[quote=@chevalier]
If the game's still open, I'd love to join. I'm thinking of playing the Ottomans, ruled by Abdul Hamid II who resisted being overthrown in 1909 and who refused to enter WWI. Thus, the Ottaman Empire was not dissolved by the Treaty of Versailles and remains a player in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. (This would probably change the holdings of [@ZB1996] in the Middle East however.)
[/quote]

[quote=@Zoldyck]
<Snipped quote by chevalier>

There would be a small problem with that... namely that Byzantium is a thing in this alternate universe and the only way for that to happen is for the Ottomans to be... euhm, non-existant.

That being said, I dont know if said player is still in this, so who knows, you might be lucky.
[/quote]

That may be a small problem, but certainly a workable one. It may be important to remember that for a time, both nations existed simultaneously. Byzantium could opt for a "mini" Byzantium, focusing more and Greco-Roman holdings and ceding most of Anatolia, save Constantinople and bits ad pieces of the western coast, to the Ottomans, who in turn would have decided to focus more on Arab holdings. Byzantium could also be a colonial power, which would give similar land opportunities. Crimean colonies in particular come to mind.