Editor says, what if Constantinople had fallen to the Second Arab Siege? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s). This story was published in the August 2012 edition of Changing the Times Magazine.

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Editor says, in reality Anastasius II did order preparations and as [Wikipedia reports] the failure of the siege had wide-ranging repercussions. The rescue of Constantinople ensured the continued survival of Byzantium, while the Caliphate's strategic outlook was altered: although regular attacks on Byzantine territories continued, the goal of outright conquest was abandoned. The siege is also credited with having halted the Muslim advance into Europe, and is hence often considered one of the most decisive battles in history.

Jeff Provine commented on 2012-08-15 21:04:53 ~ We'd see a massively different world. No Crusades (or at least, no world where the Crusades happened at Byzantine request), pretty much an end to the Orthodox Church (the monks who'd head up to create Russian Orthodoxy wouldn't even have left for years to come).

Eric Oppen commented on 2012-12-09 02:46:30 ~ Harry Turtledove covered this, in "Islands in the Sea." I don't know how far the Arab conquest would penetrate into Europe---the Balkans are _not_ the Middle East, and unlike the Turks, the Arabs wouldn't have the bogeyman of the Western Church to hold over people's heads.

Mike McIlvain commented on 2012-12-09 03:52:08 ~ That might have split Arab attentions in Europe, de-emphasizing the intensity in Spain, sending more troops to Constantinople... The Spain, and Spanish we know, could be very different.

H. Torrance Griffin commented on 2012-12-09 06:01:51 ~ At this point the Balkans were more or less overrun by Pagan Slavs and Avars. They would fight to protect their political independence but, like the Berbers, have a fair chance of adopting the Arabs' faith. As for Orthodox Christianity I can easily see it lasting for a long while considering the fate of the Copts. IIRC, Spain was conquered in the middle of a civil war primarily by Berber and Maghrebian forces....