Lion's Blood
Encyclopedia
Lion's Blood is an alternate history novel by Steven Barnes
. The book won the 2003 Endeavour Award
. It is followed by the sequel Zulu Heart
.
The novel presents an alternate world where an Islam
ic Africa
is the center of technological progress and learning while Europe
remains largely tribal and backward. Throughout the novel, both the Gregorian calendar
and the Islamic Hijri calendar
are used.
with his pagan father, Christian mother, and twin sister. Their village is attacked by Vikings and Aidan’s father is killed in the battle, while Aidan and the rest of his family are taken as slaves. They are later sold to black slave merchants in Andalus
and taken to Bilalistan (southeastern North America) by the middle passage
. Many die along the way and Aidan’s mother suffers a miscarriage.
There at a slave auction Aidan’s sister is separated from them and sold off as a maidservant, while Aiden and his mother are sold to a Wakil named Abu Alli Jallaleddin ibn Rashid al Kushi, owner of a plantation called Dar Kush, known for its lenient treatment of the white slaves, going as far as allowing them to keep native religion, culture, and language. Before being separated Aidan swore to his sister that he would find her again.
The Wakil has three children and among them is the youngest son Kai, an awkward, shy boy who feels that he will never live up to his father's expectations. One day Kai and Aidan meet and become unlikely friends. Aiden aids him in a prank that gets him switched, but Kai saves him from most of the punishment and selects him as his footboy/servant. Despite their difference in status, the boys develop a strong friendship.
Kai and Aidan grow up together and remain close, until a half-Andalusian Moor, half-Greek slave girl that was a gift to Kai comes between them. The break happens when the girl falls in love with Aidan leading to a fight between the two. Though Kai is has better fighting skills achieved via formal training, Aiden is far stronger, with greater punching power and endurance, achieved from several years of grueling labor; Aiden, therefore, defeats Kai. Kai, though angry and humiliated, does not punish them and allows the two to be together.
Both boys go through several changes as they become adults. Kai converts to Sufism
, begins to show feelings to his brother’s betrothed, finds himself about to be in an arranged marriage with a Zulu princess, and begins to question the practice of slavery. Aidan, finally with something worth fighting for, begins to chafe at the bonds of his slavery, driving a wedge further between the two friends. After his (also enslaved) wife and newborn son are transferred away to the plantation of Kai's uncle, Aidan becomes involved in a slave revolt among the slaves of Dar Kush and neighboring plantations. Using the revolt as cover Aidan and other slaves attempt to flee, but are captured and Aidan's infant son almost dies. Aidan, however, is spared punishment again by Kai who is mourning the death of his father in the revolt.
Later Bilalistan finds itself at war with the Aztecs and both Kai and Aidan join the army heading to meet them. During the last stand at the Shrine of the Fathers, Kai takes leadership of the armies after the Zulus abandoned them because of the death of their leader and Kai's elder brother. Promising freedom to all of the slaves who came with the army, the Bilalistanis manage a victory by destroying the Shrine of the Fathers with most of the surviving Aztec forces inside it.
Kai, now a war hero, keeps his promise to free all of the slaves who fought along with their families. On returning home he finds that his uncle has taken Aidan’s wife as an unwilling lover and refuses to free her, forcing Kai into a duel with him which results in the death of Kai's uncle. Kai, now the only surviving male in his family, takes his place as the Wakil of Dar Kush, while Aidan and his family leave to start a new life as freed slaves.
and the New World
, commonly referred to by the characters as Bilalistan instead of North America. The dominant nations are Egypt
which is still ruled by the Pharaoh
s and Abyssinia
which is controlled by a monarch
known as the Immortal Empress.
Due to the destruction of Rome
by Carthage
and Egypt in 200 B.C., Europe remained largely tribal while Africa advanced technologically and culturally with steamboats, rifles and airship
s or "flying boats" by the late 19th century. The dominant Africans consider Europeans to be inferior and treat them as a source of slave labour which is supplied to them by Viking
raiders. Southern Africa
is controlled by the Zulus while the Vikings control much of Northern Europe
.
