I was searching around earlier for any threads about an idea for an Islamic Eastern Roman Empire, and I thought up an idea for something like that to happen. I know it's incredibly unlikely and that most realistic outcome of a Byzantine emperor converting to Islam is his execution and replacement, but I just wanna have fun with the idea. Also, I know that the orthodox faith was very closely tied to the Eastern Roman system of government, its ideological justification for its power structure, and Roman identity itself. Imo, this isn't a reason to just say "oh well it couldn't have happened", rather I see it as introducing the question of "how would those things look if things somehow turned out differently?".
So basically, I'm thinking of a POD just after the death of Muhammad (SAW). Perhaps the Riddah Wars are prolonged and more destructive, meanwhile Rome and Persia aren't as destabilised and exhausted by their recent war as they were in OTL. Maybe it just wasn't as destructive and so post-war recovery is made easier.
So essentially, you have a Rashidun Caliphate which doesn't have the same ability to expand militarily as well as a Rome which is better able to prevent or repel such a conflict. I'm thinking that in this TL Abu Bakr lives longer and finally wins the Riddah wars many years after it ended in OTL. There could be a few skirmishes with the Romans as in OTL, but they result in even more decisive defeats than in OTL.
That combined with the exhaustion of Arabia following the Riddah Wars leads to Abu Bakr forgetting about any ideas of conquest and instead focuses on expanding the soft power of the Caliphate and dominating trade. He also takes inspiration from the Christian concept of organised missionary work as well as the letters that the Prophet sent out to the most influential people of the time, and creates a similar institution which sends the most knowledgeable of the Muslims convert to non-Muslim nations of the world.
In the Roman Empire, these Arabian missionaries who were now arriving with the caravans seemed like just another heretical Christian sect, and so they faced persecution by the secular and religious authorities. Despite this, they gain some popularity as this was also a time with many Christian heresies all around the cities of the Eastern Mediterranean.
At first, only the Arab tribes within the Roman Empire converted, tribes like the Ghassanids in the Levant and the Bedouins of the Sinai. But eventually more people from the towns and villages of the Levant and Egypt as the influence of the Arab merchants who the missionaries accompanied grew, and Islam started to become popular among merchants and artisans from these regions and beyond to the cities along the Anatolian coast and most importantly, Constantinople.
As Islam's popularity grows and more is known about its theology, especially in relation to the belief in the divinity of Christ, it becomes seen as an extreme heresy and state persecution grows more and more. This doesn't however do much to stop its spread, as missionaries come with trade caravans and so are difficult to target without cutting off all Red Sea/Indian Ocean trade, and converts begin to hide their faith. It continues to spread among the merchants of empire's cities, and it also finds much appeal among the poor and the enslaved due to stories like that of the sahabi Bilal ibn Rabbah. Another group that takes interest are soldiers, who are attracted to the Islamic concepts of jihad and martyrdom. This also makes efforts at persecution more difficult, with instances of soldiers outright refusing to carry it out.
One convert from the military in particular would prove to be very important to the history of Islam in the Roman Empire in this TL. A high ranking general in the Roman army, a man who leads multiple legions, a magister militum. He first hears of Islam from murmurs among his men while they are stationed in Alexandria, but he pays it no mind. However, one day while he is in a busy market, he encounters an Arabian caravan bringing incense from the Horn of Africa. Among the merchants, slaves, and guards of the caravan is an elderly man reciting verses of the Quran. The Roman general is intruiged, he sits near the old man to listen. He doesn't understand the Arabic verses but he is entranced by it. When the elder finishes reciting, the Roman asks what it was and the elder began explaining. Over the next few weeks the Roman returned to the elder everyday to talk with him, and eventually the Roman general converts to Islam in secret as well as taking the elder into his service.
As it turns out, the elder was a companion of the Prophet and had memorised the whole Quran. Over the next few years the elderly sahabi teaches the Roman general more about Islam while also putting an emphasis on Jesus and the apostles and he grows more and more firm in his belief in Islam, which in his eyes is simply the true Christian church. Finally, when the Emperor begins a renewed and even more brutal persecution of Muslim converts, the general had seen enough and in a scene reminiscent of the Milvian Bridge, he marched his army on the capital with the word "Allahu Akbar" written on the shields of men in both Greek and Arabic.
The general's coup succeeds, and he is crowned Emperor of Rome by the elderly sahabi who is also named as the Patriarch of Constantinople. The new Emperor officially legalises Islam and makes it the state religion. Of course, this leads to a civil war, but the Muslim Emperor narrowly wins after a 2 year campaign against a rival general backed by the remaining orthodox clergy based in Syria and Anatolia.
