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What If the Western Roman Empire Survived?

A What-If scenario in which the Western Roman Empire survived.

This is not meant to be realistic, although I have tried to present a scenario which can be presented as somewhat believable.

The divergence point is the year 409 AD, Emperor Honorius of the Western Roman Empire (reluctantly) designates Alaric, King of the Visigoths, as Magister Militum. Alaric then leads the combined Romano-Visigothic forces to Hispania and defeats the Vandals, the Alans and Suebi in a major battle. As a result, the Alans and Vandals are destroyed, and thus the Vandals do not take control of North Africa. The sack of Rome in 410 never takes place and the sacks of Rome that occurred in real history during the 5th Century never take place either. Decades later, when Emperor Majorian comes to power in 457 AD, he still leads his campaigns in reconquering much of the Western Empire and stabilising it, killing his rival Ricimer and instituting a period of peace. The Visigoths, Burgundians and Suebi are retained as Foederati until their integration during the 6th century.

Since then, the Western Empire has endured through various crises, periods of stability and insecurity. The Theme system was introduced in 743 by Emperor Johannes II, using scholars, lawyers and other intellectuals fleeing Iconoclasm in the Eastern Roman Empire.

In 867, the Western Roman Empire has, in the past few decades, fought off the Franks by retaking Southern Gaul and held off the Aghlabids in Sicily by retaking much of Sicily. Valentinian VIII, the Western Roman Emperor, has overseen a renewed period of stability in the Western Empire, but all is not secure just yet.

In 1066, after decades of internal strife, conflict and external threats, Romanus II, Emperor of the Roman Empire in the West, has finally managed to curb most threats to his power and to the empire. Yet, the splitting of the branches of the Aeneas dynasty into two and the remnants of the tyrannical reign of Emperor Marcellus still looms, with his son, Ambrosius coming of age very soon, and his brother, Basilius Aeneas, holding considerable sway within the empire.

In 1178, a sickly emperor, a challenged dynasty, and the re-emergence of old dynasties, once long since subdued now come to challenge or reclaim Imperial power. The legacy of Majorian VI still powers through the empire, but with Rome on the verge of a potential dynastic change from the long ruling Aeneas dynasty, the Western Empire’s future remains uncertain.

The Western Roman Empire’s involvement in the Crusades as has resulted in a more coordinated and disciplined response. As a result, the 1101 Crusade, called the Anatolian Crusade in this timeline, was successful in defeat Seljuk forces. Subsequent campaigns by John II Komnenos and Manuel Komnenos have resulted in the Eastern Roman Empire reconquering much of Anatolia from the Turks.