This is a joint entry between myself and @Reagent, the accompanying map may be found below;

Prologue (1821-1832):

- 1821: The Greek War of Independence (The Greek Revolution) breaks out.
- 1823-1825: The First and Second Greek Civil Wars occur, in sequence.
- 1827: The Second Greek National Assembly appoints Ioannis Kapodistrias as Governor of the Hellenic State by a majority vote.
- 1829: The Greek War of Independence finally comes to an end, with the 1829 London Protocol recognising an autonomous Hellenic state under Ottoman suzerainty.
- 1830: The 1830 London Protocol establishes the independence of the new Hellenic state as an absolute monarchy under the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in the person of Prince Leopold, who agrees to become King Leopold of Greece following a series of letters exchanged with Ioannis Kapodistrias which ultimately convince him to take the Greek crown for himself.
- 1831: Prince Leopold arrives in Greece just in time to avert a full-scale Hydriot Greeks rebellion by conceding to negotiate with the principal actors after Kapodistrias refuses to. Some trade concessions are guaranteed to the Islanders (Hydriots), mellowing them out enough to permit the Russians to escort the Greek Navy's ships back to the mainland, thus averting disaster.
Shortly afterwards, the arrest of Petrobey Mavromichalis prompts his brother (Konstantis) and son (Georgios) to attempt an assassination of Kapodistrias, though they succeed only in grievously wounding him; Georgios stabs Kapodistrias in the chest, while Konstantis is shot in the head by the onlooking General Fotomaras (truly a case of being in the "right place at the right time" as they say) who happened to be standing on his balcony as the events unfolded in the street below, with (fortunately) a loaded pistol nearby. Following the assassination attempt, George flees to the French Consulate, while Kapodistrias slowly recovers from his life-threatening wound. Ultimately, at Prince Leopold's behest, Kapodistrias agrees to pardon Petrobey's son and release them both if the Mavromichalis Clan would swear to never take up arms against him again, due to their prestigious positions in Greek society following their actions during the Revolutionary War.
- 1832: The Treaty of Constantinople establishes the independent Kingdom of Greece with the Arta-Volos Line as its northern frontier, under the suzerainty of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in the person of Prince Leopold, who is crowned King George-Leopold I of Greece following his conversion to Orthodoxy. Ioannis Kapodistrias is named First Minister of State, and Theodoros Kolokotronis is reaffirmed as General-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Together, they rule the nascent nation as an unofficial triumvirate with an iron fist for the next decade.
 
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King George and Prime Minister Kapodistrias (1832-1850):
- 1843: Following the death of Theodoros Kolokotronis early in the year, Kapodistrias fears for his regime's future now that the Greek military is no longer united behind him under the iron fist of its General-in-Chief, resulting in his decision to convince King George to finally concede to the popular demands of the liberal factions in Athens for the re-establishment of constitutional rule in Greece.
A constitution was originally drafted by the First Greek National Assembly as early as 1822 and continuously amended over the subsequent years, but never implemented on a permanent basis. In 1830, all constitutional rule was suspended upon the coronation of King George, in large part due to the ongoing instability of the nascent Greek state.
- 1844: The new constitution of the Kingdom of Greece comes into force, and the First Hellenic Senate is called to order; the Greek Constitution of 1844 decrees that the monarch must be of the Orthodox faith and establishes the National Parliament, which is to be overseen by a cabinet of Ministers whose members are appointed by the monarch at his own discretion. At this time, Kapodistrias is appointed as the first Prime Minister, and the political factions of the era (informally referred to as the French, British and Russian Parties) are juggled across the remaining ministries. As a result of purposeful ambiguities written into the 1844 Constitution by Kapodistrias, however, Leopold is able to considerably expand the monarch's powers throughout his rule.

- 1850: Death of Ioannis Kapodistrias and the Don Pacifico affair (calmly resolved between Her Britannic Majesty and His Hellenic Majesty). Shortly before his death, Ioannis warns Leopold of the likelihood of an impending outbreak of hostilities between the Russian and Ottoman Empires shortly before his death, due to rising tensions between the two Great Powers.

Because of his family connections and position at the head of a neutral and unthreatening power, Leopold is able to act as an important intermediary in European politics during his reign. As a result of this, he earns for himself the nickname the "Nestor of Europe", after the wise mediator in Homer's Iliad; most notably, Leopold plays a particularly important role in moderating relations between the hostile Great Powers, with his role in managing relations between Great Britain and the French Empire of Napoleon III in the later part of his reign being particularly important. Amongst his more local achievements, he succeeds in deescalating the
Don Pacifico affair in 1850 before it could escalate into a major scandal by directly negotiating a resolution with the Queen of England. Sadly, this is the last time Leopold and Ioannis would work together on anything, as Kapodistrias dies shortly before the affair is ultimately resolved.

In foreign policy, Leopold's principal object throughout his reign is the continuous pursuit of liberating Greece from the choking influence of the Great Powers as much as possible, as well as the continued expansion of the Hellenic Kingdom into the "occupied lands" of the Ottoman Empire inhabited by fellow Greeks which continued to be held captive. Over the years, despite enduring pressures from the Great Powers, Leopold and Kapodistrias proceed to expertly navigate their way through the demands of the Great Powers and succeed in exerting continuously increasing amounts of Greek independence, until their joint efforts ultimately culminate in the Greek state levying its neutrality throughout the Crimean War (1853-1856) in return for a seat at the negotiation table and a guarantee of territorial concessions at the post-war conference.
 
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Expansion and Slavic Independence (1850-1888):
- 1853: The Crimean War breaks out; King George successfully ensures that Greece remains neutral throughout the duration of the war at great risk to his person, as his popularity crumbles in the face of the country's overwhelming desires for an alliance with Russia against the Ottomans.
- 1856: The Crimean War comes to an end and the post-war negotiations begin; King George successfully salvages his crown by wresting the promised territorial concessions from the Great Powers at the Conference of Paris in the form of the Thessaly region, and, following extensive negotiations with the United Kingdom, the Ionian Islands, which he purchases for a negotiated sum and his support at the conference for a British takeover of Cyprus, as per the wishes of the Ottoman High Porte, against Russian objections.

The Sultan ceded the administration of Cyprus to Britain in return for guarantees that Britain would use the island as a base from which to protect the Ottoman Empire against any possible Russian aggression (as Russia was attempting to fill power vacuum quickly forming by the collapsing Ottoman Empire). Cyprus remained under nominal Turkish sovereignty until the British Empire formally annexed it in 1914 after the outbreak of the Great War, but under the terms of the deal, the British were to occupy and administer it.

