Balkan reconquista (1467-1473)

[Thehistorian69]

Just 20 years after the conquest of Constantinople, the Greeks had enough of it so they start a revolt against Sultan Mehmed II
Bosnians, Serbs, Wallachian, Albanians and Bulgarians fight along Greece’s side.
Greece and others win, resulting the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Replaced with the Greek Empire
What do you think will happen on this newly formed empire?

 

[Tosa Inu]

Sebians? Maybe they can do that, especially if the Albanians joins them together with the Transylvanian polities

Greeks? They're completely spent and surviving areas either under Venetian Suzerainty or direct Ottoman rule... Except Trebizond but that's not in the Balkans.

 

[kholieken]

They would be reconquered ?? even if Ottoman collapse, Turks still hold Anatolia, that would give them 50.000+ soldiers to re-occupy Balkans. And Turks already held Edirne/Adrianople for 100 years, there would be enough Muslims to secure safe landing for Turkish invasion.

 

[Tosa Inu]

They would be reconquered ?? even if Ottoman collapse, Turks still hold Anatolia, that would give them 50.000+ soldiers to re-occupy Balkans. And Turks already held Edirne/Adrianople for 100 years, there would be enough Muslims to secure safe landing for Turkish invasion.

Pretty much that, but to the Turks outside Ottomans, they are much more concerned with the many tribal wars that occured as the Timurid/Gurkaniyan Empire decline and gradually falls apart in the much more immediate area of Mesopotamia and Anatolia.

If anything, a coordinated STAB Rebellion (Serbia/Transylvania/Albania/Bulgaria) Rebellion might've ended up with complete Ottoman collapse in the Balkans, with the Rhomaioo/Greeks, instead of becoming the rebels, might have their areas divided between the victors as spoils instead... Unless the Trebizond joins in the fun and claimed to be protector of Romans, but then, they'll need to cede much of the Hellas to their Balkan Allies.

Most likely results would be Independent Serbia, Transylvania, Albania, and Bulgaria, that will almost immediately started to fight between themselves as usual.

 

[bolhabela]

Independent Transilvania? What? From whom? In the described time period Hunyadi Mátyás ruled over Bohemia and Hungary. Transilvania was a part of Hungary and not the Ottomans.

 

[Tosa Inu]

Independent Transilvania? What? From whom? In the described time period Hunyadi Mátyás ruled over Bohemia and Hungary. Transilvania was a part of Hungary and not the Ottomans.

I am guilty as charged for making that alliance in my post as an ASOIAF Reference 😆 Not really knew about Transylvania at that time but can't pass the chance to put them as STAB.

 

[Evil Crusader]

Just 20 years after the conquest of Constantinople, the Greeks had enough of it so they start a revolt against Sultan Mehmed II
Bosnians, Serbs, Wallachian, Albanians and Bulgarians fight along Greece’s side.
Greece and others win, resulting the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Replaced with the Greek Empire
What do you think will happen on this newly formed empire?

The coalition melts down zero point two seconds after the first major victory against the Ottomans, infighting resumes, Ottomans eventually recapture everything.
Constantinople isn't recovered, regardless.

 

[TiberiusCaesar]

Just 20 years after the conquest of Constantinople, the Greeks had enough of it so they start a revolt against Sultan Mehmed II
Bosnians, Serbs, Wallachian, Albanians and Bulgarians fight along Greece’s side.
Greece and others win, resulting the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Replaced with the Greek Empire
What do you think will happen on this newly formed empire?

This is straight impossible. The Ottomans have just beaten the Aq Qoyunlu and left the Empire with no serious threats on land. A rebellion breaking out when a Veteran Ottoman Army comes back?

The Reconquista was much different then what you suggest. It lasted 774 years. It barely moved after the 9th century until the fall of the Umayyads into several Taifas. Even after the Umayyad Collapse it took 54 years for Castile to Conquer Toledo. That's a whole Kingdom of Castile rather than Rebels that you suggest. When the Almoravids and the Almohads absorbed the Taifas the Christians gained little from them until post-Las Navas de Tolosa (1212). Except for the first century it wasn't much of an internal rebellion. Reconquista happed from outside of Islamic Iberia.
The Ottoman Empire is a united, a more centralized entity, with maybe their best Sultan in time that could easily field 100.000 troops. There are no Greek states left by 1473 to start a "Greek Reconquista".

To assume the Greeks will rebel in large enough size is wishful thinking. The situation does not allow for a large enough Greek rebellion. Mehmed II was not a brutal ruler that would drive the Greeks to desperate situation. Even then, a peasant rebellion is not going to beat a professional Ottoman Army in a way to drive them out of Europe. The Turkoman Nomads were more capable, ferocious and populous yet they failed to drive the Ottomans out of Anatolia.

Now looking to the allies of these Greek Rebels
- Bosnia: had little to no interest in rebelling after conquest.

- Serbia: could work though they would be crushed easily. All it does is Matthias Corvinus to occupy a little more of Ottoman Serbia until Mehmed II returns and drives him back to Belgrade

- Wallachia: was an unofficial ally of the Albanians, though didn't acchieve anything other than raiding Ottoman Towns. Won't achieve much to help the Greeks either.

- Albanians: Subjugated by 1473. Depends on the time the rebellion starts. Skanderbeg is old or dead at this piont. When the Rebellion is done, there won't be stomach for a new one.

- Bulgarians: Are in the Ottoman core, where the Janissary Corps is mostly as well as many of the Rumelian Ghazis. A peasant rebellion will not beat a professional home in their center of operation.