I might make another post detailing how Islam integrates into the church structure as well as the relationship between the Roman state and the Caliphate. But for now, what do yall think of my TL?
So basically, I'm thinking of a POD just after the death of Muhammad (SAW). Perhaps the Riddah Wars are prolonged and more destructive, meanwhile Rome and Persia aren't as destabilised and exhausted by their recent war as they were in OTL. Maybe it just wasn't as destructive and so post-war recovery is made easier.
So essentially, you have a Rashidun Caliphate which doesn't have the same ability to expand militarily as well as a Rome which is better able to prevent or repel such a conflict. I'm thinking that in this TL Abu Bakr lives longer and finally wins the Riddah wars many years after it ended in OTL. There could be a few skirmishes with the Romans as in OTL, but they result in even more decisive defeats than in OTL.
That combined with the exhaustion of Arabia following the Riddah Wars leads to Abu Bakr forgetting about any ideas of conquest and instead focuses on expanding the soft power of the Caliphate and dominating trade. He also takes inspiration from the Christian concept of organised missionary work as well as the letters that the Prophet sent out to the most influential people of the time, and creates a similar institution which sends the most knowledgeable of the Muslims convert to non-Muslim nations of the world.
In the Roman Empire, these Arabian missionaries who were now arriving with the caravans seemed like just another heretical Christian sect, and so they faced persecution by the secular and religious authorities. Despite this, they gain some popularity as this was also a time with many Christian heresies all around the cities of the Eastern Mediterranean.
At first, only the Arab tribes within the Roman Empire converted, tribes like the Ghassanids in the Levant and the Bedouins of the Sinai. But eventually more people from the towns and villages of the Levant and Egypt as the influence of the Arab merchants who the missionaries accompanied grew, and Islam started to become popular among merchants and artisans from these regions and beyond to the cities along the Anatolian coast and most importantly, Constantinople.
As Islam's popularity grows and more is known about its theology, especially in relation to the belief in the divinity of Christ, it becomes seen as an extreme heresy and state persecution grows more and more. This doesn't however do much to stop its spread, as missionaries come with trade caravans and so are difficult to target without cutting off all Red Sea/Indian Ocean trade, and converts begin to hide their faith. It continues to spread among the merchants of empire's cities, and it also finds much appeal among the poor and the enslaved due to stories like that of the sahabi Bilal ibn Rabbah. Another group that takes interest are soldiers, who are attracted to the Islamic concepts of jihad and martyrdom. This also makes efforts at persecution more difficult, with instances of soldiers outright refusing to carry it out.
One convert from the military in particular would prove to be very important to the history of Islam in the Roman Empire in this TL. A high ranking general in the Roman army, a man who leads multiple legions, a magister militum. He first hears of Islam from murmurs among his men while they are stationed in Alexandria, but he pays it no mind. However, one day while he is in a busy market, he encounters an Arabian caravan bringing incense from the Horn of Africa. Among the merchants, slaves, and guards of the caravan is an elderly man reciting verses of the Quran. The Roman general is intruiged, he sits near the old man to listen. He doesn't understand the Arabic verses but he is entranced by it. When the elder finishes reciting, the Roman asks what it was and the elder began explaining. Over the next few weeks the Roman returned to the elder everyday to talk with him, and eventually the Roman general converts to Islam in secret as well as taking the elder into his service.
As it turns out, the elder was a companion of the Prophet and had memorised the whole Quran. Over the next few years the elderly sahabi teaches the Roman general more about Islam while also putting an emphasis on Jesus and the apostles and he grows more and more firm in his belief in Islam, which in his eyes is simply the true Christian church. Finally, when the Emperor begins a renewed and even more brutal persecution of Muslim converts, the general had seen enough and in a scene reminiscent of the Milvian Bridge, he marched his army on the capital with the word "Allahu Akbar" written on the shields of men in both Greek and Arabic.
The general's coup succeeds, and he is crowned Emperor of Rome by the elderly sahabi who is also named as the Patriarch of Constantinople. The new Emperor officially legalises Islam and makes it the state religion. Of course, this leads to a civil war, but the Muslim Emperor narrowly wins after a 2 year campaign against a rival general backed by the remaining orthodox clergy based in Syria and Anatolia.
I might make another post detailing how Islam integrates into the church structure as well as the relationship between the Roman state and the Caliphate. But for now, what do yall think of my TL?
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