Rome: In the Way of African Dominance

    

Battle between Romans and Carthaginians
Source: Total War: Rome II
Secondary Source

    Beginning in the Third Century B.C., the Roman Republic was involved in a series of wars with the Carthaginian Empire. The empire was located on the coastal regions of North Africa and its capital located in modern-day Tunis. The earliest people of Carthage originally came from Phoenicia, which includes modern-day Lebanon with parts of Syria and Palestine. Carthage was a rival to Rome and both sought for complete control of the Mediterranean. A total of three wars occurred between them and Rome eventually destroyed the entire empire and annexed it in 146 B.C. From that point on, Rome would eventually develop into the most powerful and influential civilization in Europe and in some of its surrounding regions beyond the Mediterranean Sea.

    In Lion's Blood, Rome was destroyed. Based on different plot synopses that I have read, it was either destroyed by Carthage alone or by an alliance of Carthage AND Egypt. The year is also not officially mentioned but an old Wikipedia plot summary determines that it occurred in 200 B.C. I cannot confirm this on the defunct website, so I will have to wait until I re-read the book if it mentions a time period. Based on previous alternate history, Egypt in this timeline has a lineage that includes Alexander. With Rome gone, Europe would be heavily influenced by North African civilizations. Instead of unity between different groups of European people, the European continent would contain many tribes fighting against each other, Carthage, and Alexandrian Egypt.

    While I would argue that Alexander's continued rule from Egypt adds plausibility of an African civilization to become a great power, it is the destruction of Rome that guarantees it to not have to deal with an existential threat from Europe. Had Rome not been destroyed, there would have been a conflict that would have prevented Egypt from expanding its borders around the Mediterranean Sea. 

BONUS: AN EARLIER DESTRUCTION OF ROME?

   In 2018, Cody Franklin, a YouTube Content Creator, started to make a series of videos on his YouTube channel, AlternateHistoryHub, that attempted to answer the question of Rome's lack of existence.

   In his first video, his choice of POD surprised me because it avoided all of the unanswered questions about Alexander III of Macedon's future and it did not involve Socrates.

    In 390 B.C./387 B.C., Rome was sacked by the Gauls under the leadership of Brennus during the Battle of the Allia. Only Capitoline Hill was able to avoid being conquered and destroyed. Franklin theorizes that a successful destruction of Rome would have occurred if Brennus's soldiers attacked the Romans with more force. Forward into this alternate timeline during the Third Century B.C., and it is Carthage that influences Europe. However, Franklin argues that it would not have been a conquering power. Instead, the Carthaginians would have stuck with their naval power and controlled trade routes. North of the Mediterranean Sea, Celtic groups would continue to exist and develop their unique cultures that did not occur in real-life due to Roman annexation.

Map of Historical Roman control of the Italian Peninsula
Source Javierfv1212; Wikipedia

    For the second part of the "No Rome" videos, Franklin argues that Christianity would have remained a minor religion located primarily in the Levant, alongside Judaism. At this point, I should mention that it is assumed that Alexander's Empire emerges and breaks up in a similar manner to real-life. I wonder how the Hasmonean Kingdom, Seleucid Empire and the Parthian Empire are doing in this alternate timeline. It's possible that the Seleucids could have formed a decent network of roads for trade and communication that may have helped spread the Christian Faith. Perhaps Christianity has a more distinct "Eastern" theology similar to Eastern Christianity. A hierarchy would more than likely exist, but I wonder if it would be similar to that of the Papacy. Another civilization may attempt to make Christianity into the state religion. There is another question about the Abrahamic religions: Judaism and Christianity may exist in this Rome-less timeline... but what will happen to Islam?

    Franklin mentioned before that his third video about Rome's lack of continued existence was dead. However, he surprised his viewership by publishing it during the last days of 2019. In short, Islam would have spread in a similar manner throughout the entire Middle East that includes the Sassanian Empire, into North Africa and toward Southern Europe in the Iberian Peninsula, Italian Peninsula, and the location of Modern-day Greece. Carthage may have been destroyed at this point and its civilization converted to Islam. Norther Europe is more Pagan, while Southern Europe is more Muslim. Eventually, it is possible that a Muslim North African/Southern European civilization may discover the Americas.

    These three videos are one of my favorites on Franklin's channel. He may not have known or done it intentionally, but I think that Franklin's alternate timeline on Rome not existing is perhaps a better written story for a Muslim civilization to become powerful and possibly discover a new continent or more. However, Mr. Barnes was specific in his book that it is BLACK MUSLIMS who become the most influential group of people in Africa, Europe, and maybe the Middle East. It is them who discovered the "New World" and shaped it into their image.

    Now that Rome is no longer a problem, what is next to talk about Mr Barnes' timeline? A few more things: There's a big gap between Rome gone and the rise of Islam. Another gap that is even larger is that which occurs between the 7th Century and the "present" setting of Lion's Blood. However, the latter gap is something that does not have a lot of details mentioned in the books.