With the Holy Land under Christian control, the Crusades never occur, leading to the direct infusion of both ideas and disease not happening. The POD, IIRC, is a Byzantine victory at Manzikert, leading to the Empire regaining control over the Holy Land. The Middle East and Asia, on the other hand, progressed as Europe did, becoming the Great Powers of the world. I've been trying to piece together what's been discussed in the DBWI thread.įor all intents and purposes - Europe outside of the Balkans, today, is equivalent to the Middle East of OTL today.