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Chapter 66: The City-States of Bética and Italia
As had been hinted in the previous update concerning Iberia, the kingdom of Hispania was lready experiencing centrifugal tensions. The estates of the realm were waiting for a succession crisis to tear the realm apart. That happened in 1015 (1), and the landowners in the north found themselves alienated from the bourgeoisie of the south.
View attachment 485467
Forms of government in the Western Mediterranean
Effectively, the realm was shattered, with two large feudal duchies or kingdoms emerging in the north: those of Toletu (2) and Lusitania (3). In the Iberian mountains, south of the Ebro basin, another lordship based around Barracin (4) emerged.
Territorially, the largest successor state in the south was the Republic of Cotestania, covering the south-eastern corner of the Peninsula, based in Cartagena.
Valencia in on the eastern coast sought to counter the influence of Carthage in the west Mediterranean trade. Any such move was however blocked by the Carthaginian possession of the Balearic isles.
As for Bética, this highly urbanized area in the south of the Peninsula had become fractured into a handful of merchant republics: those of Granada, Malaga, Corduba, Sevilla and Silves (5). The largest of those was Sevilla, occupying the Guadalquivir estuary. The southernmost tip of the Peninsula came to be occupied by Maourtanya.
View attachment 485468
A political map of Italy and Iberia
The merchant republics of southern Hispania found themselves in a very competitive environment; with conflicts emerging rather often than not. Frequent wars lead to a trend of hiring mercenaries. Especially the Northmen were hired rather often; and they have managed to take over the state of Silves in the southernmost extremity of Lusitania after they failed to fulfil their contracts.
The Northmen (6) have seized their opportunity and from their base in southern Lusitania they gradually conquered all of Lusitania, preventing a southward expansion of Asturia. The biggest rivals of Northman Lusitania are Sevilla, based in the Guadalquivir Delta. Their ambition was to unify western Bética, which they commence by kicking out the Maourtanians out of Bética.
The collection of city-states led not only to endemic warfare in the region, but also to a wave of innovation in the area. Antique heritage was preserved here better than anywhere else in the Mediterranean, and the mayors employed scientists and scholars to seek new ways to employ things. This marks perhaps the end of the dark ages. Due to constant warfare, thinkers start to turn back their attention at humanities, reading the works of Greek classics, and start writing their own works on politics.
Quite a few Antique books were copied in Bética
Hernan Garzia of Malaga writes: “In towns, where the air is free, and no King nor Emperor imposes his yoke upon the townsfolk, it is the one man who prospers. The artisan in the guilds or the merchant bringing goods from all around the known world. It is the collection of men themselves who rule the city, and from the nature of things, this is the path which is natural to man in his dignity as the Child of God. Once you have men educated, men who are wise, this is what is best for the city. It has been so ever since the war of Athenians against the Persians, since the expulsion of Kings from Rome. Yet the city must grow in virtue, for if not, it will descend to a clash of factions, which can be solved either by one destroying the other or an intervention from outside”.
The earlier landings in the Canary Islands by now take the form of an outright maritime race between Norman Lusitania, Sevilla and Maourtain.
During this process, a lost Lusitan ship arrives at Madeira and builds a first colony or naval base. The islands themselves were ultimately divided between the Maourtanians who came to control the eastern Canary Islands : Planasia (7), Pluvialia (8) and Canaria (9). The western isles were taken over by Béticans: Nivaria, Ombrion, Junonia and Capraria (10). The rule of Sevillans and Maourtanians over the archipelago had an indirect form at this stage, with most of the islands still run by local chiefs, who were however tributary to Bétican and Maourtanian bases and administration in the major ports.
From the linguistic point of view, the Ibero-Romance language is now diverging into dialects, which could be described as languages in their own right. In the northwest, we have Galician and Asturian, in the west there is Lusitan (11). The urban south is home to Bétican (12), plus a large Sephardic Jewish community speaking their own variant of Romance called Ladino. Carpetan (13) is the name of the variety spoken in the central parts of the Peninsula. In the east, we have two more varieties belonging to the Ibero-Romance branch, Cotestan (14) and Edetan (15).