And now looking at the Greek rebellion. Who is their leadership? The old Byzantine nobility? Most of them were close to Mehmed II. The Sultan executed the Trebizond Emperor and family for less. If Mehmed II gets a smell of a rebellion brewing, and a clever man like him will get it, he will purge more of those nobles. So who's next? The Patriarchate? Mehmed II restored them, Mehmed II will close it down, starting a process of convertinf the locals, which is good news for the Catholic Church, as dedicated Christians will join that Church. But I doubt the Orthodox Clergy is in a position to hate the Sultan and risk his wrath by instigating a rebellion. The Patriarchate did not feel love for the Ottomans, but they hated the Catholic Threat more. They will excommunicate the rebels as a sign of loyaty to the Sultan.

Tl'dr: Impossible to achieve in reality

 

[Silver01]

They would be reconquered ?? even if Ottoman collapse, Turks still hold Anatolia, that would give them 50.000+ soldiers to re-occupy Balkans. And Turks already held Edirne/Adrianople for 100 years, there would be enough Muslims to secure safe landing for Turkish invasion.

The ottoman empire is centered around Europe not Anatolia in this time how ever I don't think it's plausible to kick them off maybe stop ottoman expansion earlier with some big defeats but not kick them out of Europe

 

[Nyegosh]

The demographics are iffy, and the key to the problem. The Serbian Empire collapsed due to low population density and shoddy infrastructure allowing centrifugal forces to act up. Afterwards, the entire aristocracy was wiped out, and the rest fled north (this is how the Hussars came to be eventually). Bulgaria was ravaged, Greece even more so. Albanians also had a very low population and were fragmented. Wallachia was undeveloped as well. Even if they all ganged up on the Turks, it would be a tough going, no real army, very bad equipment. The Balkans might be known for infighting now, but back then it wasn't really the case as we know it today - the main enemy was logistics and supply trains (the battle of Maritsa/Sirp Sindigi was such a disaster because the entire army had to march all the way from the Macedonia/Albania border to eastern Thrace in a day, for example)

This basically happened OTL - banditry across the Balkans was ludicrous, and helped by the locals, it was basically a regional low-level rebellion that lasted for centuries.

Instead what you need is that the Ottomans be shattered against a more powerful obstacle, and you need to really get them good. The Sultan died in the Battle of Kosovo, and they quickly recovered from this. But if something like this could trigger a succession crisis severe enough to cause the reappearance of the petty beyliks, then it's a whole different ball game. But the end result would probably be Western powers having their own pet hegemons with their own pet hegemons and so on and so forth until you have a mini-HRE tier mess.

 

[Comte de Geneve]

I hate to use this term, but given the power realities and the conditions of the subjugated Balkan populations, this would be ASB.

 

[Fehérvári]

My proposal: Ladislaus V is healthy and doesn't die in 1457. He spends the first few years of his reign crushing the Hunyadi League and restoring royal authority. He could further strengthen his position by marrying a surviving Garai Anna. With the lands of the country's three most powerful families at his disposal (Hunyadi, Garai, Cillei), noone could pose a threat to his rule.

Around 1463, Ladislaus participates in the crusade initiated by Pius II and leads his united Austrian-Bohemian-Hungarian armies against the Ottoman Empire. Other notable participants of the crusade are the Papal States, Venice, the League of Lezhë(Skanderbeg), the Despotate of Epirus, Stephen II of Bosnia and (the exiled) Vlad III of Wallachia. Frederick III Holy Roman Emperor also provides some support.

During the crusade, the Habsburg army quickly takes (the just recently fallen) Smederevo and heads South along the Great Morava, while Skanderbeg (reinforced by Papal and Venetian forces) marches through Kosovo. The two armies merge near Skopje, just in time before the arrival of the Ottoman main army. The Battle of Skopje results in Christian victory and the Christians occupy the city. This marks the end of the campaign of 1463.

In the next two years, the Christian forces act separately, since they only have to deal with local armies. In 1464, Vlad III gets restored in Wallachia, Habsburg and Bosnian forces clear out the remaining Ottoman presence in Bosnia and Moravian Serbia (most notably with the conquest of Golubac), Skanderbeg secures Ohrid and South Albania and the Venetians take Valona(Vlorë). Around the end of the year, Ferdinand of Naples also pledges support to the Crusaders.

In 1465, the Crusaders continue their advance. The Wallachians take Giurgiu, the Habsburgs take Vidin, all of South Epirus gets restored to Epirote rule, but most notably Morea gets restored to Palaiologos rule. The decisive battle of the war is fought in 1466, when Ladislaus V and his allies' forces clash with a new Ottoman grand army led by Mehmet II. The battle takes place near Silistra and once again results in Christian victory. Christian conquests continue in the next year, but there's an ever-increasing war-weariness among the participants of the crusade. The last major achievement of the war are the fall of Sofia to the Habsburgs and the Venetian capture of Thessaloniki.

The Peace of Adrianople(1467) officially ends the war between the Ottomans and the Crusaders.

The new borders would look something like this.

Imo this is the max extent a single war could possibly take from the Ottomans in the 1460s. Furthermore, much of these losses could be rather easily be reversed.

So, realistically speaking, something very bad would need to happen to the Ottomans in Anatolia for the Balkan Reconquista to become fully achievable within this century or the next. Alternatively, these Balkan statelets and their neighbours would need to replicate this same level of cooperativeness, vigor and success atleast two more times.

A single large-scale Pan-European crusade could also do the trick, but chances for such thing to occur are even more slim.