Then, is it right to assume Michael is heir to Ioannis and Theodore if neither has any child ?
The eagle's left head
- Thread starter Lascaris
- Start date
Alexios had a brother and a sister. Post that Theodore II had four daughters, who would also be cousins to the brothers. Now of said daughters Maria had a daughter... the mother of John II Orsini, the one who just murdered his brother. Eudoxia the youngest had 7 children with an Italian noble... and fled to Aragon in 1278 where she had 4 more children.
Part 40
Mystras, April 1318
Andronikos Asen was an unhappy man. Even since the Vatatzes brothers had kicked the Franks out of the Morea, relations between their holdings and the territory directly administered by the empire were peaceful and friendly, while Theodore and to a lesser degree his brother were popular across the border their treatment of Greek peasantry on one hand and Frankish lords on the other was not lost and even the subject of folk songs, here Andronikos suspected some of the bards had received their share of hyperpyra to propagate the right picture for House Vatatzes. And now the basileus wanted it all thrown away. Because his daughter had eloped with Theodore to escape her rapist and the basileus was too craven to stand up to the barbarian and had instead ordered Andronikos to go after Theodore. To show to Milutin he was doing something? Because he still feared the Lascarids? Who knew? But orders were orders. Even if they were stupid and meant Andronikos would be marching against his own son in law, Ioannis had escaped with Theodore south after all.
Patras, May 1318
Adrienne looked critically at the young monk that the archbishop of Syracuse, had sent at the behest of Ioannis, to deal with her divorce with Milutin. Barlaam was... brilliant was the right word. He also had difficulty with holding back his tongue in the face of others. Within a couple of days he had become fast friends with her Theodore and was engaging in endless philosophical debates with Kantakouzenos, who apparently was no mean scholar himself. As for her marriage...
"What marriage your highness? Getting a divorce here is child's play if I may say so myself. First this was Milutin's fifth marriage. As you know our church and imperial law since the time of Leo the Wise and his exceptional fourth marriage with Zoe allows only three marriages. So Milutin was arguably bigamous. Second this is a forced marriage, law as his holiness the patriarch had noted at the time does not allow the marriage of a five year old even with the parents consent. Third he violated you. I could go on, fourth brutality of the husband, fifth inability to have children, sixth leaving houuse without the husband's agreement, we'll obviously not use this. It's not often we have so many reasons for divorce including at least two, self evidently true..."
She liked this monk. And he was Calabrian and visibly Orthodox. Which was if nothing else a relief. Adrienne for all her maltreatment was very pious...
Athens, June 1318
Alfonso was in a dilemma. The Greeks had apparently fallen into conflict among themselves down in the Morea making it an opportunate time to attempt a new invasion. But Corinth wouldn't be any less of a bitch to besiege than two years ago. If anything it would be worse with enemy fleets threatening his coasts this time. And news had reached Athens that John II Doukas had died without heirs. Thessaly made much easier pickings than breaking his teeth on the Despotate's defences. After all it was not as if he was letting down his father back in Sicily, where the truce with the Angevins did not include Ioannis. Theodore was being tied down after all.
Ioannina, July 1318
An Imperial army had seized the city and was marching on Arta. John II Orsini had no intention of testing the shaky fealty of his newly acquired subjects by fighting it out with the imperials if he could avoid it. He recognized Imperial suzerainty and accepted the loss of Ioannina as the necessary price to stop Andronikos from marching all the way to Arta. For now at least. Someone who had no compunction about killing his own brother might be of questionable loyalty to the emperor if he could get away with it.But at least the empire had restored a semblance of control over Epirus. If one added Thessaly where the local lord Stephan Gabriilopoulos, after the death of John II had given his fealty to the empire in exchange for support against the invading Catalans it was turning to a good year so far for Imperial fortunes.
Skopje, August 1318
Stephan Uros II, best known as Milutin, king of Serbia was frustrated. A bunch ch of Albanian lords, possibly with papist support, possibly spurred to action by his humiliation had openly rebelled against him. He had crushed the revolt but it had taken him time. And now new were coming of threatening Hungarian moves in the north, king Charles apparently wanted Belgrade which Milutin had seized two years ago. His revenge on the Greeks and taking advantage of his idiot father in law to grab what land he could in Macedonia on that pretext would have to wait for the Hungarian threat to pass first...
