this post was submitted on 31 Oct 2024
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Explanation: When Vladimir the Great was mulling conversion away from paganism, as being a pagan gained him few allies, but many enemies, he considered several different faiths. The most prominent were Judaism, Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and Islam. Judaism did not impress him; Catholicism (or more correctly, Western Christianity as represented by German envoys, as the split between Catholicism and Orthodoxy was not fully formed) he regarded as lacking grandeur. Islam and Christian Orthodoxy (or more correctly, Eastern Christianity as represented by Byzantine/Greek envoys) remained - but Islam forbade drinking, while Orthodoxy forbade having multiple wives. What is a warlord to choose!?
Eventually, he settled on drinking being the more important factor, and converted to Orthodoxy. Cheers!
For those who like numbers: Vladimir the Great was both, Prince of Novgorod and Kiev, until his death in 1015 A.D. In 988, he converted to Christianity and subsequently so did the Kievan Rus.
The Great Schisma, the split between eastern, Orthodox, and western, Catholic, Christianity was 1054 A.D.
I’m trying to imagine what the world would look like had he chosen Islam, but stuck at whether European monarchies would have been too focused on fighting Russia for colonialism to happen.
Probably not. I mean they colonized the rest of the world while killing the shit out of each other anyway, so probably not. Never underestimate Europeans' capacity for murder.