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(apologies if this is stream-of-thought, I wrote it at 1 AM)



So yet again, I am attempting to write a surviving Norman Sicily timeline. My preferred PoD is Roger II's sons all surviving, and instead of the lethargic and weak William I ending up king, the trained, energetic Roger III becomes king. But I could go with multiple PoDs in the 1100s, specifically after/right before Roger II's death (I don't really want to deal with William II). Any suggestions on PoD would be greatly appreciated.

Having said that, I also have a few questions. I may have asked some of them before, but I might need a fresh view on things.

1) First, what did the armies of various Mediterranean powers look like? I'm talking France, the Italian city-states, the Pope, the Holy Roman Empire, the Byzantines, the Kingdom of Jerusalem and its neighbors, and of course Sicily itself. What kinds of equipment did they generally have, if they had any formal divisions in their armies besides “infantry”, “archers” and “cavalry”, and if any of them had formal ranks for their commanders at this point. I know the Byzantines frequently documented their own armies, and often used that documentation in military manuals to reform the army. I'd like to have some Sicily-related military manuals in ATL.

2) Beyond having a competent/surviving monarch, what kind of reforms/changes does Sicily need to survive? Do I need multiple PoDs? Curbing the nobles seems like an obvious start, but how can the Sicilian monarchs do that?

3) I also want to keep a surviving Byzantine Empire, strong enough to keep itself alive, but weak enough that it doesn't bother Sicily too much. At the same time, I feel like the Norman obsession with conquering Constantinople or raiding Greek lands distracted them and made Sicily less focused than it could be. I feel like having strong, but Eastern-focused Byzantines, and a Sicilian king more concerned with conquering Sardinia, Corsica, and perhaps even the Balearic Isles would help in that regard. Thoughts?

4) What would be the general reaction of Sicily’s neighbors if they had an energetic Sicilian king to contend with, rather than the lackluster William I? I imagine that the initial years of a Roger III’s reign would be similar to William’s, with Byzantines, the Pope, Frederick Barbarossa, and rebel barons all trying to overthrow the D’Hautvilles, but once that is dealt with, what happens next?

5) Overall, what was going on with the various kingdoms, duchies, etc during the mid to late 1100s? What was happening in France, Hungary, the Italian republics, Germany, England, Spain, etc? By mentioning the OTL nations, I don’t mean to characterize them as united nations, as I know most were not. I just need a general picture overall of what was happening there. Wikipedia is good at mentioning rulers, but not what was going on.

6) What would be some advantageous marriages the Sicilian monarchy could have with their neighbors? If I go with the “Roger II’s sons all survive” PoD, then there are four royal princes who could have marriages with neighbors (Roger III was already married by the time of his death).

7) As I mentioned before, I’m not 100% on board with my PoD, but I still want to keep a similar PoD. Something before William II’s reign (or at least not in the 1160s or after). I’d like some suggestions on PoD. One alternative PoD I was thinking of is William I’s son Roger (also known as Roger IV, Duke of Apulia) surviving the attempted coup against William, while the king himself perishing. That kind of PoD could lead to a very vengeful Roger who makes it his life goal to crush the nobles (who led the rebellion) and reform the kingdom.

8) Not sure if I missed anything else, I tried to ask a bunch of comprehensive questions.

9) If anyone would be willing to be a beta reader for my updates (as in, read and critique them before I actually post them on the forum), that would be much appreciated.
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