The British had been previously offered the administration of Cyprus three times (in 1833, 1841, and 1845, respectively) before they finally accept it in 1856. In order to justify the deal, a strong case is made before the English Parliament by supporters of the agreement that, were the (at-the-time-still-under-construction) Suez Canal to become of strategic importance, it would serve the British Crown well to have a strategically-placed island such as Cyprus in the vicinity of it. With that in mind, Parliament ultimately narrowly approves, and the island's administration is transferred over.


- 1861: King George bids the newly-crowned King Victor Emmanuel of Italy his most heartfelt congratulations following his successful unification of Italy, and suggests their two Kingdoms might sign a friendship treaty in recognition of their two peoples' historic ties to one another, an idea which both the Italian King and Prime Minister Cavour openly embrace.
- 1862: The Greco-Italian Friendship Treaty is signed at an event held in the Valley of the Temples (Valle dei Templi) in Agrigento (Akragas) on the island of Sicily, in front of the Temple of Concordia (Tempio della Concordia). The site was chosen due to its reflection of the joint legacies of the Greek and Italic peoples, and King George further stressed these cultural and historic ties in his now-famous speech, which openly denoted "the return" of the two most historic European civilisations; that of the Hellenes and that of the Romans. King Victor Emmanuel also mentions Ioannis Kapodistrias' Venetian roots, as well as the continued presence of the Griko communities in the Mezzogiorno and the Italic communities in Corfu, in pursuit of denoting their two nations' continued shared heritage.

- 1865: King George I dies and the throne passes to his oldest living son and heir, Prince Leonidas. However, at the insistence of the Greek National Assembly called to negotiate the terms of a constitutional amendment to which the young monarch has been forced to concede to under pressure from the more liberal factions in his court, the title bestowed unto him at his coronation is not "King of Greece" as was his father's, but rather, "King of the Hellenes", with the implicit intention of this act being to declare that Leonidas I is to be the King of all the Greeks, regardless of whether or not they reside within the then borders of the Hellenic Kingdom.
Furthermore, following successful negotiations between the summoned National Assembly and the Crown, a constitutional amendment intended to establish a lower house is passed, and the National Parliament (Vouli) which is to operate under a four-year term alongside the Royal Senate is formed (over the years, the Senate has drawn repeated accusations of being nothing more than a tool in the hands of the monarchy). Direct, secret, universal male suffrage for all citizens of the Kingdom over the age of 25 is chosen as the manner for the election of the representatives, with elections to be held simultaneously throughout the entire nation. Under the new constitution, however, the King continues to reserve the right to veto any and all legislation he sees fit, appoint any and all Cabinet Ministers and Senators, and can dismiss the National Parliament at will, though no more often than three times within the span of twelve months.

The reign of King Leonidas is seen by historians as being predominantly a continuation of that of his father's, as they pursue similar policies both at home and abroad, with the ongoing intention being to continue the rebuilding and expanding of the Hellenic Kingdom into those "occupied lands" inhabited by fellow Greeks still under Ottoman suzerainty, as well as the ultimate liberation of the Holy City of Constantinople. To this end, throughout his reign, King Leonidas focuses on instituting further social and military reforms aimed at the continued modernisation and reinforcement of the Hellenic Kingdom's military might in preparation for the expected future conflicts to be undertaken against the Ottoman High Porte, even as the fledgling nation continues to deal with relentless social and economic problems.

In this manner, the young monarch also serves to reinforce the Hellenic Kingdom's status as a neutral, independent regional power in the Balkans, largely liberated from the choking grasps of the Great Powers which so often sought to intervene in the Greeks' internal affairs as it suited them throughout most of his father's reign. Leonidas' reign is, however, regarded by most historians as being less independent than that of his father's, especially when compared to the so-called "Age of the Triumvirate."


- 1867: The Principality of Serbia passes a constitution which declares its independence from the Ottoman Empire. International recognition only follows in 1878 with the Treaty of Berlin, however.

- 1868: The Crown Prince Umberto of Piedmont, future King of Italy, is wed to Princess Maria of Greece, sister to King Leonidas of Greece.

- 1876: Start of the First Ottoman Constitutional Era.
- 1877: Outbreak of the Eleventh Russo-Turkish War; The British Empire, worn out by its participation in the Crimean War and diverted by the Irish question and the social problems created by the Industrial Revolution as well as public opinion which has swung firmly against the Ottoman Empire in recent years due to their atrocities in the Balkans, chooses not to intervene once more in order to restore the European balance as it did the last time, much to the disappointment of the High Porte, which had sold the administration of Cyprus to Britain in 1856 specifically in order to be prepared for exactly such an eventuality, only for them to now find itself abandoned by its alleged "ally." Ottoman threats to annul the Cypriot deal only further aggravate British-Ottoman relations, as they basically serve to do little other than reaffirm the British decision not to intervene against the Russians.
- 1878: End of the First Ottoman Constitutional Era and the Eleventh Russo-Turkish War with an overwhelming Russian victory. In its aftermath, the Treaty of Berlin sees the international community formally recognise the independence of the Principalities of Serbia, Montenegro, and Romania, as well as autonomy for the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia, both of which are to remain under Ottoman suzerainty. Furthermore, Romania is forced to cede southern Bessarabia to the Russian Empire; as compensation, Romania receives Northern Dobruja, including the Danube Delta, and Austria-Hungary secures the right to station military garrisons in the Ottoman Vilayet of Bosnia and Sanjak of Novi Pazar (The Vilayet of Bosnia is placed under Austro-Hungarian occupation, although it officially remains a part of the Ottoman Empire until it is formally annexed by Austria-Hungary in 1907). Meanwhile, as a reward to Greece for retaining its neutrality throughout the war (as ordained by the British and French states), the Kingdom of Greece is once again rewarded with an expansion to its holdings in the form of the region of Epirus, whose exact borders are subject to a protracted demarcation. The Greek representatives also attempt to negotiate for the concession of Crete as well, but these attempts fail, ultimately succeeding only in the establishment an autonomous Cretan State, under Ottoman suzerainty.
Further, at the behest of the Kingdom of Italy (in particular, the person of the newly-crowned King Umberto I), Greece also pursues backroom discussions with the United Kingdom in pursuit of furthering an Italian claim to Tunisia, at the expense of French colonial ambitions towards the area. The British, having their own ambitions to secure Tunisia for themselves at this time, are unwilling to definitively commit themselves to anything, though the Greeks do successfully extract a non-binding agreement from them for recognition of an Italian Tunisian state, were such a thing to ever come to pass.
Lastly, the continuing decline of Ottoman power throughout the Balkans prompts the Albanian National Awakening, as Albanian community leaders realise the need to better secure their people's futures. This, coupled with the threat of Albanian-inhabited areas of Epirus being ceded to Greece, prompts an outbreak of violence by Albanian irregulars in pursuit of averting the cession of Epirus to Greece, which in turn incites the Greek-inhabited areas of Epirus to a counter-revolt, culminating in the captures of Sarandë / Saranda and Delvinë / Delvino. Though they are ultimately only held for a brief amount of time before the Ottoman forces successfully recapture them (and promptly respond with retaliations against the local Greek communities), their capture nevertheless succeeds in having the desired effect of strengthening the Hellenic Kingdom's claims to the area in the ongoing negotiations over what the exact borders of Greek Epirus are to be.

