2.64 – A Profusion of Policies
The Kingdom of Spaña had known many rulers. Most were adequate and well meaning. Some were skilled generals or administrators. A few might well have saved the state. Others struggled with disasters at least partly of their own making. The state survived, buoyed by the high quality of its bureaucracy, the loyalty of its military and careful taming of its aristocracy. When Alejandro and his friends rode into the capital for his coronation, many wondered which kind of king he would be.
Alejandro V evidenced very little of the lust for novelty and beauty that had marked his time as Crown Prince. Most sources believed this was due to the death of the woman who he claimed exemplified both. The new king gave his attention to wine, which he drank whenever possible, and his young son Pedro who reminded him of what he'd lost. It was only when with his son that the king displayed any real feeling. As for the government, he was even more determined to avoid it as king than he had been as prince. Instead, his favorites and allies gained more influence over the government with varying results. While the government never functioned well in the hands of an uninterested monarch (a weakness of the system), this failing could be made up by competent high officials.
After its reorganization under Enrique II, the General Court consisted of seven members besides the king. These were the Vizrey, the State or Royal Secretary, the Grand Duke, the Archbishop of Toledo (as the Primate of Spaña) and the Magistrates of Land, Laws, and Finance. The final act of Enrique II before his departure for Sevilla had been to name Joseph Tibbovin to the position of Vizrey. A clever and creative man, Tibbovin managed to secure for his office the power of appointments making him responsible for staffing many of the key government posts. His first act as Vizrey was to engineer the appointment of his protege Guerson Aboçach from the Nafarra Commission[1] as Royal Secretary assuring him some influence over government correspondence. He was also in open alliance with Grand Duke Eblas, making his position all but unassailable though not unopposed.
One of the new king's few official actions had been to name his mother Edilaza to stand for him in the government. Edilaza despite two decades as queen had never been particularly interested or adept at governing. Outside of domestic matters her primary attentions were religious. Archbishop Isidro favored her greatly after she ceased her attempts to impose more northerly doctrines on the church and practiced the Toledan Rite. He became her primary adviser, bringing the church more influence and prominence in the government than it usually held.
There had always been a little tension between Isidro and Tibbovin because of religion, but with Isidro closer to power this tension flared. That Isidro had supported the confiscation of the monastic lands where Tibbovin and Eblas had been reluctant also played a major part in the archbishop's growing hostility. When Eblas departed to assess the situation in the east, Tibbovin was left without his most powerful ally. At the same time, his own promotion created a hole in the Financial Agency, one filled by a close friend of the king, Serio Escribano de Mértila.
Serio was not nobility, though he was distantly related by marriage to the Count of Beja. His family was heavily involved in the wool industry at a time when it became more important to commerce. The key driver of this was the breeding of a new type of sheep, known as the Merino[2] which resulted from a blending of local breeds with those from Albany. Merino wool proved markedly stronger and softer than earlier types, and they were emerging in sufficient numbers for profit. But the numbers on the peninsula were nothing compared with the great herds in Africa.[3]
With the heavy destruction visited on Toscana and facilities in Francia nascent, far away and tied to that monarchy, the peninsular production of cloth took on new importance. The Escribano family and its partners had invested heavily into the development of the cloth making industry. There were already important centers of production west of Salamanca and in south-west Centrajo[4] but this would not be enough for anticipated demand. While he was friends was the king, Serio had been instructed by his family to use his position to create more industry closer to home where they could take advantage of the lack of internal tariffs to produce their cloth for export.
By the time Serio became the Magistrate of Finance, he had already spoken to many of the cloth-makers abducted from Italy in the wars earlier in the century who had found themselves languishing. Several of them had already scouted sites in Godosa and far north Vascoña, where the combinations of strong river systems and the existence of wine and metallurgy industries had already laid the foundation and technical expertise for expansion. The local inhabitants of Godosa were manifestly in favor of this plan. Their economy had declined since the turn of the century owing to the growing importance of Valencia and damage to traditional trade partner, Toscana. Only the recent devastation of the region during the Roman Catholic Revolt of the 1130s prevented further unrest and there were small urban riots in Barcelona recorded in the last few years.
Now all Serio needed was a little support from the state's coffers, which he managed.
* * *
Prince Rolando had been unable to attend the funeral of his father, his brother's Royal Assembly, or any other gatherings. The demands on his life were direct and familiar: War and personal tragedy. Like his older brother, Rolando's own wife had died during the birth of their second child, Maria in 1169. Instead of withdrawing from the world like the king, Rolando threw himself into his duties.
