Byzantine Antioch.

Antioch fell to the Seljuks about a decade or so after Manzikert, by treachery. WI: It had never fallen. I see a strong Byzantine presence until the death of Manuel Comnenus. But how secure will it be,especially by the time of the 4th Crusade. Antioch was very rich from trade for a time. Do the Venetians try to take it over, or does it remain Byzantine through the crusades?
 
I can see Antioch being the target of a power-hungry Crusader general should relations between the Romans and the Crusaders sour like in OTL. If not, the Turks are going to seize it.
 
Agree with SM- by 1084, Antioch had largely become an independent duchy, paying only lip service to the Emperor. Without the campaigns of the Crusaders and Komnenoi to break the Turkish grip on the Anatolian coastline, it's going to be near impossible for the weakened Empire to reassert any kind of authority. Really, what happened IOTL is probably best for a Byzantine Antioch, given that it was effectively reincorporated into the Empire by John II. ITTL, I can see Antioch aligning very closely with Cilician Armenia, another breakaway region of the Byzantine East not conquered in the 1070s.
 
Top