- 1880: In response to Italian perceptions of escalating French aggression against the Beylik of Tunis as well as (falsified) reports of internal unrest permeating the region, the Kingdom of Italy summarily invades the region citing the need to restore peace and order so that Tunisia can continue to pay off the debts it owes to its British, French and Italian creditors. In order to legalise the invasion and subsequent occupation, the Tunisian Bey is coerced into signing a treaty which, amongst other things, stipulates that the French and English portions of the debt are now the responsibility of the Italian state; this is done in an attempt to placate the French and bring the British over to their side, with predictably mixed results; the British are willing to accept the status quo rather than risk war with Italy over what would ultimately amount to nothing more than an isolated colony under constant threat from French invasion, whereas the French are infuriated at the region being whisked away from them from right under their noses.
As a consequence, in order to properly secure their new holdings and to deter any and all thoughts of a French invasion, the Italian Tunisian Expeditionary Force remains in Tunisia for the next two years, even after the French state had long since ceased to threaten Italy with retaliatory measures. Furthermore, France's response to the perceived Italian "theft" of Tunisia from their suzerainty convinces the Italian Kingdom of the need for military allies against France, ultimately resulting in King Umberto's approval of the Triple Alliance Treaty, which serves to form a tripartite military alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy.
Meanwhile, the region of Epirus is ceded to Greece following a general border demarcation agreement with the High Porte in the midst of an armed insurrection by Albanian Muslims throughout the area intending to prevent this very action, at the insistence of the Great Powers.
- 1881: The Epirus-Albania border is finalised following the closure of protracted negotiations to resolve various outstanding disputes over the exact demarcation of the northern border, but the violent resistance by local Muslim communities against the new reality continues.
The Principality of Romania crowns its first king, establishing the Kingdom of Romania.
- 1882: The Epirus Insurrection by Muslim Albanian irregulars is finally put down by Greek troops and is swiftly followed by a state-sanctioned wave of Epirote Muslim deportations to the Ottoman Empire.
The Principality of Serbia crowns its first king, establishing the Kingdom of Serbia.

- 1885: The Principality of Bulgaria declares its formal unification with the province of Eastern Rumelia. International recognition of this act only follows in 1886 with the Tophane Agreement, however. This violation of the Treaty of Berlin causes a minor uproar in Greece, as certain factions attempt to take advantage of the situation by claiming that if the Bulgarians could defy the Treaty, then the Greeks should follow suit.

As a result of Bulgaria's violation of the Treaty of Berlin and changing moods throughout the nation, King Leonidas decides it would be prudent to begin preparing the nation for a full-scale war against the Ottoman Empire, to be undertaken at some point in the near future, regardless of the opinions of the Great Powers on the subject matter. In fact, it was becoming quite clear to the King that while he could ultimately most-always rely on the Great Powers for protection, it would ultimately be in the nation's best interests to secure alternative allies for future endeavours, lest the Hellenic Kingdom's own best interests (as well as those of her people's) continue to be subordinated to the whims of the Great Powers in perpetuity - in particular, the ongoing fight to liberate the rest of the Hellenic peoples from foreign occupations.

However, what this would entail exactly remains unclear to him at this time and this haunting question will continue to pursue the King of the Hellenes as he finds himself juggling various precarious positions in the subsequent years, as the pro-war factions continue to gain and lose momentum according to the position of the state's finances, forcing him to repeatedly and routinely stretch his diplomatic skills and legal mandates to the breaking point - all of which will play quite well into the hands of his anti-monarchist liberal opponents, who have begun to seek the deposition of the monarchy in favour of the establishment of a republic. However, for the foreseeable future, this will remain but a dream, as the monarchy remains firmly entrenched in the minds of its supporters and (most importantly) the general public.

Meanwhile, under increasing tensions in Africa due to the Italian Kingdom's seizure of Tunisia and the continued expansion of the German presence on the Dark Continent, a conference is eventually called by Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in Berlin for the purpose of averting the outbreak of a war over African colonies between the Great Powers of Europe, on the basis that common trade in Africa is in the best interests of all of Europe. In order to avoid future conflicts over clashing territorial claims, the conference establishes the "Principle of Effective Occupation", which states that powers may acquire rights over colonial lands only if they possess them or have an "effective occupation" of the area; that is to say, if they have treaties with local leaders, if they fly their flag there and if they establish an administration in the territory to govern it with a police force to keep order (the colonial power may also make use of the colony economically).
 