Palermo, September 1318
it was death by a thousand cuts. Frederick had rebuilt his army and navy after a fashion, despite the loss of manpower and the need to resort to mercenaries of questionable quality. But this was not war of big battles or even big sieges. It was one of raid and counter raid. A small siege here, a small siege there. His ancestors fighting for centuries the Arabs would had readily recognized it. He on the other hand was less well suited by temperament to it and his Sicilians less accustomed to it than their Greek neighbors, reinforced for the past generation by a constant flow of people escaping this very short of warfare. Ioannis had made very little gains last year. A village here, a small fort there. But he had gained land. This year he had gained more land. Next year unless a solution was found he was bound to gain yet more land. Every village gained was taxes lost by Palermo and gained by Syracuse. And every raid more ruins and more people fleeing their fields or dying...
Saint George, Arcadia, September 1318
Andronikos Asen had dutifully marched north, putting the fortress of Skorta under siege. The garrison had refused to surrender and even though neither side really had its heart to the war the siege had gone on, Andronikos was after all a capable commander. With news that Theodore had finally moved his army out of Patras to relieve the siege he had redoubled his efforts to seize the fortress to no avail. And then news of disaster had struck. Ioannis had apparently sent a squadron under no less a person than Alexios Philanthropinos to reinforce his brother and Philanthropinos had taken the joined fleet before Monemvasia whose lords had thrown their lot with him. With Monemvasia secure, Philanthropinos was now marching on Mystra threatening the rear of Andronikos army. Andronikos pulled of and retreated. Theodore caught up with him in the field of Saint George...
Andronikos Asen was an unhappy man. Even since the Vatatzes brothers had kicked the Franks out of the Morea, relations between their holdings and the territory directly administered by the empire were peaceful and friendly, while Theodore and to a lesser degree his brother were popular across the border their treatment of Greek peasantry on one hand and Frankish lords on the other was not lost and even the subject of folk songs, here Andronikos suspected some of the bards had received their share of hyperpyra to propagate the right picture for House Vatatzes. And now the basileus wanted it all thrown away. Because his daughter had eloped with Theodore to escape her rapist and the basileus was too craven to stand up to the barbarian and had instead ordered Andronikos to go after Theodore. To show to Milutin he was doing something? Because he still feared the Lascarids? Who knew? But orders were orders. Even if they were stupid and meant Andronikos would be marching against his own son in law, Ioannis had escaped with Theodore south after all.
Patras, May 1318
Adrienne looked critically at the young monk that the archbishop of Syracuse, had sent at the behest of Ioannis, to deal with her divorce with Milutin. Barlaam was... brilliant was the right word. He also had difficulty with holding back his tongue in the face of others. Within a couple of days he had become fast friends with her Theodore and was engaging in endless philosophical debates with Kantakouzenos, who apparently was no mean scholar himself. As for her marriage...
"What marriage your highness? Getting a divorce here is child's play if I may say so myself. First this was Milutin's fifth marriage. As you know our church and imperial law since the time of Leo the Wise and his exceptional fourth marriage with Zoe allows only three marriages. So Milutin was arguably bigamous. Second this is a forced marriage, law as his holiness the patriarch had noted at the time does not allow the marriage of a five year old even with the parents consent. Third he violated you. I could go on, fourth brutality of the husband, fifth inability to have children, sixth leaving houuse without the husband's agreement, we'll obviously not use this. It's not often we have so many reasons for divorce including at least two, self evidently true..."
She liked this monk. And he was Calabrian and visibly Orthodox. Which was if nothing else a relief. Adrienne for all her maltreatment was very pious...
Athens, June 1318
Alfonso was in a dilemma. The Greeks had apparently fallen into conflict among themselves down in the Morea making it an opportunate time to attempt a new invasion. But Corinth wouldn't be any less of a bitch to besiege than two years ago. If anything it would be worse with enemy fleets threatening his coasts this time. And news had reached Athens that John II Doukas had died without heirs. Thessaly made much easier pickings than breaking his teeth on the Despotate's defences. After all it was not as if he was letting down his father back in Sicily, where the truce with the Angevins did not include Ioannis. Theodore was being tied down after all.