The Middle East
is presumably Islamic-dominated, with references to Egypt being at war with Persia, though a Jewish state known as Judea
is also mentioned to have been established by the Prophet
Muhammad
in 623 AD
as part of a mutual assistance pact between Islam and the Jews. The Gupta
control much of India
while China
is ruled by Emperors and apparently has a colony on the New World's western coast. Much of modern day Mexico
is ruled by the Aztec
s while Native American
s compete with both Aztecs and the African immigrants.
On a map of Bilalistan shown in the book, Bilalistan is divided into four provinces which include: New Alexandria, New Djibouti, Azania and Wichita. Most of the story takes place in Dar Kush in New Djibouti, around where the real world state of Louisiana
lies. It is also mentioned that the African settlers have driven the Native Americans out of their territories as the European powers had done to the native populations from the 19th century. To the south lies the Aztec nation of Azteca which often fights with Bilalistan. Vikings maintain a colony in the New World known as Vinland
to the north of Bilalistan and there is a Chinese colony in California
. White runaway slaves often join Native American
tribes, or manage to make their way to Vinland
to find work as paid laborers.
Christianity
is also mentioned in the novel, though it failed to become a dominant world religion, with the majority of its followers being Europeans. Without the influence of Rome
, Christianity is much more divided between traditional and Gnostic thought over whether Christ was divine or merely a man. The Gospel of Mary
is also an important part of the Christian beliefs.
which became the capital of Egypt. Over the centuries, history was rewritten to portray Alexander as an African to suit the perceptions of the dominant Africans.
In 200 BC
, the combined forces of Egypt
, Carthage
and Abyssinia destroyed Rome
, removing the last European power and paving the way for African dominance. For a thousand years the descendants of Alexander ruled much of the known world with Egypt ruling an empire stretching from Eastern Europe
to India
. Egypt and Abyssinia also created a major trade route along the Nile
and immense networks of canals. By 420
, steamboat
s had been invented and were used to trade with other kingdoms in Africa. Eventually, most of sub-Saharan Africa was under joint Egyptian and Abyssianian rule.
With the advent of Islam
, Arabic became the dominant language of that region. In 623
, Muhammad approved of a mutual assistance pact with the Jewish people which would lead to the establishment of the Jewish state of Judea
. With Muhammad's death in 632
, his followers fought among themselves as they did in our timeline. However, this was stopped by the intervention of Bilal
. He rescued Muhammad's daughter Fatimah
and fled to Abyssinia, where they were protected.
Fatima continued Muhammad's teachings and her form of Islam became known as Fatimite Islam which eventually swept through much of North Africa, resulting in a unified Islamic coalition against Egypt's royal house. In the end, Alexandria was defeated through the use of a disease carried by black barges which may be an analogue to the Black Plague. This disease eventually swept through Egypt and its territories in the Middle East and southern Europe. With Egypt defeated the Fatimite Caliphate
was established but both nations would remain separate.
Bilal would live long enough to see the fall of Alexandria and was thus revered by the masses as the last of the Prophet's companions. He saw that politics and religion had intertwined in the Old World and that the resulting chaos of that union were beyond repair. It was on his deathbed that Bilal received a vision from the angel Gabriel
who told him of the existence of a continent beyond the oceans which would be the promised land, and that the masses should colonize it for their own.
By 1000, African Muslim explorers had crossed the Atlantic Ocean
to the New World through the use of huge ocean-going steamboats. As the early European explorers had done, the Africans traded with the natives for gold and exotic fruits and founded cities there. The explorers would move westward and would come into conflict with the native populations there. When the last of these explorers had perished far west in Texas
, their burial site became the location of the Shrine of the Fathers. By 1100, the Fatimites were trading with the Aztec
/Toltec
empires though Bilalistan would only be officially colonised in 1700.
of America during the 19th century, Bilalistan's society is diverse with races as varied as Egyptians
, Abyssinians, Yoruba
, Zulus, Arab
s, Moors
, Jews
, Europeans
, and Native Americans
. Egyptians,Abyssinians, Arabs and Zulus form most of the upper class. West Africans (such as Yoruba and Igbo) and North African Moors predominate the middle and working classes, and are usually employed as instructors, merchants and slave overseers. Herding and ranching are dominated by the Maasai. The lowest jobs are taken by European slaves. Certain African groups, such as the Danakil
, are not slaves, but are looked down upon by other Africans, due to their involvement in "unclean" occupations (example: training thoths).
