PROPHET, 999
Current Affairs: With Pope Gregory V dying, Holy Roman Emperor Otto III seals the Sacred Palace. As Christendom awaits the end of the world, rival Cardinals plot their ascendency to the papacy.
Divergence Point: 974 A.D.: A Christian prophet in Rome introduces toothbrushes, proper sanitation and a form of the underarm deodorant.
Great Powers: Holy Roman Empire (feudal dictatorship), Byzantine Empire (dictatorship), Song China (dictatorship), Fatimid Caliphate (dictatorship) Kievan Rus’ (dictatorship), Magyar (clan), Khazar khagnate (dictatorship), Croatian Kingdom (dictatorship)
974: A Christian prophet in Rome introduces toothbrushes, proper sanitation and a form of the underarm deodorant.
975: Duke Mieszko I of Poland brushes his teeth before the royal court of Poznań, beginning the Christianisation of Poland.
976: Magyar horsemen begin a series of raids into Europe, which will last until the current day.
977: Avalanches across the Alps bury thousands.
978: The Bulgars turn their raiding parties northwards, striking as far north as Carinthia.
979: A decade-long famine in Lotharingia leads to widespread cannibalism.
980: Viking raiders first enter France.
981: The Loire River floods, submerging Tours, Angers and Orléans.
985: Duke Henry of Bavaria abducts the infant heir to the Holy Roman Empire, beginning ten years of civil war.
986: The airburst of a meteorite over Lorrain fells over a million trees, killing thousands.
988: Saracens sack Augsburg.
989: The appearance of Hailey’s Comet causes hysteria throughout Europe.
991: Unprecedented hailstorms destroy three-quarters of the farmland in Pomerania.
992: The crowning of Holy Roman Emperor Otto III triggers riots throughout the empire.