The region of the Pyrenes does not belong to the area of the Ibero-Romance languages. The Taraconese language (16) is grouped with the Occitan language; and the southwestern slopes of the Pyrenes are populated by the Basques, a people not belonging to the Indo-European language family.
Moving on across the Western Mediterranean we arrive in the Appenine Peninsula. Italy is rather fragmented. In the south, in Apulia, and Calabria we view the westernmost extent of the Rhomaic Empire. A little further northwards are the two Lombard duchies of Salerno and Benevento, at times united, at times divided, with Salerno corresponding more or less to southern Campania and and Benevento based in the area formerly known as Samnium,. That is interior Campania plus northern Apulia plus Molise. (17)
The Arch of Tajan, one of the dominants of Beneventum
The coastal area known as Campania remains fractured. The weakening of Rhomaic power after the Seljuq invasion resulted in the independence of any coastal enclaves that were still extant. By 1100 AD, Campania is a vibrant coastal region home to the merchant republic of Amalfi in the central region (taking over the trade in the Tyrrhenian Sea), and then we have the Duchy of Capua on the way to Rome.
The Papal State extends from Siena in Tuscany down to the borders of the Duchy of Capua. The position of the Patriarch of Rome is rather unique in the Chlacedonian Church. In contrast to the remaining four patriarchs, the Roman one has for quite some time indeed outside of control of the Rhomaic Empire, and enjoyed a much higher authority in the lands the former Western Empire. In fact, it was the Pope who was viewed as the ultimate arbiter in disputes between two Christian realms in the west. In the East, it has been very much the opposite. In the East, it was the Emperor who would call councils and resolve religious disputes. The Roman Church was present in a very strong form as an institution independent from the many feudal realms in the west; a centralized institution with a model very much akin to that of the Church of the East.
Further inland, based in Umbria is the Duchy of Spoleto, another remnant of Lombard kingdom. The Popes were being decisive on the issue of preventing Spoleto become part of the Kingdom of Italy, the dominant power in the north of the Peninsula.
The Kingdom of Italy is one of the successor states of Francia, bound by the Alps, the Adige and the Po in the north, thus controlling Liguria, Lombardy, Tuscany and Emilia with Romagna. This kingdom is rather instable, for you still have the appetite of the German Emperors to reclaim the imperial authority over Rome, and northern Italy stands right in the middle. Then you have still a couple of dukes, especially those of Tuscany. The urban culture in Italy remains preserved, similarly to that of Bética, and therefore any bold feudal lords found heavy resistance against their plans among the the cityfolk. Many cities had won direct royal protection in their disputes with the local landlords.
The historic centre of Pisa,
Yet unmentioned remain the rich maritime republics of Pisa (controlling also Corsica and northeastern Sardinia) and Venice (controlling Istria). These two become the main contenders of Tafrica over the trade in Mediterranean Sea. Neither of them was ever fully under Francian rule. Pisa actually maintained its institutions since the Roman Empire. Venice on the otherhand became free from any rhomaic influences and began swiftly taking over the trade in the Adriatic
(1) Historically in 1009.
(2) Toledo
(3) Portugal south of the Duero plus Extramadura
(4) Albarracin OTL
(5) In the Algarve
(6) Yes we are doing a slight parallel to the Hauteville (Altavilla) conquest of the Italian Mezzogiorno here. If we put capable Norsemen in charge of Portugal, are we going to have an early Columbus?
(7) Roman name of Fuerteventura
(8) Roman name of Lanzarote
(9) Roman name of Gran Canaria
(10)Roman names for Tenerife, La Palma, El Hierro and La Gomera, respectively
(11)In the area of most of Portugal, Estramadura plus southern León.
(12) Perhaps Bétican could be described as Mozarabic without the Arabic influences?
(13)Carpetania is the name of the region in central Spain around Toledo. Thus Carpetan is a more southern-based variety of Castillan
(14)Contestania is an old geographical name for the region around Cartagena.
(15)Spoken in Valencia plus Aragón south of the Ebro River.
(16)Alt-Catalan
(17)Without the Hauteville, the Mezzogiorno continues to look like it did before. This means it continues to be fractured, with Benevento being the major center of power in the inland region; Campania remains fractured into Salerno, Amalfi and Capua. Thus we have vibrant merchant republics even in the Mezzogiorno. This may also mean that there is a change of mentality in the area, perhaps even butterflying away the Italian mafia. Who knows, perhaps.