Bilalistan was originally a theocracy
when first settled, though it had become a theocratic republic
by 1863. The Bilalian ruling hierarchy consists of the Ulema
, the religious body which is led by an Ayatollah
, and the Senate
, the political body which is ruled by a Caliph
. Both organizations compete for control though all power lies in the hands of the Caliph, who is appointed by the Pharaoh of Egypt. The Senate is divided into a House of Lords and House of Commons.
Below the Caliph are four Governor
s who governs each of the four provinces of Bilalistan. These Governors are also assigned or appoint Wakils which rule fiefdom
s within the provinces and are apparently part of the aristocracy
. Arranged marriage
s are practised between the Wakils. Citizens, whether male or female, are allowed to vote though slaves have no citizenship and little rights. Many slaves are forced to convert to Islam and take Islamic names.
The Bilalian hierarchy ranges from the Caliph and Ayatollah, the Houses of Lords and Commons and the Judiciary which create both religious and common laws. For laws to be passed, they must be accepted by majorities in both Houses which hold legislative power and the Caliph and Ayatollah which have executive power over the state. Common laws can be overturned by a two-thirds majority within the Ulema while religious laws can only be overturned by the Ayatollah and the Pharaoh.
Steven Barnes
Steven Barnes is an African American science fiction writer, lecturer, creative consultant, and human performance technician....
. The book won the 2003 Endeavour Award
Endeavour Award
The Endeavour Award, announced annually at OryCon in Portland, Oregon, is awarded to a distinguished science fiction or fantasy book written by a Pacific Northwest author or authors and published in the previous year....
. It is followed by the sequel Zulu Heart
Zulu Heart
Zulu Heart is an alternate history novel by Steven Barnes and is a sequel to the book Lion's Blood. The novel is set in an alternate world where a Muslim Africa became the dominant world power and Europe remained primitive. It continues the story of a young African nobleman, Kai ibn Jallaleddin...
.
The novel presents an alternate world where an Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
is the center of technological progress and learning while Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
remains largely tribal and backward. Throughout the novel, both the Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
and the Islamic Hijri calendar
Islamic calendar
The Hijri calendar , also known as the Muslim calendar or Islamic calendar , is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to date events in many Muslim countries , and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic...
are used.
Plot
The story begins with Aidan O'Dere, a child growing up in a primitive 19th century IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
with his pagan father, Christian mother, and twin sister. Their village is attacked by Vikings and Aidan’s father is killed in the battle, while Aidan and the rest of his family are taken as slaves. They are later sold to black slave merchants in Andalus
Andalus
Al-Andalus Ensemble is an award-winning husband and wife musical duo that performs contemporary Andalusian music. The ensemble features Tarik Banzi playing oud, ney and darbuka, and Julia Banzi on flamenco guitar...
and taken to Bilalistan (southeastern North America) by the middle passage
Middle Passage
The Middle Passage was the stage of the triangular trade in which millions of people from Africa were shipped to the New World, as part of the Atlantic slave trade...
. Many die along the way and Aidan’s mother suffers a miscarriage.
There at a slave auction Aidan’s sister is separated from them and sold off as a maidservant, while Aiden and his mother are sold to a Wakil named Abu Alli Jallaleddin ibn Rashid al Kushi, owner of a plantation called Dar Kush, known for its lenient treatment of the white slaves, going as far as allowing them to keep native religion, culture, and language. Before being separated Aidan swore to his sister that he would find her again.
The Wakil has three children and among them is the youngest son Kai, an awkward, shy boy who feels that he will never live up to his father's expectations. One day Kai and Aidan meet and become unlikely friends. Aiden aids him in a prank that gets him switched, but Kai saves him from most of the punishment and selects him as his footboy/servant. Despite their difference in status, the boys develop a strong friendship.