Ioannina, July 1318
An Imperial army had seized the city and was marching on Arta. John II Orsini had no intention of testing the shaky fealty of his newly acquired subjects by fighting it out with the imperials if he could avoid it. He recognized Imperial suzerainty and accepted the loss of Ioannina as the necessary price to stop Andronikos from marching all the way to Arta. For now at least. Someone who had no compunction about killing his own brother might be of questionable loyalty to the emperor if he could get away with it.But at least the empire had restored a semblance of control over Epirus. If one added Thessaly where the local lord Stephan Gabriilopoulos, after the death of John II had given his fealty to the empire in exchange for support against the invading Catalans it was turning to a good year so far for Imperial fortunes.
Skopje, August 1318
Stephan Uros II, best known as Milutin, king of Serbia was frustrated. A bunch ch of Albanian lords, possibly with papist support, possibly spurred to action by his humiliation had openly rebelled against him. He had crushed the revolt but it had taken him time. And now new were coming of threatening Hungarian moves in the north, king Charles apparently wanted Belgrade which Milutin had seized two years ago. His revenge on the Greeks and taking advantage of his idiot father in law to grab what land he could in Macedonia on that pretext would have to wait for the Hungarian threat to pass first...
Palermo, September 1318
it was death by a thousand cuts. Frederick had rebuilt his army and navy after a fashion, despite the loss of manpower and the need to resort to mercenaries of questionable quality. But this was not war of big battles or even big sieges. It was one of raid and counter raid. A small siege here, a small siege there. His ancestors fighting for centuries the Arabs would had readily recognized it. He on the other hand was less well suited by temperament to it and his Sicilians less accustomed to it than their Greek neighbors, reinforced for the past generation by a constant flow of people escaping this very short of warfare. Ioannis had made very little gains last year. A village here, a small fort there. But he had gained land. This year he had gained more land. Next year unless a solution was found he was bound to gain yet more land. Every village gained was taxes lost by Palermo and gained by Syracuse. And every raid more ruins and more people fleeing their fields or dying...
Saint George, Arcadia, September 1318
Andronikos Asen had dutifully marched north, putting the fortress of Skorta under siege. The garrison had refused to surrender and even though neither side really had its heart to the war the siege had gone on, Andronikos was after all a capable commander. With news that Theodore had finally moved his army out of Patras to relieve the siege he had redoubled his efforts to seize the fortress to no avail. And then news of disaster had struck. Ioannis had apparently sent a squadron under no less a person than Alexios Philanthropinos to reinforce his brother and Philanthropinos had taken the joined fleet before Monemvasia whose lords had thrown their lot with him. With Monemvasia secure, Philanthropinos was now marching on Mystra threatening the rear of Andronikos army. Andronikos pulled of and retreated. Theodore caught up with him in the field of Saint George...
I hope it will be a short and not too bloody fight. It would be even better if there is no fight at all.
Not only are the Vatatzes being popular among Byzantine Morea's peasantry, but if even the lords of Monemvasia have defected, I don't give a good odd to Andronikos Asen at Saint George. It's to wonder if there will even be a battle, if the imperial soldiers will accept going forward or stand down rather than fighting the Vatatzes on the field...
Yeah, hopefully Asen decides that the interests of the Empire would be best served by taking the matter before a court rather than deciding it on the field of battle. The problem then, of course, is that the authority to preside over such a court would only be vested in the Basileus, who has already made his stance clear. Ah, autocracy.
I'm kinda hoping there just isn't a fight as well, neither side really wants one they're just doing what they're doing because that's the order that's been handed to them
As I'm picturing myself his character in the TL, he is going reluctantly but also out of some sense of loyalty and duty to the Empire. His troops and commanders might stand down, but I see that man preferring to be made a prisoner than betraying the basileus, his uncle.
Andronikos Asen has few choices here. The imperials are caught between two hosts. Even if Asen defeats the veteran army of Theodore, he cannot hope to avoid serious losses and Philanthropenos will very easily crush him. As mentioned by the author, Kantakouzenos is already married to his daughter, Irene. Asen can join his son-in-law or see his army destroyed.