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Expansion and Colonisation (1888-1914):
- 1889: Rising tensions between the local Christian and Muslim communities inhabiting the island of Crete convince the High Porte to abrogate the Pact of Halepa which has served to regulate the Cretan State's autonomy since 1878, and reinstate direct rule under an Ottoman Governor, supported by an Ottoman Expeditionary Force in order to maintain order. The Christian Cretans, already displeased with the state of affairs, immediately begin to incite a new revolt against the reintroduction of full-and-exclusive Ottoman rule, and reinstitute their traditional demands for unification with the Kingdom of Greece.
- 1890: The Ottoman High Porte, enraged that the Kingdom of Greece has been providing the Cretans with covert support (which serves to boost the monarchy's popularity with the public quite a bit when this is revealed, though it does also serve to further sour relations with the Great Powers), declares war on the Hellenic Kingdom. Both the Greek and Ottoman forces underwent significant reforms following the Russo-Turkish War of 1878, under the respective guidance of a French (for the Greeks) and German (for the Ottomans) military mission in preparation for the inevitable future engagements they would have to participate in. As a consequence, this war would serve as a testing ground for both of their newly-minted armed forces, leaving both sides with high hopes and lofty expectations as to its outcome.
The initial Ottoman invasion of Thessaly and Epirus sees them net a chain of significant victories, before they're ultimately stalled by a contingent of Greek forces and Italian "Red Shirt" (Camicie Rossi) Hellenophile volunteer troops operating in conjunction. By the end of the year, the front has ground to a complete standstill, and the Ottomans are now facing a growing general uprising throughout their remaining holdings in the Balkans, as well as threats of escalation from Serbia, Bulgaria, Russia, and even Italy.
- 1891: Following repeat reports of Ottoman troop abusiveness towards the Cretan Christian communities, the Great Powers begin to intervene in the ongoing Cretan Revolt by sending their warships to the island and establishing a combined "International Squadron" charged with intervening on the island in order to bring the fighting to a complete halt. A month later, an armistice is called by the Great Powers in order to permit the Ottomans to restore order throughout their Balkan holdings, to which the King of the Hellenes, finding himself in a most favourable position, refuses to abide by, preferring instead to push the front and route the Ottoman invasion entirely, rather than appearing to rely on the Great Powers to "rescue" him from the Ottoman invasion. In this, the final phase of the war, the Greeks successfully push the front all the way through the occupied lands and deep into the Ottoman holdings of Western Macedonia, until a contingent of troops, newly-landed by the Great Powers at the Axios (Vardar) River, halts their advance dead in its tracks.
- 1892: At the post-war conference, the Great Powers concede to the de facto situation that is the Greek occupation of Western Macedonia and agree to its annexation into the Kingdom of Greece, with the eastern border set at the Axios (Vardar) River, while the northern border is set to be demarcated by an international commission on a joint ethnographic, economic, strategic and geographical basis in order to punish the High Porte for its renunciation of the Pact of Halepa and for declaring war on Greece (and losing, mainly for losing), though they also overwhelmingly reject any and all notions by Greece and Crete for unification, in order to punish Greece for assisting the Cretans in their revolt against the Ottomans. However, recognising the inevitability of further Ottoman abuses, they opt to expel all Ottoman troops and reinstate the Cretan State as a nominal Ottoman vassal with an international military force garrisoning it (what with both Greek and Ottoman troops being barred from setting foot on the island) and a Greek High Commissioner, effectively detaching Crete from the Ottoman Empire as an inevitable prelude to her eventual unification with Greece.

As a part of the finalised peace treaty between Greece and the Ottoman Empire negotiated with the oversight of the Great Powers, Greece is made to wave all demands for reparations, leaving the Hellenic Kingdom's economy in dire straits for the next for years as the war, as brief as it actually was, did take a severe toll on the state's continuously-strained finances due to the scale of the deployments they had to undertake and the financial investments the newly-liberated territories of Western Macedonia would also require.

Meanwhile, alarmed by the perceived "wronging" of having lands she holds territorial ambitions towards be annexed and integrated into Greece (amongst which are the City of Monastir / Bitola), coupled with the perceived "threat" that Greece's new frontier along the Axios (Vardar) River poses to Bulgaria's interests in the regions of Aegean Macedonia and Thrace, the Bulgarian government establishes the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO), with the explicit intent of promoting the establishment of a unified, autonomous Macedonian state that would eventually be annexed into Bulgaria in much the same way as Eastern Rumelia ultimately was 10 years ago, thus commencing the long and bloody "Macedonian Struggle" for the independence and "reunification" of Western Macedonia and "Macedonia Beyond the Vardar."


On the other side of the Balkans, the perceived continuous spiteful attitudes shown to Greek interests by the Great Powers leads to a growing bitterness and alienation between the Kingdom of Greece and the Western European Great Powers, which, in turn, leads to a continued deepening of relations with Italy and (to a degree) Russia, out of which the Libya Partition Plan is first born in the mind of Crown Prince Constantine, and subsequently continuously revisited time and time again over the following years by the Crown Prince in extensive talks with the Italian Ambassador.

- 1900: Crown Prince Constantine of Greece is wed to Princess Sofia of Serbia.

- 1904: The Kingdom of Greece crowns King Constantine I of the Hellenes
Shortly afterwards, the secret Caserta Agreement is signed between the Kings of Italy and Greece, which stipulates that in return for Greece supporting Italy's pursuits of the port of Vlorë and the island of Sazan at the entrance to the Bay of Vlorë (which have been heavily coveted by Italian naval strategists since unification as they would give Italy control of the entrance to the Adriatic Sea) and by extension an Albanian state under the suzerainty of the Italian Kingdom, Italy is to grant Greece sole rights to the Cyrenaica region following an invasion and occupation of Ottoman Libya, which is to be undertaken jointly by the Kingdoms of Italy and Greece.
- 1905: The Principality of Montenegro crowns its first king, establishing the Kingdom of Montenegro.
The joint Greco-Italian invasion of Libya results in the outbreak of the Libyan War.
The Cretan State Assembly unilaterally passes a constitution declaring itself an independent state as the Principality of Crete in personal union with the Kingdom of Greece under King Constantine I, following a brief period of negotiation between the Kingdom of Greece (backed by the Kingdom of Italy) and the Great Powers following the outbreak of the Libyan War, in order to avert an outbreak of violence across the island targeted at the international troops stationed there.
The invasion of Libya basically amounts to nothing less than a slap in the face of the established order, as they pursue this course of action without first seeking any form of support or approval from any of the other Great Powers, following a failed Austrian mediation attempt to reach an agreement that would see Italy granted administrative control over Tripolitania and Cyrenaica (without any mention of a subsequent administrative transfer to Greece, which would leave the matter open to interpretation from a legal standpoint), while the Ottoman Empire retains suzerainty in a situation comparable to that of British-controlled Egypt.
- 1906: The brief-but-decisive (thanks to the land bridge provided to them by Italian Tunisia) Greco-Italian Libyan War results in the Italian Kingdom's annexation of the regions of Tripolitania and Fezzan, while the Kingdom of Greece annexes the region of Cyrenaica.
Following the Empire's defeat in Libya, the Young Turks incite a revolution, marking the start of the Second Ottoman Constitutional Era which, as a byproduct, leads to IMRO ceasing all hostilities in Ottoman Macedonia due to the new administration promising reforms.
As a further result of the perceived weakening of the Ottoman Empire, the Principality of Bulgaria declares her full independence and crowns her first Tzar, establishing the Kingdom of Bulgaria.