Kai and Aidan grow up together and remain close, until a half-Andalusian Moor, half-Greek slave girl that was a gift to Kai comes between them. The break happens when the girl falls in love with Aidan leading to a fight between the two. Though Kai is has better fighting skills achieved via formal training, Aiden is far stronger, with greater punching power and endurance, achieved from several years of grueling labor; Aiden, therefore, defeats Kai. Kai, though angry and humiliated, does not punish them and allows the two to be together.
Both boys go through several changes as they become adults. Kai converts to Sufism
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
, begins to show feelings to his brother’s betrothed, finds himself about to be in an arranged marriage with a Zulu princess, and begins to question the practice of slavery. Aidan, finally with something worth fighting for, begins to chafe at the bonds of his slavery, driving a wedge further between the two friends. After his (also enslaved) wife and newborn son are transferred away to the plantation of Kai's uncle, Aidan becomes involved in a slave revolt among the slaves of Dar Kush and neighboring plantations. Using the revolt as cover Aidan and other slaves attempt to flee, but are captured and Aidan's infant son almost dies. Aidan, however, is spared punishment again by Kai who is mourning the death of his father in the revolt.
Later Bilalistan finds itself at war with the Aztecs and both Kai and Aidan join the army heading to meet them. During the last stand at the Shrine of the Fathers, Kai takes leadership of the armies after the Zulus abandoned them because of the death of their leader and Kai's elder brother. Promising freedom to all of the slaves who came with the army, the Bilalistanis manage a victory by destroying the Shrine of the Fathers with most of the surviving Aztec forces inside it.
Kai, now a war hero, keeps his promise to free all of the slaves who fought along with their families. On returning home he finds that his uncle has taken Aidan’s wife as an unwilling lover and refuses to free her, forcing Kai into a duel with him which results in the death of Kai's uncle. Kai, now the only surviving male in his family, takes his place as the Wakil of Dar Kush, while Aidan and his family leave to start a new life as freed slaves.
World of Lion's Blood
The story is set in an alternate history world where Islamic African nations are the dominant world power, with colonies in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
, commonly referred to by the characters as Bilalistan instead of North America. The dominant nations are Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
which is still ruled by the Pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
s and Abyssinia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
which is controlled by a monarch
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
known as the Immortal Empress.
Due to the destruction of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
by Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
and Egypt in 200 B.C., Europe remained largely tribal while Africa advanced technologically and culturally with steamboats, rifles and airship
Airship
An airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
s or "flying boats" by the late 19th century. The dominant Africans consider Europeans to be inferior and treat them as a source of slave labour which is supplied to them by Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
raiders. Southern Africa
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
is controlled by the Zulus while the Vikings control much of Northern Europe
Northern Europe
Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden...
.
The Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
is presumably Islamic-dominated, with references to Egypt being at war with Persia, though a Jewish state known as Judea
Judea
Judea or Judæa was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.-Etymology:The...
is also mentioned to have been established by the Prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
in 623 AD
623
Year 623 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 623 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Clotaire II, king of the Franks, makes his...
as part of a mutual assistance pact between Islam and the Jews. The Gupta
Gupta Empire
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed approximately from 320 to 550 CE and covered much of the Indian Subcontinent. Founded by Maharaja Sri-Gupta, the dynasty was the model of a classical civilization. The peace and prosperity created under leadership of Guptas enabled the...
control much of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
while China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
is ruled by Emperors and apparently has a colony on the New World's western coast. Much of modern day Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
is ruled by the Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
s while Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
s compete with both Aztecs and the African immigrants.
On a map of Bilalistan shown in the book, Bilalistan is divided into four provinces which include: New Alexandria, New Djibouti, Azania and Wichita. Most of the story takes place in Dar Kush in New Djibouti, around where the real world state of Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
lies. It is also mentioned that the African settlers have driven the Native Americans out of their territories as the European powers had done to the native populations from the 19th century. To the south lies the Aztec nation of Azteca which often fights with Bilalistan. Vikings maintain a colony in the New World known as Vinland
Vinland
Vinland was the name given to an area of North America by the Norsemen, about the year 1000 CE.There is a consensus among scholars that the Vikings reached North America approximately five centuries prior to the voyages of Christopher Columbus...
to the north of Bilalistan and there is a Chinese colony in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. White runaway slaves often join Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
tribes, or manage to make their way to Vinland
Vinland
Vinland was the name given to an area of North America by the Norsemen, about the year 1000 CE.There is a consensus among scholars that the Vikings reached North America approximately five centuries prior to the voyages of Christopher Columbus...
to find work as paid laborers.
Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
is also mentioned in the novel, though it failed to become a dominant world religion, with the majority of its followers being Europeans. Without the influence of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Christianity is much more divided between traditional and Gnostic thought over whether Christ was divine or merely a man. The Gospel of Mary
Gospel of Mary
The Gospel of Mary is an apocryphal book discovered in 1896 in a 5th-century papyrus codex. The codex Papyrus Berolinensis 8502 was purchased in Cairo by German scholar Karl Reinhardt....
is also an important part of the Christian beliefs.
History
Following Alexander the Great's conquest of much of the known world, Alexander made himself the Pharaoh of Egypt following a vision of Pharaoh-hood after he had lost his leg. After the death of his first wife, he married a Kush princess named Mesgana, who bore him twin sons. When his sons came of age, he set one as ruler of Alexandria with the other reigning over Abyssinia. Alexander eventually adopted the title of Pharaoh Haaibre Setepenamen which literally translates as "Jubilant is the heart of Re, Chosen of Amen". As in our timeline, Alexander's capital was at AlexandriaAlexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
which became the capital of Egypt. Over the centuries, history was rewritten to portray Alexander as an African to suit the perceptions of the dominant Africans.
In 200 BC
200 BC
Year 200 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Maximus and Cotta...
, the combined forces of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
and Abyssinia destroyed Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, removing the last European power and paving the way for African dominance. For a thousand years the descendants of Alexander ruled much of the known world with Egypt ruling an empire stretching from Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Egypt and Abyssinia also created a major trade route along the Nile
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
and immense networks of canals. By 420
420
Year 420 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodosius and Constantius...
, steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
s had been invented and were used to trade with other kingdoms in Africa. Eventually, most of sub-Saharan Africa was under joint Egyptian and Abyssianian rule.
With the advent of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, Arabic became the dominant language of that region. In 623
623
Year 623 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 623 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Clotaire II, king of the Franks, makes his...
, Muhammad approved of a mutual assistance pact with the Jewish people which would lead to the establishment of the Jewish state of Judea
Judea
Judea or Judæa was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.-Etymology:The...
. With Muhammad's death in 632
632
Year 632 was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 632 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* January 27 – Annular eclipse of the...
, his followers fought among themselves as they did in our timeline. However, this was stopped by the intervention of Bilal
Bilal ibn Ribah
Bilal ibn Rabah or Bilal al-Habashi was an Ethiopian born in Mecca in the late 6th century, sometime between 578 and 582.The Islamic prophet Muhammad chose a former African slave Bilal as his muezzin, effectively making him the first muezzin of the Islamic faith...
. He rescued Muhammad's daughter Fatimah
Fatimah
Fatimah was a daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad from his first wife Khadijah bint Khuwaylid. She is regarded by Muslims as an exemplar for men and women. She remained at her father's side through the difficulties suffered by him at the hands of the Quraysh of Mecca...
and fled to Abyssinia, where they were protected.
Fatima continued Muhammad's teachings and her form of Islam became known as Fatimite Islam which eventually swept through much of North Africa, resulting in a unified Islamic coalition against Egypt's royal house. In the end, Alexandria was defeated through the use of a disease carried by black barges which may be an analogue to the Black Plague. This disease eventually swept through Egypt and its territories in the Middle East and southern Europe. With Egypt defeated the Fatimite Caliphate
Fatimid
The Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...
was established but both nations would remain separate.
Bilal would live long enough to see the fall of Alexandria and was thus revered by the masses as the last of the Prophet's companions. He saw that politics and religion had intertwined in the Old World and that the resulting chaos of that union were beyond repair. It was on his deathbed that Bilal received a vision from the angel Gabriel
Gabriel
In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an Archangel who typically serves as a messenger to humans from God.He first appears in the Book of Daniel, delivering explanations of Daniel's visions. In the Gospel of Luke Gabriel foretells the births of both John the Baptist and of Jesus...
who told him of the existence of a continent beyond the oceans which would be the promised land, and that the masses should colonize it for their own.
