That's difficult to speculate on. I suppose it depends on if the Franco-Prussian War occurred with the same results, leaving either a decadent and confident France, or a revanchist France. One would build from there.
I'm going to say Aurelian. Trajan inherited the empire at it's near zenith, Aurelian inherited an empire in shambles. Both men were able to complete Herculean tasks.
Had Aurelian survived, monotheism would be more prevalent sooner, and perhaps Christianity would be side-lined for the Cult of...
John Leopold’s Legacy of Empire, Chapter III:
… The revolutionary fervor that had gripped France was shown to be not yet satiated with the blood of a Bourbon and the Jacobins. The corrupt Directory collapsed when pressured by Sieyes and Bonaparte. Three separate plots were intertwined with the...
Does anyone think that spared from assasination, Emperor Aurelian would be viewed on the same level as say Diocletian as far as 'saving the empire'? I am not nescessarily asking the ramifications of his survival (though I think they are very interesting) because the topic was already brought up...
PRESIDENT BONAPARTE
Yelling filled the halls of the Orangerie; that and angry gestures. Pages were running to and fro, grabbing slips of paper from the various members of the council as they tried to organize and counter each other’s maneuvers. The result was a tempest of shouts, whispers...
GENERAL MURAT
Bonaparte had been too cautious. The plan was to scare the deputies out of Paris by the specter of Jacobinism. Instead of just bullying them out, Bonaparte had sent Murat with the fantastic job of inciting seditious behavior to provide tangible evidence for the legislators...
SULTAN SELIM III
The letter floated down into the pyre, consumed by the flames. Selim and one of his ministers watched silently as it’s’ ashes floated up into the air of the palace.
“This general. The man certainly values himself highly.”
Selim nodded. He brushed his chin with a...
GENERAL BONAPARTE
The air in the carriage was uncomfortable to say the least. Though he was being hailed as the hero of France, General Bonaparte’s baggage car had been recently attacked by brigands. Add that to the mounting anger the young general felt towards his wife, and Berthier probably...
I know this is a well-known scenario, but if Napoleon does outlaw slavery and that result is tolerable enough for him to hold on to Louisiana (and the US have no objections) then perhaps after either of his falls from power he tries to set-up shop in North America.
Not plausible, but hey...
CHAPTER III: Coup D'Etat
LIEUTENANT D’ESTAING
Achille rolled off the girl, nearly falling out of the bed at the same time, “Christ, you charge enough; buy yourself a bigger bed.”
The woman rolled her eyes and got up in response. The lieutenant did not mind her as she walked over to the...
So before I post the next chapter I want to summarize the butterflies from the chapter two.
Firstly, the effected Napoleon give Desaix a larger force after the revolt in Cairo. Desaix is able to locate Murad Bey far more quickly and capture him. This in turn allows Napoleon to better...