload

[@RavenFlight413]

Good work on getting the Sponsorship! Best wishes to you.

[@J_A_M_D]

Great video Cody! Happy holidays

[@forresterscalan3921]

Probably going to need to wait for a year for this one but what if The Christmas Truce lasted and soldiers refused to kill someone who just became their friend the other day

[@comm154]

Lookatthisdude That actually happened irl. After the Christmas Truce, many of the soldiers refused to fight after that day, which is also why the idea of a Christmas Truce has been outlawed in war.

[@jeffbenton6183]

@@comm154 Tell me more

[@troodon1096]

@@comm154 I think he's proposing the idea of what would have happened if they just decided to make the truce permanent and end the war altogether at that point.

[@SCP-ut3kf]

"Oh, cool. A new part to the RNE series! But first I'll watch the previous parts...." Video: **gone** "Hey, where's that other video? Oh... there it is!" "Hey, wait a minute... This video is from 6 years ago!"

[@samandriaz5905]

I think you mean 1 year ago.......

[@SCP-ut3kf]

@@samandriaz5905 There was another series on the roman empire and rome.

[@Someone-ej7kd]

@@SCP-ut3kf was it about the Roman Empire surviving till the modern era?

[@Xxpwnage223x]

"It's time to talk about the other elephant in the room" Ominous music starts playing

[@deloradoreview4481]

Merry Christmas Cody, thanks for the vids

[@PlanetGoddess]

That intro and use of stock music tho *chills*

[@coletakkish4389]

7:42 *Knowledgehub flashbacks intensify*

[@kensigdom]

I disagree with this, here's why: Without Roman occupation of Judea there is no Christianity, no Christianity means no Islam (Mohammed was very influenced by it), and I don't even count all the butterfly effects all of this would provoke. The Arabic invasions would still happen(other as well), but it wouldn't have such an influence as it had in our timeline, Europe and the Mediterranean becomes completely unpredictable in this scenario. Polytheism would most probably prevail, unless a completely new religion would start. And as you said any new empire could start up, but we can't know which one. Anyway it was a very well done video (like all of your videos ;) ). Thank you and Happy End Year festivities to you as well!

[@TheRenegade...]

Christianity was adressed in previous videos

[@kensigdom]

@Britannic hayyomatt I agree with the Zoroastrian part of your theory, perhaps Arab conquests would even spread it all the way to western Europe. But I think Christianity as a religion would simply not happen, since the Romans played such a major role in it's creation (political, theological and national climate of Judea during that time was created mainly by Roman occupation). Romans played even a huge role in Jesus's crucifixion and without them there, there wouldn't be such a need for a messiah. Plus the butterfly effect would even maybe mean that Jesus wouldn't have ever been born.

[@kensigdom]

@unknown Unknown I'm not sure that I understood correctly what you meant, but I didn't argue that Judaism wouldnt be there. I only argued Christianity wouldn't happen since Romans played a huge part in it's creation, and since Christianity played a huge part in Islam's creation, there wouldn't be Islam.

[@donquesewilliamswilliams3497]

We’re assuming what happened to mohammed in the Koran actually happened

[@kensigdom]

@@donquesewilliamswilliams3497 And what does that change? No christianity can even mean that by butterfly effect mohammed isn't born at all, etc. My main part of the argument was that the Roman presence in the middle east changed the whole region politically and theologically. Without them being there to be "the bad guys" theologically there is no way to predict which religions may or may not sprout out of the region.

[@omegaexists]

Saw this a few days ago gang

[@datrandom134]

Same.

[@nicogr6227]

In a universe where the roman empire never existed Cody wouldn't be talking about this video's sponsor and we could watch the video uninterrupted.

[@Shiny_Sandshrew]

I've only just discovered this channel & I gotta say, I'm enjoying these alternate history videos. I think I'm hooked lol.

[@user-oy8qp6bq3b]

Nice. I’m making an althist about if the Slavs were the ones filling the power vacuum arising from the fall of Rome, rather than the Germanic people

[@BoldOne8760]

Hows it coming along and where can I find it.

[@user-oy8qp6bq3b]

cameron burke I’m still making it, is not published

[@BoldOne8760]

@@user-oy8qp6bq3b where will I find it when it's done

[@Jaann1919]

Nruh

[@ry-t-ster9512]

Please explore the Leviathan series by Scot Westerfield. It is alternate history taking place during WW1.

[@lorddoctor-4893]

I will love that idea. The Leviathan series is not widely known and Cody can share some light.

[@Hadrexus]

"Hmm I might play some Imperator: Rome right now" See this new video was uploaded, decide to watch it instead It's sponsored by Imperator: Rome

[@rhettblood4403]

just bought imperator with some Christmas steam cards, and decided to find something on youtube to watch while it downloaded. Glad this was one of the first videos i came across

[@silverbullet1620]

Loved the video Cody. I really love this channel and enjoy your work.

