Henry VIII never becomes Henry VIII, as his brother lasts long enough to beget a son upon Katherine.
John II of Aragon dies before his wife, Blanca I of Navarre; their son Charles, Prince of Viana, thus becomes Charles IV of Navarre and I of Aragon. History is very different depending on whether he does or does not marry Isabel I of Castille (his half-brother Ferdinand never having been born and therefore not being around to marry her).
The Mongols never invaded the Arabian Penninsula and conquered only a slice of Iraq and Syria. How could they set back Arabic civilization? They conquered all of China…was it set back 500 years? No. They decimated Eastern Europe and the Byzantines far worse. The plague they brought weakened Byzantium to the point where the Ottomans could finally overrun it.
Why do you pick out only the Persians and the Arabs?
WWI was inevitable. People were looking for an excuse to fight.
The main issue is what effects would a 5-10 year delay have on the war. Imagine more advanced airplanes, widespread use of radio, earlier introduction of tanks, etc.
Would the Russian revolution have happened before the war broke out or not at all? The status of Russia during the war would be key. If Russia isn’t in the war, then German overruns France. Things go completely differently. Hitler might have never fought in the war and had a completely mundane life.
The Mongels did way more than spread a little knowledge. Their opening of trade routes alone advanced the world by leaps and bounds. They did not raze cities indesciminately, only those that refused to submit.
The mongels did not set back progress - they advanced it. To suggest that we would have flying cars but for Ghengis is ridiculous. Whether or not he was a “good” person is irrelevant WRT the OP.
Disagree. Look at Arabic civilization before, and after, the depredations of the Mongols. Look at the harm they did to China and India. They did not “advance” civilization, but harmed it severely.
You might as well claim that the Nazis advanced civilization because they invented rocketry. Yeah…no.
The Ming came right after the Yuan…one of China’s greatest Dynasties. And the Mongols barely touched Arabic lands. And they certainly didn’t destroy civilization in the area that is now Russia. Although they tilted power toward the Rus which might indeed be a bad thing.
You could also argue that the Arabs set back the ancient cultures in what is today Iraq (home of the Babalonians and the Mesopotamians). And they certainly destroyed a glorious ancient Persian culture. How are they any different from the Mongols except in scale?
It is no controversial statement that war has driven technological and social change throughout human history. Including WWII, including the Crusades, and including Ghenghis Kahn. Just because lots of eggs are broke doesn’t mean you never end up with omelettes.