- 1907:
In the aftermath of the Libyan War, the Balkan states begin to weave a web of alliances in pursuit of a mutual defence pact with each other, as they see the Young Turks' revolution as nothing more than further evidence of the continuing decline and eventual fall of the remnants of the once-mighty Ottoman Empire.
The "Balkan League" alliance treaties are broken down thus; Serbia and Montenegro, Serbia and Bulgaria, Bulgaria and Greece. The public texts are much the same, describing them as nothing more than agreements establishing a "mutual friendship and defensive aid" agreement to be triggered in case an outside power issues a declaration of war on one or more of them. The secret text, negotiated primarily by Bulgaria, also stipulates a secret amendment for a joint attack on the Ottoman Empire "at some point in the near future."
Upon receiving news of the Balkan League, the Great Powers exhibit largely mixed-to-negative reactions to it, the most extreme of which comes from Austria-Hungary, which is prompted to definitively annex the Bosnia Vilayet in response (which has effectively been under Austrian occupation since 1878), triggering the Bosnian Crisis.
- 1908: The Bosnian Crisis is peacefully resolved, averting an all-out armed conflict between Austria-Hungary and the Balkan League alliance, for the time being. However, in the aftermath of the Crisis tensions begin to escalate between Serbia and Bulgaria, as Serbia's expansionist ambitions are redirected towards Ottoman Macedonia, which, until this moment, was always expected to form a core part of the Bulgarian state once it would be liberated from the Ottoman occupation forces. As such, facing increased levels of hostility from Serbia and alienation from Russia due to a degradation in their mutual relations, Bulgaria embarks upon a path of heavy militarisation in preparation for the coming war. Greece, paranoid about its hostile northern neighbour and harbouring long-standing suspicions of it having ties to the IMRO, follows suit.
Meanwhile, in response to the perceived "slight" incurred by Austria-Hungary upon the Kingdom of Italy by her unilateral annexation of Bosnia without prior consultation in direct violation of their mutual agreement concerning further territorial aspirations in the Balkans being reciprocated between their two powers, Italy coerces Austro-Hungarian support for a future Italian-controlled Albanian state, under threat of withdrawing from the Triple Alliance agreement entirely.

"However, if, in the course of events, the maintenance of the status quo in the regions of the Balkans or of the Ottoman coasts and islands in the Adriatic and in the Aegean Sea should become impossible, and if, whether in consequence of the action of a third Power or otherwise, Austria-Hungary or Italy should find themselves under the necessity of modifying it by a temporary or permanent occupation on their part, this occupation shall take place only after a previous agreement between the two Powers, based upon the principle of a reciprocal compensation for every advantage, territorial or other, which each of them might obtain beyond the present status quo, and giving satisfaction to the interests and well founded claims of the two Parties."

At the same time, following the imposition of anti-Albanian policies by the General Assembly of the Ottoman Empire, the Kings of Italy and Greece enter a parallel secret agreement with Ismail Qemali, a leader in the Albanian National Movement, that would see Greece recognise and support an independent Albanian state under Italian suzerainty, in return for Italy assisting Greece with her territorial ambitions east of the Axios River and in the Aegean Sea. In accordance with the agreement, the three signatories agree that the Greco-Albanian boundary line will remain set on the Acroceraunian mountains, leaving Northern Epirus / Chameria in Greek hands, with a formal renouncement of all territorial claims against Greek Epirus to follow, as part of a larger agreement to forge a "Greco-Albanian-Italian entente" once the Albanian Government is fully established and the Italian King is formally recognised as Prince of the Albanians by an elected assembly operating under a constitutional mandate. Ismail Qemali is to serve as Governor in the interim, with consideration for a potential Premiership appointment afterwards. Furthermore, the agreement, at Qemali's insistence, affirms Albania as having its own language, literature, history and traditions, with a right to liberty and independence, under the suzerainty of the Italian Crown. At this time, Qemali's goals are to promote Albanian interests at the expense of thwarting the Bulgarian ambitions for the wider Balkans region, the terrifying Serbian and Austrio-Hungarian territorial ambitions in the Balkans and the Adriatic Sea by obtaining solid outside support for the cause of Albanian independence from the lesser of the "evils" surrounding the Albanian homeland.

Early on during the Albanian National Awakening, Qemali perceived Austria-Hungary as the Great Power intended to assist the Albanians in their development of a national consciousness by founding schools, cultivating their language and attaining autonomy within the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. Eventually, however, due to his developing of ties with the Italo-Albanian (Arbëreshë) communities and the Italian Kingdom's more favourable Albanian policies, he shifted his support towards the Italian policy for Albania. There are differing accounts as to how exactly the Hellenic Kingdom first became involved, with some sources suggesting the idea was first brought up by the Italian government, while other sources allege he himself approached the Greek embassy in Istanbul, intending to negotiate a secret agreement with them for recognition of their mutual territorial claims and ambition. Ultimately, however, regardless of how it all came about, the field was finally set for the deal to be subsequently made.


- 1910: The Balkan League, now finally prepared for a full-scale conflict against the Ottoman Empire, reaffirms its treaties with each other, and proceeds to sign secondary treaties delineating individual conquests; Montenegro will take Northern Albania, Bulgaria will receive all of Macedonia south of the Kriva Palanka–Ohrid line, and Serbia's expansion will be to the north of the Shar Mountains (i.e. Kosovo). The intervening area is classified as "disputed" with a final demarcation line to be arbitrated by the Tsar of Russia in the event of a victory. Bulgaria and Greece both refuse to agree on a mutual demarcation line with each other, however, which results in a race between them to claim as much territory as they possibly can before the other does once the conflict breaks out.
Following the outbreak of an Albanian revolt against the Empire's centralisation policies, Montenegro is the first to declare war on the Ottomans, swiftly followed by Serbia, Bulgaria, and finally Greece, which prompts the Principality of Crete to declare its full unification to the Hellenic Kingdom. Shortly afterwards, the Italian Kingdom invades Ottoman Albania in pursuit of securing its territorial ambitions towards a viable Albanian state under Italian rule against the various competing claims of its neighbouring states, as well as to assist Greece in the Aegean, as previously agreed upon between them, by having the Regia Marina establish a blockade across the Dardanelles Straits, preventing the bulk of the Ottoman fleet from ever deploying, and permitting the Greeks to rampage throughout the Aegean Sea relatively unimpeded, liberating island after island from Ottoman occupation. The Principality of Crete takes advantage of the outbreak of the war to declare its unification to the Kingdom of Greece, following a unanimous vote in favour by the Cretan Assembly. The remaining Great Powers condemn the invasion with a particular focus put on Italy's involvement in it, though as they each have their own interests in the Balkans, there is no unified response.
- 1911: The conflict proceeds apace, with the Italian forces slowly securing the Albanian lands west of the Drina River, while the Greek land forces continue their march through Macedonia and Thrace from the Axios (Vardar) River up to the Maritsa River, as the Greek naval forces continue to liberate Aegean islands from centuries of Ottoman occupation thanks to the ongoing Regia Marina blockade of the Dardanelles. Meanwhile, the other League members continue to strike severe blows against the Ottoman forces, resulting in decisive setbacks which ultimately reverberate into an overwhelming defeat for them as they're pushed back to behind the Maritsa River and beyond, at which time the Bulgarian forces pursue them up to the gates of Constantinople (in direct defiance of Russia's warnings that if they were to successfully occupy Constantinople, Russia would respond by attacking them), where they are ultimately routed upon being confronted with a massive force of Ottoman regulars and end up turning back.
In the aftermath of this catastrophic defeat, the Ottoman Empire finds itself situated on the brink of a civil war between the revolutionary factions who blame each other for the massive territorial losses incurred in the Balkan War. Following several large-scale riots throughout Anatolia, further escalation is ultimately only averted once the situation culminates in a coup that successfully restores the Sultan to power, bringing an end to the Second Ottoman Constitutional Era, and temporarily restoring at least some semblance of peace and order to the otherwise crumbling superpower. After the coup, the Ottomans withdraw from the London Peace Conference called by the Great Powers to resolve the outstanding territorial disputes incurred by the Balkan War, and refuse to sign or recognise the subsequent London Conference Treaty that stems from it.
- 1912: Disputes over the final partition of the liberated Balkan territories continue on for well over a year, as Bulgaria is thoroughly displeased with the limited gains she ultimately succeeded in making compared to her territorial ambitions, whereas Serbia, who failed to secure Northern Albania, is facing an Italian-governed Albanian state pressing territorial claims against certain areas under her control, as well. The disputes threaten to become violent, but Bulgaria ultimately backs down after Russia definitively break ties with her and the Kingdom of Greece signs a defensive alliance treaty with the Kingdom of Serbia in return for a concession on several areas of the disputed Serbo-Albanian border.
The finalised London Conference Treaty establishes the borders of the Albanian state that is to function as an independent Principality in personal union with the Kingdom of Italy under the appointed Governor Ismail Qemali (until such time as a constitution is finalised and elections are called to order) and confirms the gains made by the Kingdoms of Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece; Greece expands eastward into the mainland regions of Central and Eastern "Aegean Macedonia" ("Macedonia Beyond the Vardar") and Western Thrace, she unifies with the Principality of Crete (the international troops are peacefully evacuated) and also secures the annexation of all the Aegean Sea islands occupied by the Hellenic and Italian Navies during the war, in return for a provision that permits for the Regia Marina navy to use the port facilities in Crete and Rhodes under a long-term leasing agreement.

