Greetings History Lovers!

I chose the screen name Thorfinn Karlsefni because I'm descended of Greenlanders who returned to Norway. Thorfinn Karlsefni was a brother-in-law of Leif Ericksson. He purchased Leif's ship and attempted to find an uninhabited portion of the coast of North America on which to found a Norse Colony like Erik the Red's in Greenland. He ultimately failed, but successfully evacuated his settlement, which had lasted the winter in a land so far south that the astonished Norse remarked on how long the winter days were, and how little snow and frost occurred!

I love alternate history as a vehicle by which to explore real history. Exampe: "What if Rome Never Fell?" To me, the most interesting part of this alternate history postulation is the first question it raises, "What would it have taken to prevent the fall of Rome?" The reason the answer is interesting is that it helps us understand why the empire did fall.

I also love geography, and love to explore the ways history may have been influenced by geography. Example: The way the major land trade routes and sea trade routes of the classical world form an X right at the site of the city of Byzantium/Constantinople. I believe the real reason Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire to Byzantium was not military, but economic. Byzantium was the New York of the Mediterranian world.