The same year Enrique II died, Muslim armies under the Emir of Damascus attacked imperial duchies of in the Levant.[5] Despite being organized for war, they were unable to muster a military force large enough to challenge the invaders directly. They mounted quick strikes, disrupting supplies or ambushing smaller divisions. While this prevented a single battle from being decisive, it was unable to halt Islamic advances. The greatest loss during this period was the Duchy of Emesa. This led to a large number of smaller towns and fortresses capitulating to the Damascene emir, who was able to draw limited support from the Muslims in the countryside. The southern ports, particularly Tripoli, only survived because of the imperial navy. This put increasing strain on that navy, and was a primary reason for intense diplomatic exchanges that took place between Prince Rolando and Constantinople.
With the Spaniards now at the gateway to the Aegean, it was thought best to secure their help and goodwill to support efforts elsewhere. This culminated in the establishment in 1169 of what the Spaniards called “Greek Harbor” a section of the Candia port set aside for the exclusive use of imperial shipping and within which, the Spaniards did not collect tariffs. There were strict rules on how many military personnel could dock at the port at one time, and a prohibition on fortifying the neighborhood.
To govern the port and maintain relations with the westerners, empire sent a middle ranking soldier by the name of Demetrios Doromiros. His name suggests a Slavic origin, but he was culturally indistinguishable from any other imperial subject and the Spaniards thought of him as “Greek.” He is recorded attending the marriage of Prince Rolando to Sofia Alusiano in 1170, which was described as a somewhat subdued affair. Probably because he already had an heir, romantic feeling played a stronger role in this marriage. The participants were purported to be rather besotted of each other[6] though Sofia was resented for her family's rapid social climbing by established houses in southern Italy.
To her credit, his wife never urged him to neglect the alliance with the Bavarian kingdom. While only a few years before friendly relations with both the Empire and the Bavarians would have been impossible, they now shared a common enemy in the Kimeks. When the Arabs invaded the empire from the south, a large amount of gold was spent to purchase a truce with the Khagan. While the land north of the Danube had been lost and northern Bulgaria overrun, the economic losses of this territory were not catastrophic. Flush with gold and secure in the south, the Kimeks continued west into the much more friendly environs of the Pannonian Basin where they encountered the Rossiyans.
The Rossiyan nobility might have migrated south from the steppes themselves, ruling effectively over a mixed population, but they proved themselves to be no match for armies of the vast Khaganate. Already weakened from struggles with the Bavarians to the east, the Rossiyans were defeated and the plains rapidly conquered. A few small forays by the Bavarians had been met with fierce resistance and in retaliation a number of border settlements and forts between the Danube and the Tiza were attacked and either razed or taken. For now at least, the Bavarians took to fortifying the river line as best they could, and preparing for a future confrontation. The Kimeks meanwhile, turned back east and were engaged in a more difficult campaign to subdue the Vlachs (one of the earliest western references to this people) in the Carpathian Mountains.
As relationships among the General Court in Toledo deteriorated, the governors of the eastern regions (Serdena, Corsega, the Italian provinces) looked more to Rolando for guidance. This was a testament to the strength and stability of the realm, but the Prince knew that if he could not provide solutions to their difficulties, they might yet turn away from him. Their concerns were prompted by more than the lack of attention from the capital save for demands. The Italian cities depended heavily on the eastern trade and increasing Egyptian hostility was beginning to bite. Cutting off trade with the west would have hurt the Makanids perhaps even more than the Italians, but they could and did make the process as painful and expensive as possible.
The Prince sent his new brother-in-law Matteo, west to Nápoles as an emissary to meet with the representatives of the Italian territories in an informal council. Along with the ruling classes, there were also several middle-ranking military officers, including Ferran Almagre, who had recently completed his training and served as a second to one of the officers sent by Duke Juassan. The most surprising event at the council was the arrival of senior member of the government, Grand Duke Eblas.
While the departure of the Grand Duke had left the Vizrey in some difficulties, he delivered important news to the Italian council. He informed them that confiscation of monastic lands had ceased under Alejandro V and some—but not all—lands had been returned to their rightful owners. The rest had been divided up and granted to supporters of Alejandro V on the condition that they employ a minimum number of workers. Thanks to Prince Rolando, no confiscation occurred in Italy[7] and there was apparent relief that at the abandonment of the scheme.
