Which historical event would you change and why?

[King Henry V]

I don't this needs an introduction. Just which event in history would you alter and why?

[cunctator]

The battle in the teutoburg forest.

It is merely speculation but i think that would be enough for the roman empire to survive, at least for a couple of centuries.
A great roman victory would probably have secured the province germania to them. The romanization process already had begun. The first new roman towns had be established before 9 ad.

Many important tribes that later destabilised the empire and contributed to it`s fall, would never have existed. The franks, the Alamanni, the Lombards, the saxons, the amrcomani. They all lived in or around planned provinces.

[King Henry V]

Yes, but if Varius had won, the victory would have to be consolidated by a strong invasion of Germania, which could have proved costly on the Empire's resources.

[edyzmedieval]

I would change the Fall of Constantinople.... Because it's a shame such a big and splendid city has fallen in the hands of the Turks..... I voted this because the Byzantines are my favourite nation in the world(in the game also!!!)....

Cheers!

[Kalle]

How about stopping the murder committed by gavrilo princip in 1914.

The scenario to hope for would be that both world wars had been avoided

But since there were many underlying factors something prolly would have sparked the wars anyways.

Kalle

[King Henry V]

I would change the Fall of Constantinople.... Because it's a shame such a big and splendid city has fallen in the hands of the Turks..... I voted this because the Byzantines are my favourite nation in the world(in the game also!!!)....

Cheers!

Or that Dukas had not run away at Manzikert and the Turk would have been defeated. By 1453 the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire was inevitable, and even if the siege had failed, the Ottomans would have been back with yet more troops.

[Dâriûsh]

Operation Ajax, Iran, August 1953. The Anglo-American reestablishment of the autocratic Pallahvi Dynasty. This would eventually lead to the 1979 revolution in Iran, replacing the shah with the tyrannical clergy and the Islamic Republic.

If only the west could have kept its nose out of Iranian affairs…

[Kralizec]

I'd have it so that the Brits and the French would attack Hitler's Germany and put a stop to him before he could spark WWII. In the early years Nazi Germany was actually quite weak due to the Versailles restraints, wich Hitler ignored. I still can't understand how GB and France stould idly by when Hitler was obviously coursing for another great war.

[King Henry V]

Because the public did not want a war. If Germany had been invaded by by France and Britain, the governments would probably have been voted out of office. And at that time, no one knew ho evil the nazi regime was

[Duke Malcolm]

The Loss of the Indian Empire, in 1947. We should have kept India...

[cunctator]

Yes, but if Varus had won, the victory would have to be consolidated by a strong invasion of Germania, which could have proved costly on the Empire's resources.

There were two additional legions avaible in Mogontiacum and on in Vetera plus auxilaries. Combined with Varus army of 3 legions 3 alae and 6 auxilia cohorts this force should has been strong enough to supress any remaining unrest. Also I think after a decisive early defeat of arminus army the rebellion should has collapsed fastly.

[Big_John]

the destruction of the royal library of alexandria.

[Oaty]

I'd kill every person trying to change history

[Uesugi Kenshin]

I woudln't change anything without a whole lot more thought, because who knows how the world would come out with history changed even in a very small way? One of the ones I would consider the most would be the entry of the US into WWI, perhaps prevented by stopping the sinking of the Lusitania. This would have let the UK, France and Germany bleed each other dry and hopefully let Germany off a bit better from the war and preventing Hitler from gaining power.

[Franconicus]

The assasination at Sarajewo in 1914!

[sapi]

I woudln't change anything without a whole lot more thought, because who knows how the world would come out with history changed even in a very small way?

i agree

The assasination at Sarajewo in 1914!

think about it:
no assasination -> no ww1 -> no treaty of Versailles -> no nazis in germany -> no ww2 -> no extended communist power (russia) -> no korean/vietnam etc. wars -> no cold war -> a completely different world....

Be careful what you wish for...

[Franconicus]

Sounds great, doesn't it?

[xemitg]

I would have prevented both of the Red Scares. One would be ignorant to believe communism could survive in America. We are simply too wealthy for communism to manifest. All it did was ruin many innocent people and made Americans stop trusting each other for a time. Many people such as Lucille Ball had their careers ended due to Marxist accusations.

[Conqueror]

I would change something precisely because I'd like to see just how different the world would turn out to be. So what event would I change? The Second Punic War: make Hannibal march to Rome and conquer it. I bet that could make the world of today look very different indeed

[Petrus]

If i had this power, i think i would feed a slow eating crocodile with gavrilo princip on the 27th of june 1914.

