Possible Italian Unification with a 1000 AD POD?

Essentially what it states in the tin: what states could have unified Italy with a POD no earlier than 1000 AD.
 
Assuming we're talking about a PoD around 1000.

The most obvious issue is that not only Italy was importantly divided (while it was the case of all post-Carolingian feudal Europe, Italy knew a particularly important feudal desintegration) but that it was divided under different empires : Byzantine in the south, Imperial in the north (Ottonians had direct holdings) with only Venice and southern Lombard duchies and principalities outside direct control.

(As for Sicily and Sardinia, they were respectively under Fatimid suzerainty and partial Fatimid influence).

The March of Tuscany was maybe the most "identifiable" and relativly unified feudal state in the region, but couldn't have realistically hold out against everyone (especially papacy).

The "best" attempt you could see would be the tentative of Arduin of Ivrea, but he had really little chances to stand against the full ressoruces of the Empire, with less than enthusiasts supporters.

It would require Henry II dying suddenly and conveniently, making Germany entering in some troubles...And even there, I couldn't see Arduin keeping the throne or at least not without several limitations before an increasingly divided Italy with an important numbers of German supporters among the high nobility. Even there, I'd think Italy would likely participe to the generalized troubles.
 
Easy. Have the Guelph stronghold of Brescia yield to Frederick Hohenstaufen in 1238. With the Lombard League crushed, the Holy Roman Emperor carves out a united Italian polity as a personal fiefdom. Frederick had relatively little investment in Germany besides convenience, and I can see him stationing himself permanently in Padania after a few years.
 
Easy. Have the Guelph stronghold of Brescia yield to Frederick Hohenstaufen in 1238. With the Lombard League crushed, the Holy Roman Emperor carves out a united Italian polity as a personal fiefdom. Frederick had relatively little investment in Germany besides convenience, and I can see him stationing himself permanently in Padania after a few years.

I could read a timeline based on that
 
Easy. Have the Guelph stronghold of Brescia yield to Frederick Hohenstaufen in 1238. With the Lombard League crushed, the Holy Roman Emperor carves out a united Italian polity as a personal fiefdom. Frederick had relatively little investment in Germany besides convenience, and I can see him stationing himself permanently in Padania after a few years.

What about the Papacy? They were already independent after the Battle of Legnano in 1176.

Crushing the Lombard League will subjugate some of the Kingdom of Italy under HRE authority but the Ghibelline cities such as Genoa will remain independent polities under HRE suzereignty.

The Kingdom of Sicily, whilst a realm under the Hohenstaufen family, was outside the HRE and was a separate kingdom in its own right. How is it brought into HRE authority?
 
What about the Papacy? They were already independent after the Battle of Legnano in 1176.
What can the Pope do? Frederick is the most powerful political actor in Europe, and Gregory's IX's excommunication of him means exactly zilch if the Papacy doesn't have an influential champion to follow through on it. Facing annihilation, Rome will be forced to swallow its pride and accept Imperial domination of Italy.
Crushing the Lombard League will subjugate some of the Kingdom of Italy under HRE authority but the Ghibelline cities such as Genoa will remain independent polities under HRE suzereignty.
Good point. I can see Frederick exploiting Ghibelline fears of a Roman resurgence to ensure their gradual integration into his realm (after all, that was the crux of the Ghibellines' HRE loyalism). To pull this one off, he might leave an independent (though emasculated) Papacy in place, weak enough as not to pose a credible threat to Hohenstaufen hegemony but allocated enough autonomy to keep up the illusion.
The Kingdom of Sicily, whilst a realm under the Hohenstaufen family, was outside the HRE and was a separate kingdom in its own right. How is it brought into HRE authority?
Frederick was King of Sicily in his own right, he was simply bound by compact with the Papacy to separate his titles. With Gregory out of the way, there's nothing to stop the Emperor reneging on his past pledges.
 
Top