By 1000, African Muslim explorers had crossed the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
to the New World through the use of huge ocean-going steamboats. As the early European explorers had done, the Africans traded with the natives for gold and exotic fruits and founded cities there. The explorers would move westward and would come into conflict with the native populations there. When the last of these explorers had perished far west in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, their burial site became the location of the Shrine of the Fathers. By 1100, the Fatimites were trading with the Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
/Toltec
Toltec
The Toltec culture is an archaeological Mesoamerican culture that dominated a state centered in Tula, Hidalgo in the early post-classic period of Mesoamerican chronology...
empires though Bilalistan would only be officially colonised in 1700.
Society
Like the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
of America during the 19th century, Bilalistan's society is diverse with races as varied as Egyptians
Egyptians
Egyptians are nation an ethnic group made up of Mediterranean North Africans, the indigenous people of Egypt.Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population of Egypt is concentrated in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to...
, Abyssinians, Yoruba
Yoruba people
The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...
, Zulus, Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
s, Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
, Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, Europeans
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
, and Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
. Egyptians,Abyssinians, Arabs and Zulus form most of the upper class. West Africans (such as Yoruba and Igbo) and North African Moors predominate the middle and working classes, and are usually employed as instructors, merchants and slave overseers. Herding and ranching are dominated by the Maasai. The lowest jobs are taken by European slaves. Certain African groups, such as the Danakil
Afar people
The Afar , also known as the Danakil, are an ethnic group in the Horn of Africa. They primarily live in the Afar Region of Ethiopia and in northern Djibouti, although some also inhabit the southern point of Eritrea.-Early history:...
, are not slaves, but are looked down upon by other Africans, due to their involvement in "unclean" occupations (example: training thoths).
Bilalistan was originally a theocracy
Theocracy
Theocracy is a form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion....
when first settled, though it had become a theocratic republic
Islamic republic
Islamic republic is the name given to several states in the Muslim world including the Islamic Republics of Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Mauritania. Pakistan adopted the title under the constitution of 1956. Mauritania adopted it on 28 November 1958. Iran adopted it after the 1979 Iranian...
by 1863. The Bilalian ruling hierarchy consists of the Ulema
Ulema
Ulama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...
, the religious body which is led by an Ayatollah
Ayatollah
Ayatollah is a high ranking title given to Usuli Twelver Shī‘ah clerics. Those who carry the title are experts in Islamic studies such as jurisprudence, ethics, and philosophy and usually teach in Islamic seminaries. The next lower clerical rank is Hojatoleslam wal-muslemin...
, and the Senate
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature or parliament. There have been many such bodies in history, since senate means the assembly of the eldest and wiser members of the society and ruling class...
, the political body which is ruled by a Caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
. Both organizations compete for control though all power lies in the hands of the Caliph, who is appointed by the Pharaoh of Egypt. The Senate is divided into a House of Lords and House of Commons.
Below the Caliph are four Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
s who governs each of the four provinces of Bilalistan. These Governors are also assigned or appoint Wakils which rule fiefdom
Fiefdom
A fee was the central element of feudalism and consisted of heritable lands granted under one of several varieties of feudal tenure by an overlord to a vassal who held it in fealty in return for a form of feudal allegiance and service, usually given by the...
s within the provinces and are apparently part of the aristocracy
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
. Arranged marriage
Arranged marriage
An arranged marriage is a practice in which someone other than the couple getting married makes the selection of the persons to be wed, meanwhile curtailing or avoiding the process of courtship. Such marriages had deep roots in royal and aristocratic families around the world...
s are practised between the Wakils. Citizens, whether male or female, are allowed to vote though slaves have no citizenship and little rights. Many slaves are forced to convert to Islam and take Islamic names.
The Bilalian hierarchy ranges from the Caliph and Ayatollah, the Houses of Lords and Commons and the Judiciary which create both religious and common laws. For laws to be passed, they must be accepted by majorities in both Houses which hold legislative power and the Caliph and Ayatollah which have executive power over the state. Common laws can be overturned by a two-thirds majority within the Ulema while religious laws can only be overturned by the Ayatollah and the Pharaoh.