When Theodore finishes the conquest of Laconia, then there will be no direct threat from Constantinople. The only potential threat is the Imperials increasing their fleet and attack the lascarid Aegean islands. Ioannis and Theodore have a window of opportunity while they still enjoy naval superiority to quickly capture Lesvos (full of Asia Minor pro-lascarid refugees), Lemnos, Samothrace. Imbros and Tenedos. Control of these islands will further increase the lascarid naval power, hamper a potential imperial naval build-up and provide bases at the entrance of the Straits.
When Theodore finishes the conquest of Laconia, then there will be no direct threat from Constantinople. The only potential threat is the Imperials increasing their fleet and attack the lascarid Aegean islands. Ioannis and Theodore have a window of opportunity while they still enjoy naval superiority to quickly capture Lesvos (full of Asia Minor pro-lascarid refugees), Lemnos, Samothrace. Imbros and Tenedos. Control of these islands will further increase the lascarid naval power, hamper a potential imperial naval build-up and provide bases at the entrance of the Straits.
Orthodox church has no annulment unlike its Catholic cousins. But admittedly it was fun taking law at the time, Armenopoulos hexabiblos written a couple decades later remained civil law all the way to early independent Greece 5 centuries down the line and counting the multitude of reasons applying...
Barlaam as the most famous Calabrian Greek of his time was bound to appear sooner or later. Of course his connections to the Syracusan court TTL could be throwing some interesting wrenches into the Hesychast controversy. After all that at least to a degree also had political implications and overtones...
Monemvasia is a port. One that had its own fleet and had been fairly antagonistic to the Latins. TTL the leading families of Monemvasia would have every reason to be friendly to the Lascarids and be part of the trading networks running from Sicily to the Aegean. Finding themselves at war with them with Philanthropinos parking 40 galleys before their town on Andronikos whim could be disastrous. Switching sides can on the other hand prove rather profitable...
The basileus made his mind... as he had in pushing with the initial marriage despite opposition from within court and the patriarchate. Have I mentioned before how Andronikos was proof what a good idea it was that a lucky capable peasant, call me Basil, could grab the purple if the current holder was an idiot?
Neither side wants a fight... maybe but neither side would be adverse at a land grab either. Constantinople still wants to reabsorb the lands lost in 1204, for Theodore grabbing the Morea on a pretext offered by Andronikos would be quite profitable
It would be convenient if not very scrupulous.
The basileus is his uncle, then Alexios Philanthropinos his second cousin, Theodore his nephew, his mother is Alexios sister and John his son in law...
This is, more or less, a civil war with armies not very dependent on mercenaries. Some level of reluctance can be expected amongst the soldiery.
Attacking the Aegean islands would be all out war, which of course may well prove the case if Theodore grabs Mystra. Now since it's Andronikos we are talking about what would be his likely reaction if he needed a fleet? Turn to Genoese mercenaries. Of course Genoa itself just came under the control of Robert d Anjou who technically is his suzerain and for certain is at the moment allied with the despotate against Frederick.
Hmm if he's part of the Syracusan court would we see Syracusan ppl stop praying in certain ways ittl even if he was overuled?
I think it's very plausible for Theodore's infantry to hold the cavalry off with pike and shot (crosbow probably) while Theodore's cavalry routs the infantry.
Or the soldiers mutineer and Andronikos surrenders, keeps his head and gets sent to Syracuse to be replaced by Ionnis. I don't think Andronikos could win this fight...
I don't think Robert would exactly let the Vatatzes run roughshod over the Aegean but I could see him doing so for some islands which aren't taken by the Genoese due to the attack in Morea.
In addition to this, the Genoese are currently fighting a bloody civil war. The Spinola and Doria clans control Savona and had even laid siege to Genoa in spring 1318, before the Guelphs pledged their city to Robert and the Pope. Andronikos in OTL supported the Ghibellines with a subsidy and Frederick was also one of their supporters. The Ghibellines of Pera do not constitute a proper threat to the lascarid naval power.
Ioannis can get a lot of goodwill by the Guelphs if he supplies the besieged city with grain.
He probably could exchange a few islands with the goodwill he's getting and the silver he's mining in Calabria too.