Eventually after negotiations, Prince Rolando was given authority to take whatever measures necessary to counter coastal raids. Eblas also gave official sanction to the employment of local forces by the eastern empire as mercenaries for use in their European dominions. These units are known to imperial sources as simply the “Spañan Companies” though there were few peninsular Spaniards in them, almost entirely the higher officers, with the largest contingents hailing from the restless Alpine regions and calling themselves Francians, Bavarians, or Aarin.
With this confirmation of his power by the respected and venerable duke, Rolando acted to take advantage of his renewed authority. After the departure of the Spañan Companies for the Balkans where they would cause grief and grace in equal measure, he made plans of his own.
First he transferred his residency from Crete to the Italian peninsula, and on the suggestion of his wife selected the city of Salerno to be his princely seat. This placed the prince in easy geographical reach of most of the Italian lands and in the center of the most Hispanic parts of the Italian peninsula. Second, Rolando named his young son Radolfo to rule Crete in his stead, but gave actual control to Major Bartoloméo[8] underscoring the importance he placed on holding the island. Third, with the help of Edir he established a ruling council to coordinate and strengthen the interests of the region. Unlike the General Court in Toledo, Rolando's council which became known as the “Italian Court” or the “Minor Court” was one of executive actors as opposed to administrative.
In part this was due to the inconsistent attention paid to these regions by the government in Toledo, but geographic location was the main reason. Early Spaña was open to attack from both land and sea, but for over two centuries, the western coasts of the European and African territories had been peaceful. Friendly relations with north African powers kept piracy in the eastern ports down and while the fight against the Arab tribes had been long and costly, it was successful. For large parts of Spaña, there was less need for immediate defense from outside forces and internal security provided by the state helped support growing prosperity. Italy was under more foreign pressures.
Prince Rolando inaugurated a new phase in the peninsula's development by strongly supporting and strengthening the urban military. Historically Italian cities had often contributed military forces for their own protection or when obligated. While this aspect was more common in the north, the Spaniards preferred to leave these local militias as city police forces rather than involve them in larger conflicts. They did recruit from Italy, but tended to disperse these recruits throughout their armies to combat regionalism. Under Rolando's changes, the urban middle-class began to receive taxation and legal incentives for their help. Wealthier urban interests could afford good horses, quality armor and training. The less wealthy could still gain benefits by joining urban infantry companies though these were often partially financed by wealthier interests too.
The key difference is that Prince Rolando's reforms to Italy involved the individual territories in a larger defensive scheme. Instead of handling most of the training and equipment for local recruits paid by tax money, these expenses were outsourced and tax demands accordingly reduced. On campaign, these units would be combined and lead by local Spaniards, those born in Italy to Spañan parents. Rolando still kept a core of regular troops for his army compromised of Spaniards sent from home. Over time, Rolando hoped to more fully integrate the Italian commanders and troops with the Spaniards, blending the two peoples further but at this point he settled for cooperation.
While establishing this new force would take some time, Rolando's immediate plans did not require much in the way of ground troops. Instead he set out for Tripoli in Africa with a small but well trained fleet.
Thus he was gone when news reached Italy of the death of his brother.
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[1]The lowest (vali) level administrative division. The name comes from the Latin
commissa which is what Asturias originally called their initial tiny administrative divisions in OTL. They were also known as
mandationes, but not in this TL.
[2]Named after the Marinids who are Christian sheep-breeders in this TL and who have gotten more powerful since the fall of the Maurez in 1139.
[3]Because they are part of the same state, this has the effect of strengthening agriculture in the peninsula compared to OTL, since the best sheep farming is done in Africa.
[4]This is historical.
[5]Antioch is a province, but Aleppo, Emesa, Edessa, and Tripoli are Duchies.
[6]The speed of this remarriage suggests that Rolando had already had some sort of feeling for her prior to the death of his wife, but there is no suggestion of impropriety.
[7]Control this far east is somewhat tenuous, enough that Rolando can effectively stonewall orders from the king for a while.
[8]Major as in Major Commander, a replacement of the Marshal rank. Crete will probably end up a "military district" like Castile.
Important Military Ranks:
Duke – commands a legion consisting of an unspecified number of banners
Major (Commander) – commands a banner ~1200-1600
Commanders – commands battles ~400-500
Captain - company commander or aide to a senior officer
Nomenclature:
I have changed my title style so many times over the years. Hopefully this one will stick. The number at the start, denotes volume number and update number. Thus, this update is number 64 of Volume 2. While I have retroactively updated these in my notes, I'll still link to them by post number to avoid confusion.