View attachment 485467
Forms of government in the Western Mediterranean
Effectively, the realm was shattered, with two large feudal duchies or kingdoms emerging in the north: those of Toletu (2) and Lusitania (3). In the Iberian mountains, south of the Ebro basin, another lordship based around Barracin (4) emerged.
Territorially, the largest successor state in the south was the Republic of Cotestania, covering the south-eastern corner of the Peninsula, based in Cartagena.
Valencia in on the eastern coast sought to counter the influence of Carthage in the west Mediterranean trade. Any such move was however blocked by the Carthaginian possession of the Balearic isles.
As for Bética, this highly urbanized area in the south of the Peninsula had become fractured into a handful of merchant republics: those of Granada, Malaga, Corduba, Sevilla and Silves (5). The largest of those was Sevilla, occupying the Guadalquivir estuary. The southernmost tip of the Peninsula came to be occupied by Maourtanya.
View attachment 485468
A political map of Italy and Iberia
The merchant republics of southern Hispania found themselves in a very competitive environment; with conflicts emerging rather often than not. Frequent wars lead to a trend of hiring mercenaries. Especially the Northmen were hired rather often; and they have managed to take over the state of Silves in the southernmost extremity of Lusitania after they failed to fulfil their contracts.
The Northmen (6) have seized their opportunity and from their base in southern Lusitania they gradually conquered all of Lusitania, preventing a southward expansion of Asturia. The biggest rivals of Northman Lusitania are Sevilla, based in the Guadalquivir Delta. Their ambition was to unify western Bética, which they commence by kicking out the Maourtanians out of Bética.
The collection of city-states led not only to endemic warfare in the region, but also to a wave of innovation in the area. Antique heritage was preserved here better than anywhere else in the Mediterranean, and the mayors employed scientists and scholars to seek new ways to employ things. This marks perhaps the end of the dark ages. Due to constant warfare, thinkers start to turn back their attention at humanities, reading the works of Greek classics, and start writing their own works on politics.
Quite a few Antique books were copied in Bética
Hernan Garzia of Malaga writes: “In towns, where the air is free, and no King nor Emperor imposes his yoke upon the townsfolk, it is the one man who prospers. The artisan in the guilds or the merchant bringing goods from all around the known world. It is the collection of men themselves who rule the city, and from the nature of things, this is the path which is natural to man in his dignity as the Child of God. Once you have men educated, men who are wise, this is what is best for the city. It has been so ever since the war of Athenians against the Persians, since the expulsion of Kings from Rome. Yet the city must grow in virtue, for if not, it will descend to a clash of factions, which can be solved either by one destroying the other or an intervention from outside”.
The earlier landings in the Canary Islands by now take the form of an outright maritime race between Norman Lusitania, Sevilla and Maourtain.
During this process, a lost Lusitan ship arrives at Madeira and builds a first colony or naval base. The islands themselves were ultimately divided between the Maourtanians who came to control the eastern Canary Islands : Planasia (7), Pluvialia (8) and Canaria (9). The western isles were taken over by Béticans: Nivaria, Ombrion, Junonia and Capraria (10). The rule of Sevillans and Maourtanians over the archipelago had an indirect form at this stage, with most of the islands still run by local chiefs, who were however tributary to Bétican and Maourtanian bases and administration in the major ports.
From the linguistic point of view, the Ibero-Romance language is now diverging into dialects, which could be described as languages in their own right. In the northwest, we have Galician and Asturian, in the west there is Lusitan (11). The urban south is home to Bétican (12), plus a large Sephardic Jewish community speaking their own variant of Romance called Ladino. Carpetan (13) is the name of the variety spoken in the central parts of the Peninsula. In the east, we have two more varieties belonging to the Ibero-Romance branch, Cotestan (14) and Edetan (15).
The region of the Pyrenes does not belong to the area of the Ibero-Romance languages. The Taraconese language (16) is grouped with the Occitan language; and the southwestern slopes of the Pyrenes are populated by the Basques, a people not belonging to the Indo-European language family.