The Greeks are disappointed at the perceived failure to liberate the Holy City of Constantinople (having never actually been informed that the city would not be a target for liberation at this time - a course of action that was specifically decided upon by the Greek High Command before the war on the basis that successfully recapturing Constantinople from the Ottomans would require a great deal of resources, coordination and preparation on such a scale that the Balkan League would ultimately be thoroughly incapable of achieving such a feat - especially when faced with the knowledge that ultimately, only one of them would actually walk away with the almighty prize of annexing the Holy City of Constantinople, and that would inevitably be either Bulgaria or Greece), but are otherwise extremely satisfied with the territorial gains from the war and King Constantine is universally lauded by his subjects for this slew of successes. Relations with Italy are now ironclad and the two powers have all-but established themselves as a closely-knit pair of regional powers operating in constant tandem, largely independently of the whims and desires of the Great Powers, as they see fit. On the other hand, Bulgaria's definitive break with Russia sets her down the inevitable path towards an alliance with Germany and the Central Powers, which sets the stage for her eventual role in the coming conflict.

- 1914: Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated in Sarajevo while on a state visit to Bosnia by a Serbian nationalist group known as the Black Hand. Austria-Hungary accuses Serbia and demands her immediate surrender and reparations. Serbia refuses, to which Austria-Hungary responds by issuing a declaration of war. In response, Russia declares war on Austria-Hungary, resulting in Germany declaring war on Russia, and France on Germany due to the network of treaties between them. The United Kingdom joins the war as an ally of France shortly afterwards, citing Belgium's violated neutrality, to which she was a guarantor. In the meanwhile, Italy declares her withdrawal from the Triple Alliance Pact citing Austria-Hungary's repeat violations of their agreement concerning the status quo in the Balkans, and espouses neutrality pending secret negotiations with both sides as to her future status in the ongoing conflict.
 
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The Long War (1914-1948):
- 1915: Bulgaria enters the war on the side of the Central Powers, spurred by a desire to reclaim Macedonia, prompting Greece to respond by entering on the side of the Allies ("in defence of our close friend and ally, Serbia"), following negotiations with the United Kingdom and France guaranteeing the cession of Cyprus, and the potential for territorial gains in East Thrace (Constantinople) as well as "unspecified territories" in Asia Minor which include but are not limited to the Anatolian half of the Dardanelles.
Later on in the year, following extensive negotiations with both the Allied and Central Powers, the Kingdom of Italy ultimately agrees to enter the war against the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as she holds territorial ambitions against several Austrian holdings.
- 1918: The war ends, and the victors divide the spoils with a series of treaties named after the Parisian suburbs in which they're respectively signed. The Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia) is formed, Greece is guaranteed territorial concessions in Asia Minor and Cyprus is signed over for enosis as an autonomous Principality of Cyprus with self-rule on the condition that British ships be permitted to continue using its naval facilities in perpetuity, Italy gains territory at the expense of the Austrians and Slovenes, France and Britain partition the Middle-East according to the plans set forth in the Sykes-Picot Agreement, etc.

After the Russian Empire falls to revolutionary forces in 1916, Greece begins pushing the Allies for a formal recognition of her claim to the Holy City of Constantinople with Italian backing, as Russia no longer finds herself in any position to object to or contest the claim. The Allies once more refuse to take a definitive stance on the matter, but in pursuit of furthering the Hellenic Kingdom's claims to the Holy City, in 1918 the title of the Greek monarch is nevertheless adjusted to "King and Autocrat of the Hellenes" (Βασιλεύς καὶ Αὐτοκράτωρ τῶν Ἕλλήνων) as a callback to the Eastern Roman Emperor's historic title of "Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans."