Being slowly eaten alive is probably the best thing that could happend to this man and the ultimate horrors that were the consequences of his act in sarajevo on the 28th of june deserve it.

[Byzantine Prince]

That trator, bastard, piece of dung that showed the Persians the way around the mountains and so many of those beautful ancestors destroyed for nothing.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Operation Ajax, Iran, August 1953. The Anglo-American reestablishment of the autocratic Pallahvi Dynasty. This would eventually lead to the 1979 revolution in Iran, replacing the shah with the tyrannical clergy and the Islamic Republic.

OMG we have an Iranian member. Please let him into the backroom as theres much we could discuss with him back there and this thread could well wind up back there. How about we just change the 1979 revolution in Iran, replacing the shah with the tyrannical clergy and the Islamic Republic? How old are you and whats the current political status in your country. Are you free to make anti government statements here?

[Byzantine Prince]

He doesn't really live there. You may notice the city he is saying his location is is no longer inhabited.

[Hurin_Rules]

the destruction of the royal library of alexandria.

I'll second that.

[Nelson]

I would stop the Archduke’s assassination in 1914 or at least prevent Russian mobilization.

WWI may well have been prevented thereby, as I do not believe that the Great War was inevitable.

[Colovion]

I would have had that bloody messenger reach Hannibal in Southern Italy so that he and his Brother could have joined forces and trounced the Romans once and for all, freeing the people of Italy and saving the history of Kart-Hadasht from the Roman destruction.

It's amazing how one accident can change so much in history.

[the Count of Flanders]

1586, Fall of Antwerp to the Spanish in the 80-years war. This meant the resistance against the Spanish in the southern netherlands was broken and the low countries were effectively split up. For the dutchspeaking population in the south it meant 350 years of oppression and poverty while the north prospered. One can only wonder what could have been if the low countries could have gained independance as a whole. It would have been a power to be reckoned with I think.

[Brutus]

1586, Fall of Antwerp to the Spanish in the 80-years war. This meant the resistance against the Spanish in the southern netherlands was broken and the low countries were effectively split up. For the dutchspeaking population in the south it meant 350 years of oppression and poverty while the north prospered. One can only wonder what could have been if the low countries could have gained independance as a whole. It would have been a power to be reckoned with I think.

I thought the fall of Antwerp was in 1585. But seriously, I don't think it would have worked out. Antwerp was far less easy to defend then the northern Netherlands, and there was already a major difference in policies and interests between north and south. Also, most of the northerners (calvinist preachers and Antwerp refugees excluded) would have nothing to gain by having Antwerp joining the Republic, first of all because Antwerp was still too much a commercial concurrent for Amsterdam, secondly, because that would have made the religious issue far too difficult. The regions of the Southern Netherlands that did become part of the Republic (the marquisate of Bergen op Zoom, the Barony of Breda and the Meierij of s'Hertogenbosch in northern Brabant, the "Vier Ambachten" in northern Flanders and eventually much of Opper-Gelder and parts of Overmaas including Maastricht) were not given any rights in the Government of the Republic (being governed directly by the Staten General, these regions were still among the poorest and most backward parts of Western Europe in the 19th century. This was mainly because most of the populace of these regions were Catholic and thus eventually not considered suitable for government.) and I don't think Antwerp alone could have changed this, especially with the still enormously powerfull Spanish army in the South (as well as in the eastern Netherlands, at the time).

BOT, I would't change anything about history since I can't imagine the world would be a better place if something in the past was altered, arguably, it would be even worse.

[Craterus]

A little-known fact.

Hitler fought in the first world war. His trench was struck by a shell, all his comrades died; he got away with a shell splinter. If he had died and another of his comrades have lived, we may not have had WW2.

But, if you mess around with the tiniest part of history, anything could happen. Haven't any of you ever seen that Simpsons episode where Homer accidentally makes a broken toaster into a time-machine and goes back to prehistoric times? He squashes a bug, and the modern world is changed forever.

To be honest, I wouldn't mess around with it. What's done is done, things haven't turned out too bad.

[sharrukin]

The overthrow of the Russian provisional government by the Communists.
The rise of Hitler would have been much more difficult as many of his followers who had been former socialists or communists would not have been as great a force in Germany. He would not have been able to use the communist threat of a takeover of the German government to advance his own agenda. Russia would have been spared the nightmare of communism and the cold war would not have been so ideological in character. I suspect there would have been some rivalry but it would not have taken on an almost religious tone.