Moving on across the Western Mediterranean we arrive in the Appenine Peninsula. Italy is rather fragmented. In the south, in Apulia, and Calabria we view the westernmost extent of the Rhomaic Empire. A little further northwards are the two Lombard duchies of Salerno and Benevento, at times united, at times divided, with Salerno corresponding more or less to southern Campania and and Benevento based in the area formerly known as Samnium,. That is interior Campania plus northern Apulia plus Molise. (17)
The Arch of Tajan, one of the dominants of Beneventum
The coastal area known as Campania remains fractured. The weakening of Rhomaic power after the Seljuq invasion resulted in the independence of any coastal enclaves that were still extant. By 1100 AD, Campania is a vibrant coastal region home to the merchant republic of Amalfi in the central region (taking over the trade in the Tyrrhenian Sea), and then we have the Duchy of Capua on the way to Rome.
The Papal State extends from Siena in Tuscany down to the borders of the Duchy of Capua. The position of the Patriarch of Rome is rather unique in the Chlacedonian Church. In contrast to the remaining four patriarchs, the Roman one has for quite some time indeed outside of control of the Rhomaic Empire, and enjoyed a much higher authority in the lands the former Western Empire. In fact, it was the Pope who was viewed as the ultimate arbiter in disputes between two Christian realms in the west. In the East, it has been very much the opposite. In the East, it was the Emperor who would call councils and resolve religious disputes. The Roman Church was present in a very strong form as an institution independent from the many feudal realms in the west; a centralized institution with a model very much akin to that of the Church of the East.
Further inland, based in Umbria is the Duchy of Spoleto, another remnant of Lombard kingdom. The Popes were being decisive on the issue of preventing Spoleto become part of the Kingdom of Italy, the dominant power in the north of the Peninsula.
The Kingdom of Italy is one of the successor states of Francia, bound by the Alps, the Adige and the Po in the north, thus controlling Liguria, Lombardy, Tuscany and Emilia with Romagna. This kingdom is rather instable, for you still have the appetite of the German Emperors to reclaim the imperial authority over Rome, and northern Italy stands right in the middle. Then you have still a couple of dukes, especially those of Tuscany. The urban culture in Italy remains preserved, similarly to that of Bética, and therefore any bold feudal lords found heavy resistance against their plans among the the cityfolk. Many cities had won direct royal protection in their disputes with the local landlords.
The historic centre of Pisa,
Yet unmentioned remain the rich maritime republics of Pisa (controlling also Corsica and northeastern Sardinia) and Venice (controlling Istria). These two become the main contenders of Tafrica over the trade in Mediterranean Sea. Neither of them was ever fully under Francian rule. Pisa actually maintained its institutions since the Roman Empire. Venice on the otherhand became free from any rhomaic influences and began swiftly taking over the trade in the Adriatic
(1) Historically in 1009.
(2) Toledo
(3) Portugal south of the Duero plus Extramadura
(4) Albarracin OTL
(5) In the Algarve
(6) Yes we are doing a slight parallel to the Hauteville (Altavilla) conquest of the Italian Mezzogiorno here. If we put capable Norsemen in charge of Portugal, are we going to have an early Columbus?
(7) Roman name of Fuerteventura
(8) Roman name of Lanzarote
(9) Roman name of Gran Canaria
(10)Roman names for Tenerife, La Palma, El Hierro and La Gomera, respectively
(11)In the area of most of Portugal, Estramadura plus southern León.
(12) Perhaps Bétican could be described as Mozarabic without the Arabic influences?
(13)Carpetania is the name of the region in central Spain around Toledo. Thus Carpetan is a more southern-based variety of Castillan
(14)Contestania is an old geographical name for the region around Cartagena.
(15)Spoken in Valencia plus Aragón south of the Ebro River.
(16)Alt-Catalan
(17)Without the Hauteville, the Mezzogiorno continues to look like it did before. This means it continues to be fractured, with Benevento being the major center of power in the inland region; Campania remains fractured into Salerno, Amalfi and Capua. Thus we have vibrant merchant republics even in the Mezzogiorno. This may also mean that there is a change of mentality in the area, perhaps even butterflying away the Italian mafia. Who knows, perhaps.
- Tomislav Addai
- Word Count: 1.6k