- 1919: The Greco-Turkish War breaks out when the Kingdom of Greece mobilises to invade the remnants of the Ottoman Empire in order to fulfil a two-fold goal of protecting the Christian communities scattered throughout much of Anatolia by safely evacuating as many of them as possible to the designated territories that are to be annexed to the Hellenic Kingdom and to secure the designated territories that have been declared the de jure property of the Kingdom of Greece in Asia Minor, in accordance with the ongoing negotiations for the soon-to-be-finalised Treaty of Sevres.
In the aftermath of the war's end, the Biennio Rosso (Red Biennium) breaks out in Italy in response to the post-war economical crisis and political instability permeating the nation.
- 1920: In the midst of the Greco-Turkish War, a rogue brigade of veteran Orthodox troops from various Balkan and Eastern European nations secretly created and funded by the Greek crown stages a successful coup in the near-defenceless Holy City and occupies it in the name of the Orthodox Faith. Due to a combination of factors involving a good, well-executed plan and local non-Muslim support in favour of the coup, they succeed in taking control of the city overnight, locking down the Allied troops and expelling the Ottoman administration with minimal casualties. The French and British powers file formal protests against this unilateral act of annexation and the associated violations of the designated neutral zone referred to as the "International Zone of the Straits", but as their military forces already already overextended, they ultimately decide to undertake no actions to reclaim the city, opting instead to simply accept the de facto situation - for the time being, at least.
A few days later, a contingent of Greek military forces arrives and is welcomed into the city, which sparks protests from the Muslim residents that quickly escalate into armed, violent resistance. Nevertheless, this does not prevent the formal annexation of Constantinople into the Kingdom of Greece the next day and the fighting continues on for the weeks to come, with a fresh wave of violent outrage following the declaration of the Holy City's appointment as co-capital of the Kingdom of the Hellenes. Meanwhile, the French and British object to the transfer, but Italy approves wholeheartedly, and regardless of the circumstances under which it happened, the "Liberation of Constantinople" is also overwhelmingly cheered and lauded by the Orthodox communities of the world over, in response to which, the faithful begin pilgrimages to it from all over the world to witness the glory that is the Holy City of Constantinople, firsthand.
In Italy, the Red Biennium largely comes to an end, though sporadic engagements continue well into the next year.

- 1921: In response to the Red Biennium, a series of political reforms is undertaken by the Italian Kingdom under the guiding hand of the famous war hero General Gabriele D'Annunzio, which sets forth the basis within which the autocratic, monarchist, nationalist, anti-Communist regime that will continue to govern Italy for much of the rest of the century is subsequently built upon.

- 1923: Following the ultimate defeat of the White Movement in the Russian Civil War, Constantinople, the Holy City of the Orthodox Faith, having been recently liberated from its centuries-long occupation by the Muslim Caliphate, experiences the first of several waves of migrations from the lands of the former Russian Empire, as well as other Orthodox nations.

- 1924: Following a disastrously mishandled campaign in Asia Minor, the Greek invasion of Anatolia is ultimately routed by the Turkish Revolutionary forces and the Greeks are forced to evacuate their mainland Anatolian holdings, including the Anatolian Dardanelles, as a part of the armistice agreement negotiated with the Young Turks-controlled Turkish National Assembly. Having been once more abandoned by its Western allies, Greece now once again finds herself standing alone against the Turkish threat, with only her Italian allies holding steady by her side, as she enters further talks with the government of the newly-established Republic of Turkey in pursuit of a definitive peace between their two peoples.
Following several extensive but ultimately largely fruitless rounds of rather repetitive attempts at furthering negotiations, the two powers finally agree to a population exchange and an indefinite extension on the armistice agreement, pending the outcome of further talks in pursuit of a final peace treaty between them; over 1 million Anatolian Christians are safely and successfully evacuated across the sea to the recently-liberated and relatively-depopulated (due to a parallel population exchange also undertaken with the Kingdom of Bulgaria) regions of Macedonia and Thrace, as well as the colony of Greek Cyrenaica in Africa.
However, due to the incessant, unwavering Turkish demands for territorial concessions in East Thrace (namely, the city of "Istanbul") which are overwhelmingly, repeatedly rejected by the Hellenic Kingdom, a finalised peace treaty is never signed between the two powers, resulting in a standing state of heightened tensions between them throughout the interwar years.
Meanwhile, in return for her failed ambitions in Asia Minor, Greece is "compensated" by the United Kingdom with an inland extension to her Cyrenaica colony in the form of the Kufra District of British Egypt, as the Greeks have in the past routinely complained about the lack of British interest in suppressing the Senussi Insurgency operating throughout Cyrenaica, and Greek troops have repeatedly crossed into British territory in pursuit of Senussi rebels.
- 1925: In the aftermath of the Asia Minor Disaster, the ultimate failure of the Megali Idea project deals a shocking blow to the Greek psyche, which anti-monarchist and pro-revolutionary factions attempt to take advantage of by scapegoating the King for the failures of the Asia Minor Campaign, resulting in a national schism that violently splits the nation and eventually erupts into a brief but violent armed conflict that comes to be known as the Third Greek Civil War, in which the status quo ultimately triumphs. In the aftermath of the fighting, a reactionary push to expel "modernising" elements such as republicanism in favour of conservative, monarchist, nationalist, ethno-religious sentiments (with a side focus on reestablishing a Royal Cult in line with the old Roman Imperial Cult) takes hold of the nation, and remains strong during the interwar years in the form of a regime strongly inspired by the one that has been ruling the Italian Kingdom for the last few years.

Meanwhile, even as relations with the Republic of Turkey continue to remain frozen in the interwar years, relations between the Kingdoms of Italy and Greece continue to deepen, especially after both nations see themselves fall to nationalist regimes with similar ideologies. Likewise, relations with the United Kingdom eventually also find themselves improving once more as a byproduct of the continuing presence of the British Navy on the island of Cyprus, which came about as a condition of its secession to the Kingdom of Greece after the war and Greece's need for strong allies against the continuing Turkish threat to the east, which harbours standing irredentist claims against East Thrace (namely Constantinople and Adrianople), Cyprus (whose secession to Greece they strongly reject) and various islands in and around the Aegean Sea.

In fact, throughout this time period it is widely (and accurately) believed that the only thing preventing an all-out Turkish invasion of East Thrace in pursuit of reclaiming Constantinople (and, most likely, Adrianople) are the standing guarantees by the Great Powers (though, primarily that of the Italian Kingdom) of full-scale retaliations if such a thing were to ever happen. Even so, tensions between the Hellenic and Turkish states remain high throughout the interwar period, until things once more ultimately culminate in the fateful Axis Invasion of Greece in 1940.


- 1937: Alexander I, King and Autocrat of the Hellenes

On the matter of the Second Great War; Turkish irredentism pushes them to join the Axis Powers in the hopes of finally reclaiming Mosul, Constantinople and to a lesser degree, Adrianople (the Ottoman Empire's first capital in Europe, and the last before the capture of Constantinople). As such, the Turkish Campaign makes up for the lack of the African and Italian Campaigns due to Italy's remaining neutral until the tail end of the conflict. The rest of the war plays out in much the same way, with the exception that the Soviets need to split their forces across two fronts; the Eastern European Front and the Caucasus Front, as the Turks allow (and reinforce) German troop movements across their Russian border. The Turkish Campaign culminates with the counter-invasion and Liberation of Greece in 1944.