Frederick's position will be interesting here. Rebuilding his navy post Syracuse is essential for the Aragonese position in Sicily, not least for internal political reasons, if Lascarid fleets are left to range at will off the Sicilian coast it will be hardly conductive to Frederick maintaining support within the coastal towns. Given that these are the ones under his direct control and the ones he uses to parcel out favors to the barons of the interior he cannot be seen as doing nothing... assuming it was in his character to do nothing.
The problem for Frederick is that after the defeat of his invasion of Syracuse and the gains made by the Lascarids that year, the Italian Lascarid realms are somewhat more populous than his own, Medieval numbers are always to be taken with a grain of salt but the despotate has about 437,000 people in 1317 to 417,000 in the kingdom. And the kingdom was already in economic decline at that point unlike the despotate. So as long as Ioannis can funnel the resources of Calabria in the fighting in Sicily he actually has the upper hand. Not by much but the gap is bound to be increasing. So Ioannis can be conservative and trust in attrition to widen the gap in his favor. Frederick on the other hand has to find ways to break the momentum and force diversion of resources to his enemy. Which brings us to Greece. If Theodore is left unchecked to come to the aid of his brother Frederick is lost. He has to be tied down and ideally pressed badly enough for men and ships to have to go from Syracuse east not the other way round. I'm certain Alfonso will soo much like the implications of this...
You mean Calabria and the sicilian domain of the despotate right ? Morea and the islands are excluded unless I am mistaken.
He will love the implications of having to tie down Theodore. Morea has a bigger population and more resources even if we don't take the islands into account. The Lascarids enjoy naval supremacy and they can use islands like Salamis or Atalante as bases from where to constantly raid the duchy. The local population hates the Catalans with a passion and he can experience the same situation as Frederick in Sicily: peasants finding refuge in lascarid strongholds around his domain. He can fortify the Geraneia mountain range but since the Despotate enjoys naval supremacy they can land an army at Attica or Boeotia.
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The Greek holdings of the despot are not included no. That would be something in the order of 302,000 people or so at the start of 1318.
Alfonso's Duchy of Athens also includes most of Thessaly. The northwest is a Byzantine dependency under Gabriilopoulos but the rest including Larisa and Demetrias are under Catalan control, Bernat conquered both before the Catalans killed him for his troubles. And Thessaly was somewhat more populous than the entire Peloponnese. So the TTL duchy is if anything an even more formidable beast than the OTL one. Alfonso has no fleet but Bernat left behind enough land for fiefs to keep the company in one piece. Now where Alfonso can find a fleet?
Via an alliance with Aydin - as in 1318. Since in TTL the Catalans are not merely opportunistic raiders but they face a powerful state, they can form an alliance with Menteshe as well. I think the turkish beyliks can provide up to 80 galleys.
The only problem is that such action will have a reaction as well. The Hospitallers will drift closer to the Despotate. It seems plausible to me that the Guelph Genoese will have to reach an understanding with Theodore, considering they are far weaker in the Aegean compared to OTL. If things are the same as in OTL, the Genoese have already lost the citadel of Smyrna.
Who knows ... we might see a Smyrniote Crusade equivalent under Philanthropenos.
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That is true, but the fact that Corinth exists makes it a lot harder for Alfonso to deal with the Moreotes. I have no doubt there would be a sizable garrison (since Philantropos' army is Sicilian resource strain would be present but Morea's manpower isn't exactly tapped yet), and the fleet would be relieving Corinth, which I think makes it really hard for Alfonso. If the Greeks could do a landing and get to Alfonso's campsite and surprise them it'd be very dangerous for Alfonso too, not to mention raiding their supply lines to oblivion.
I think it is very much possible as the Sicilians nominally support the union of the churches and Andronikos has no control over the Asian provinces too. If it's Alfonso + Menteshe Vs Vatatzes + Genoa + Hospitaler I could see Manteshe being conquered by the Vatatzes at the helm and providing the army to do so.
The only source of friction (other than the Vatatzes being orthodox) is that the Genoese could be scared of the Vatatzes navy, but I defo could see the Vatatzes taking over the pieces of Genoa when they become weaker as the Genoese fight the Venetians.