More Ideas for Alt History Divergence Points

Justinian is discovered to be a demon who came to depopulate the Earth and defeated.
The French offer the Normans land on the Mediterranean instead of Normandy to separate them from reinforcements.
Hawaii? Sinks.
Scotland's dumb colony flourishes, allowing Scotland to purchase England.
Tron is released; is a good movie.
Japan? Sinks.
Moon landing is never attempted; U.S. uses that money to purchase England.
Aquitaine conquers Italy.
Korea is unified when its three major kingdoms agree to elevate one above the others based on whose prayers are answered first.
Australia? Sinks.
Mansa Musa travels northwest and purchases England.
Rome? Sinks. The Alba Longa empire is remembered to this day.

Addendum

If you want to be serious, just have it be Brundisium. That's the kind of place necromancers would like. Rome and Ostia are too busy for concealment of their horrible activities.

Acceptable Changes in Adaptations for Visual Media

Masks don't sound all that cool when they're described, but they look cool. Therefore everyone in the TV show or movie should be masked, regardless of the source material. The Greeks and Romans did it. Just look up what persona actually means.

Addendum

Actually those all lead to mechs. Pranked!

Turning Points in History to Consider for Alt History

Stamford Bridge
Jugurthine War
Ferdinand and Isabella (make both women)
Alexander the Great (dies earlier)
Alexander the Great (dies later)
Alexander the Great (still alive)
Isaac Newton (discovers anti-gravity; leads to mechs)
Christopher Marlowe (wins bar fight, becomes emperor)
Pyramids (much bigger; aliens show up)

Addender

Or Postumus, but that's a little depressing. Use that name to achieve a darker, grittier feel.

Addendum

Don't worry. They're all named Gaius, Caius, Cnaeus, Publius, Marcus, or Lucius. You're a third of the way there already!

A Fun Calendar to Try

Instead of having your story take place in 937 After the Dark God's Descent, why not do it like the Romans and name it after whoever's consul that year? You'l only need to come up with 937*2 consuls to fill in the backstory!

Addendum

Don't you dare talk to me about plumbatae. Not if you value your smile and hope.

The Legacy of the Sword

"No army in the world ever relied on the sword," Roger said. He meant it, too.
Every single person Alex consulted said the same. He came to doubt. Was he wrong? Tromping along cold streets in the lonely night, he wondered. Had he sold his sanity to buy pleasantly superior thoughts of a history only he could know?
"Can't be," he thought. Then he said it. "It can't be. The Romans were real. Everyone knows that. What's going on?" His voice rose. "Rome was real!"
"Not for long." The fog swirled, blown about by an unseen power, but then one seen. A figure stepped forth and confronted Alex. "That dead people exists only in memory. Memories I have erased. Yours are the last, and I do not think you will keep them long. Hmph." The ghost of Hannibal raised his spectral sword, a cleaver of thoughts, a destroyer of minds.
Alex reached into his pocket and spoke the words.
Finis

Addendum

At least it wasn't unholy, like when Justinian was a demon sent from hell to depopulate the Earth and sent his head flying around the palace at night. That's a historical fact from your boy Procopius. Look it up.

History Corner

The Holy Roman Empire was both Roman and an empire. That fun quotation was about its dying days, not its entire existence. Now the holy part, well, you know, I mean, things are complicated sometimes.

Addendum

I don't mean only the magic ones, but those two. Especially those. But not just those.

An Important Warning

A bunch of disguised aliens are trying to make people think swords aren't good so we'll be defenseless. Don't listen to them!

Definitely Don't Think About This

Malazan? I thought this ship was headed for Bonazan!

Classic Fantasy Spotlight

"Metamorphoses" or "The Golden Ass" by Apuleius is a fully extant novel from the first century that is absolutely fantasy, and I do mean fantasy, if you know what I mean, you degenerate.

Did You Know . . .

. . . that the ancient Romans only came up with names for three days of the month before they got bored and went back to swimming the Tiber and threshing? Such is how empires are made.

On Technological Progress in Fantasy

A common complaint is uttered, and we must heed it. "Fantasy worlds don't advance enough over the years," people say. What I wonder is what are these worlds, and how would we know?
Few series span enough time to see much change. Few settings are exploited by multiple series. Midkemia sees a few generations, but that's uncommon. Should we expect rapid technological progress over the year or two most stories span? I don't think we should.
Our knowledge of the past in most settings comes from its own history and legends. Now imagine somebody during the Thirty Years' War reading a history of the Year of the Four Emperors, a millennium and a half earlier. What would tell him the technology of his own year was different? The lack of windmills? Why would the author mention windmills? This guy raised an army and fought that guy. What technological advancement would our hypothetical reader see in that? Just the same way, the ancient legend about the hero defeating the demon god wouldn't say a thing about irrigation techniques or dye fixing.
Some suppose an unrealistic lack of technological advancement to be common in fantasy, but I disagree. The real problem with fantasy is not enough tough priests and clumsy maids.

Some Good News

New Constantinople will hold out for some time more, though.

A Chilling Reminder

We're closer to the sack of Space Rome than we are to the sack of Rome.