[@happymartin6778]

10:24 IT'S THE SELJUK TURKS! *GASP*

[@marks8417]

Oh shit

[@tomix7866]

Idea: what if printing was never invented?

[@InfernosReaper]

In Europe or in general? I ask, because that stuff existed in China and Korea for centuries. It's one of those things that calls into question whether or not Marco Polo actually went to China in the first place or if he just fabricated the journey based off stories he'd heard about the place.

[@briangarcia7384]

@@InfernosReaper regardless of which civilization we're talking about, it would definitely change a lot of events especially in the reformation era.

[@InfernosReaper]

@@briangarcia7384 The funny thing is it's really a hard idea to bury forever. It's honestly weird that it took the Europeans so long to come up with it. Also weird that Marco Polo never mentioned it in his stories, despite it being prominent in East Asia at the time, but I digress. Honestly, more affordable paper was a greater improvement for civilization than moveable type printing.

[@briangarcia7384]

@@InfernosReaper well to be fair if i remember correctly, he himself said "I did not even tell half of what I saw, for you would not have believed me anyways" or something along those lines.

[@InfernosReaper]

@@briangarcia7384 The printing press was just one of many things he didn't seem to actually know about but should have. That sort of device could've made him some money if he brought it, or at least the idea of it, back with him. Pretty sure that dude was a fraud. He probably went to a trade hub city, talked to some traveling merchants, and made a bunch of stuff up to fill in the gaps

[@pauh4578]

Hey but that's just a history, a alternate history, aaaaaaaaaaaand cut.

[@pdbouie]

Cody...thanks for that video and all the rest. You are much appreciated and to you and yours have a Happy Holiday. That goes for everyone. See yall in The Twenties!!!!

[@TheAdamWilson93]

Been waiting months for this video. Merry Christmas to us

[@chaosvolt]

Definitely interesting. I wonder what other developments might ensue. If Islam spread for example, would this spark an uptick in Judaism and Christianity as well, for example. Would this make them get along even better than they did during the Islamic Golden Age, especially since almost all of their primary political rivals likely practice religions that wouldn't count as people of the book? And on top of that, one wonders how India might be affected, major African kingdoms and the like. One simple question sparks a lot of interesting followup topics to ponder over.

[@jonnunn4196]

It would seem doubtful; remember that your taxes were much higher if you were either Jewish or Christian than a Muslim under areas that they controlled and so the economic incentives would still be for those trading to switch to Muslim.

[@boggloper7117]

Finally caught a video within a minute. I have achieved transcendence.

[@mcalkis5771]

You know, this whole series could make for a great concept for a potential new book. Also they only thing I think you forgot to mention, was the Huns. Wouldn't they still invade from the Asian steppes and force the Goths to migrate from Germania to western Europe? How would the Celts deal with this? Anyways I would love to read about this in one of your books if you happen to write about it.

[@johnwilliams9730]

I’ve loved your videos for years, glad for a good game rec too. Thanks Cody :)

[@Psd863]

Wooo, Cody delivered part 3! Or should I say part III? My evening just got brighter :)

[@MatijaCG]

Reupload: When will you make a video about 'What if Alexander the Great went west?'

[@thedude5294]

There was no reason for him to do so though, all the cool shit was in the East.

[@user-uy1rg8td1v]

The Dude While true, the west was weaker and not very well centralized and you can use the Med to supply your troops.

[@thedude5294]

@@user-uy1rg8td1v But why would he do that at all? When you undertake any conquest you have to assess both the cost AND the benefit. Alexander was looking for glory and power, beating some Etruscan and relatively small Geek city states, and some disorganized barbarian tribes would have given him neither. The only place East of Greece worth taking was Carthage, which he was planning to take anyway, too bad Mallaria had other plans for him.

[@j_x5058]

Cody: Not by China The CCP: this man doesn’t exist

[@shadowling77777]

Dr John Xavier XD

[@kasodus1370]

What if the Dollar was still backed by gold?

[@G33KN3rd]

The world economy crashes and everybody becomes more poor. There's not enough gold in the whole world to back everybody's wealth. Wealth is created (can also be destroyed ofc) so how can you back all that growth of wealth?

[@G33KN3rd]

The world economy crashes and everybody becomes more poor. There's not enough gold in the whole world to back everybody's wealth. Wealth is created (can also be destroyed ofc) so how can you back all that growth of wealth?

[@erik-ic3tp]

@@G33KN3rd , Source?

[@erik-ic3tp]

@@G33KN3rd , Which language is your KZbin name? :)

[@xplinux22]

@@erik-ic3tp Not the original commenter, obviously, but their username is written in Syriac.

[@azarbijamer9422]

WE NEED A PART 4

[@TGo-n-Roscoe]

I can't help but imagine that in another dimension, another version of you is doing a similar video on imagining life without Carthage.