''And All Nations Shall Gather To It" is an ongoing Alternate History series written by user Rdffigueira, currently posted in the Alternate History.com Forums since 2017, based in the Crusades.
In our History, the First Crusade initially involved a joint effort by the Catholic Crusaders (labelled "Franks") and the Byzantine Empire, but, over the course of the expedition, their relationship broke down and the Byzantine Emperor withdrew his support to the cause. The Crusaders won nonetheless, conquering Antioch and eventually Jerusalem, and the participating princes founded various Crusader States: the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Principality of Antioch, the County of Tripoli and the County of Edessa. However, due to this initial problems, genuine cooperation between Byzantium and the Crusaders never became a reality afterwards, and this left the Franks isolated and without reliable allies in the Middle East.
This alternate timeline posits, as a divergence, the continuation of the good relations between the Byzantine Empire and the Crusaders, and their continued cooperation allows them to both secure the consolidation and later expansion of the Crusader States and also the restitution of lands lost by the Byzantine Empire. Then, we see the groundwork laid for a longer-lasting Latin Christian presence in the Near East, as they move from Jerusalem towards Syria and Egypt...
It can be read here
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And All Nations Shall Gather To It contains examples of:
- The Crusades: The whole purpose of the Timeline is to explore the possibility of the Crusades being far more successful and producing longer lasting impacts compared to our own Timeline, not only in the places where the Crusaders become established, but also in Catholic Europe, whose culture is deeply affected by the comparative success of the Crusading movements.
- A lot of attention is given to the definition of "what" constitutes a Crusade in this universe and the related circumstances, such as recruitment of participants, collection of resources, and preparations for travelling of thousands of persons.
- Greek Fire: the historical incendiary substance is used to great effect by the Byzantine/Rhōmaîoi fleet against the Fatimid navy in a battle in the Mediterranean Sea, and it destroys most of their ships.
- Later on, the Fatimids themselves use naphtha throwers in a land battle during Manuel I's second invasion of Egypt against the troops of the Byzantine and Frankish alliance. The results are not pretty.
- Holy City: Jerusalem, obviously. It is the target of the Christian Crusades and over the course of the narrative it is demonstrated how it remains holy to the Muslims and Jews as well.
- There are many other places considered holy by the Franks, such as Bethlehem, Lydda (birthplace of Saint George), Hebron (tomb of Abraham) and Antioch, among others. The fact that they are now open to visitation to the Latins in general gives a truly massive boost to the economic side of pilgrimage and religious tourism.
- As in real life, Mecca qualifies. Due to the fact that they are now sitting in one of the principal pilgrimage routes to the Muslims of the Middle East to Mecca, the Franks reap a lot of profits from the tolls and taxes imposed to the pilgrims.
- Horse Archer: the Turks, period. At this time in History, they were generally nomadic still, maintaining their pastoral lifestyle even while settled, and opted to live in the countryside instead of in cities. Nevertheless, after a few disastrous engagements, the Franks adapt their tactics to face the Turks, and their own combination of heavy infantry and cavalry bests the Turks in battle.
- For this very reason, the Turks avoid staying inside a city if it's about to be besieged. Their advantage is on field, after all.
- Due to their prowess, they are hired as mercenaries basically everywhere else in the Middle East, in Syria, Egypt and Mesopotamia. Even by the Franks themselves. Some Turks even convert to Christianity and become staples of the Frankish army in the Levant.
- Point of Divergence: Occurs precisely in the middle of the First Crusade, when the Crusaders are besieging Antioch (1097-1098 C.E.). Differently from our Timeline, in which one of the Crusader princes, Stephen of Blois, deserted the army during the siege and, in his return home, met with the Byzantine Emperor Alexius, dissuading him from marching to Antioch, here Stephen never deserts, and, thus, Alexius does come with a relief army to help the Crusaders. This in turn allows him to secure the control of Antioch, and the Franks march to Jerusalem with replenished resources and some more manpower.
- Vestigial Empire: In the start, the Byzantine Empire/Rhõmanía, whose territory has been significantily shrunk by the Seljuk invasions. By the middle of the 12th Century, they manage to recover much of their lost territory.
- The Abbasid Caliphate: once the premier world power, in the time of the Crusades the Caliphs control barely Lower Mesopotamia (today souther Iraq) and Baghdad itself.
- The Fatimid Caliphate after the Crusaders conquer Egypt. The last ruling Caliph is basically kidnapped by his Yemeni bodyguards and taken to Yemen, where he is placed as the founder of a new lineage of Shiite Caliphs.
