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YNot1989 In reply to GenosHistoria [2022-11-20 06:59:32 +0000 UTC]

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YNot1989 In reply to Thrakianus [2022-07-13 20:47:28 +0000 UTC]

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GrantExploit In reply to Void-Wolf [2019-08-27 15:57:23 +0000 UTC]

At what latitude and elevation?

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Void-Wolf In reply to GrantExploit [2019-08-27 16:08:23 +0000 UTC]

Not sure, but I guess at plausibility and as for hwo big, well, maybe as big as it could be.

Maybe containing the Aral Sea and the two Darya rivers

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GrantExploit In reply to Void-Wolf [2019-08-28 00:51:31 +0000 UTC]

Probably a "Lake Mega-Aral" (it would probably be freshwater as the higher lake level would encourage Caspian drainage) would act similarly to the Great Lakes, moderating temperatures and leading to lake effect precipitation, especially snowfall, summing up to 4-18 extra inches water-equivalent depending on location and elevation. The largest prominence of the lake effect in winter may cause a slight mediterranean precipitation pattern (it lies too far south and west for it to amplify the monsoon much, and too far north for tropical development without exceptional circumstances) especially around the middle coasts, while the south and north would be more even, due to a prevailing southward wind direction on the south coast bringing more summer humidity and the influence of the summer-maximum rainfall of the steppe of the north.  Vegetation around it would be a mix of steppe and forest-steppe. Climates would probably range from continental semi-arid (though on the warm end of that classification, like Southern New Mexico) in the south, to hot-summer mediterranean continental (like medium elevations in Utah) throughout most of the shore, with a small bit of a rather dry humid subtropical climate (similar to Xī'ān but less monsoonal) at the southwest. The lake would freeze over on the edges during winter in its northern areas, but total freezes would be extremely rare.

Culture? Woo-wee... well, it'd be a significant barrier to the migration of Indo-European peoples down to Iran and India, and with a hospitable climate with ample water for fishing and drinking, they might just settle there along with the south coast of the Caspian. So a Sumerian/Semitic Iran and a Dravidian/Indus Valley India. Due to the greater amount of steppe and a lesser amount of desert, you could also expect the earlier domestication of the horse and later domestication of the Bactrian camel. The Turks and Mongols to the east would develop horsemanship faster, while Indo-Europeans would spend some energy on building boats. While the Turks and Mongols would undoubtedly raid and invade places to the west and south as IRL, due to the organization and higher population densities of the "Central Asian Indo-Aryans", they'd never become the dominant population group in West-Central Asia or Anatolia, and raids would almost never extend into Europe. Expect large wars between Central Asian Indo-Aryan empires and Greek and Roman colonists over Ukraine and the Caucasus. China may have better connections to the West due to a stronger and more hospitable Silk Road, while India may be more primitive given its less-diverse influences. If Islam comes into being, the Central Asian Indo-Aryans would probably convert, and that's about as much as I'm willing or able to project.

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Void-Wolf In reply to GrantExploit [2019-08-28 01:07:39 +0000 UTC]

So the Caspian wouldn't exist is what you're saying. Also, oh wow, thanks for giving large consideration to my weird idea .

I admittingly show the rivers as the barrier becase well, it was there and would work. I am thinking if those places had lakes, it would help out like a whole lot.

Granted, it would not be an unstoppable barrier. There is still plenty of land between what would be the Caspian Sea and this new Turkic Sea (since the OTL Aral Sea would be its most northwesrt point). They would cross through OTL Turkmenistan.

I reckon that Turkmenistan would become more popular and how would that affect the rest of Iran.

Very very awesome o.o

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GrantExploit In reply to Void-Wolf [2019-08-28 02:59:40 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome. 

Actually, I'm not saying the Caspian wouldn't exist, rather that "Lake Mega-Aral" would probably have a river draining it into the Caspian Sea, and that's the reason why it would be freshwater.  You know, like how Lake Itasca drains into the Gulf of Mexico through the Mississippi, or how Lake Victoria drains into the Mediterranean through the Nile, with the lake level kept largely the same by the balance between that, evaporation, and incoming precipitation and drainage? 

Although unlikely (due to the sheer amount it would have to rise), the inflow may make it possible that the Caspian Sea would have a higher level and drain through the Don River (or another) to the Black Sea, which would allow.

And of course it wouldn't be impenetrable, but there would be that river that would have to be crossed on the western side and mountain ranges on the eastern side, and originally-landlocked ancient peoples of the Late Bronze/Early Iron Age weren't too skilled at navigation or keen on going on deliberate voyages of exploration. By the time that some Indo-Aryan people both pass through the geographic barriers and are fed up with living on the good land they already have, a successor to the Elamite and Indus Valley civilizations could have emerged that would better resist their attack.

Thanks for the watch, BTW. 

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Void-Wolf In reply to GrantExploit [2019-08-28 04:32:32 +0000 UTC]

Ooooooh! Okay! Now I get ya! So that's why it would be harder to cross?

I overlooked the river into the Caspian Sea thing.

Granted, if the river did not existed (or maybe it flowed through Afghanistan and Iran), then I reckon people would be able to cross then?

And I love talking to fellow alternate history folk.

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