- 1941: Following the outbreak of the Second Great War 1939, Italy and Greece both espoused strict neutrality to the entire affair. The Axis Powers, however, are displeased with the Greek government permitting both sides to stop and refuel their ships in Greek ports and they fear the establishment of British naval bases in the Aegean Sea, which ultimately provides them with the casus belli for a joint invasion of Greece, as was previously predicted by the Greek government, due to the Kingdom of Bulgaria's long-standing territorial aspirations towards Western Thrace and Aegean Macedonia, and the Republic of Turkey's irredentist claims towards East Thrace, Cyprus, and various Aegean Sea islands.
As such, when the joint invasion breaks out, the Hellenic Armed Forces do what is expected of them and repel the invaders to the best of their ability, even scoring several major victories, until a large contingent of the Wehrmacht breaks through their ranks resulting in a series of decisive defeats for the Hellenic Kingdom, ultimately forcing them to abandon the mainland and go into exile abroad with the bulk of the remaining Hellenic Armed Forces, creating the Allied-recognised Royal Government-in-Exile. They first retreat to the island of Crete, already under the protection of the Kingdom of Italy since the initial outbreak of the war, but the Wehrmacht's Fallschirmjäger (Paratroopers) give pursuit and invade the island of Crete as well, resulting in a tense (but brief) standoff with the Kingdom of Italy while the Royal-Government-in-Exile flees once again, this time to Greek Cyrenaica - which, it is hoped, is beyond the reach of even the dreaded Wehrmacht.
Meanwhile, in the desperate hopes of avoiding occupation by Turkish or Bulgarian forces, Constantinople issues a call to the Orthodox faithful for assistance in reinforcing the city's fortifications in preparation for the inevitable siege that is to come, which results in a favourable response from the Orthodox community worldwide. Once the siege begins, the defenders, comprised of the paramilitary group the "Constantinople Defence Force" and the local Greek military battalions successfully repel two amphibious assaults by Turkish forces and one probing by Bulgarian land forces before ultimately settling for a negotiated surrender with the German Command upon their arrival under the conditions that the occupation force be made up of a joint German-Bulgarian administration with a German military presence and that there would be no reprisals against the populace or the city itself for its resistance up to this point in time.
The Royal Government-in-Exile ultimately remains stranded in Cyrenaica until the later stages of the war finally permit for a joint Greco-Italian counter-invasion of Occupied Greece, culminating in the glorious Second Liberation of Constantinople, just in time for Christmas.
- 1942: The ongoing Axis Occupation of Greece generates overwhelmingly negative sentiments towards the German and Bulgarians (the latter of whose royal family is also a distant relative of the Greek monarchy's), prompting the Hellenic royal family to discard its Germanic roots by abandoning the moniker of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and its associated titles in favour of the newly-nascent moniker of House of Hellen, chosen as tribute to the legendary progenitor of the Hellenes.
- 1944: End of the Axis Occupation of Greece with the Allied Greco-Italian joint invasion and liberation of the occupied territories, including Constantinople, into the reestablished Hellenic Kingdom. Thanks to Italian guarantees of Greece's territorial integrity, the Turkish withdrawal from all occupied territories occurs without any major incidents.

- 1946: Now under pressure from the Allies, a separate peace treaty is concluded with the Kingdom of Greece, in which the Republic of Turkey formally renounces all claims to Cyprus, East Thrace, the Marmara and the Aegean Islands, thus recognising the de facto and de jure borders of the Kingdom of Greece since 1924 and finally putting an end to the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1946, which has come to be otherwise unofficially referred to as "The Long War."
As a part of the final peace treaty with Turkey, the Allies also negotiated an agreement for joint Greco-Turkish contorl over the Bosporus Straits and the Dardanelles, which serves to guarantee the free passage of civilian vessels in peacetime regardless of the ship's flag state and to regulate the transit of naval warship not belonging to states with shoreline around the Black Sea in both peacetime and wartime. The agreement also recognises the Nations of the Straits' full sovereignty over their respective halves and permits them limited militarisation of those areas, under the limited auspices of the United Nations.
Furthermore, the 1878-1917 border between the Russian and Ottoman Empires is restored as compensation to the Soviets for Turkish involvement in the Second Great War as an Axis Power; the Soviet authorities forcibly deport the local Turkish residents of these areas to the Republic of Turkey and assign the oblasts of Khopa, Artvini and Artaani to the Georgian SSR (Soviet Socialist Republic), while the oblasts of Ultik, Kars, Kaghzovan and Tsolakert are assigned to the Armenian SSR. The newly-integrated, now-depopulated oblasts are then repopulated with the newly-evicted Armenian population of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast in the Azerbaijani SSR (which is subsequently disbanded) and Georgians from throughout the Georgian SSR, respectively (the Adjarian Autonomous SSR is also disbanded at this time). Furthermore, in order to strengthen the Georgian national identity, the rights and privileges of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast are revoked, the region is reintegrated into Georgia proper and the Armenian population of the Georgian Javakheti region is also "politely encouraged" under new Georgian state policies, to migrate into the newly-integrated oblasts of "Western Armenia."
Meanwhile, levels of violence between pro- and anti-Communist forces which have been escalating since the aftermath of the Axis retreat from the Hellenic Kingdom finally explode into a nation-wide civil war, as revolutionary elements backed by the other Communist states across the Balkan Peninsula attempt to prevent the reestablishment of the pre-war status quo.
Finally, following the establishment of Communist regimes throughout Eastern Europe and the Slavic Balkan states, new waves of Orthodox faithfuls make their way towards the Holy City of Constantinople, undeterred even by the ongoing violent conflict permeating throughout much of the Greek mainland (this phenomenon culminates with the cessation of hostilities throughout Greece in 1948 and subsequently perseveres, in more limited amounts, until the Eastern Bloc borders begin to come under more stringent locks in the early 1950s).
- 1948: The Fourth Greek Civil War finally comes to a close with the successful re-establishment of the pre-war regime as the sole authority throughout the Hellenic Kingdom. After the end of the war, the colony of Greek Cyrenaica is formally integrated into the Kingdom of Greece as a full region, and the Principality of Cyprus is also stripped of her traditional autonomy under newly-introduced legislative reforms intended to further centralise the state under the regime's leadership.
As part of the reforms, "Prince of Cyprus" is now an honorary title held by the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Greece, future King and Autocrat of the Hellenes.

The occupation and subsequent civil war exacted a heavy toll on the Hellenic Kingdom not just in terms of lives, infrastructure and the economy, but also the renewed effect of having Greek-inhabited, liberated areas find themselves once more under foreign occupation - in particular, Turkish occupation. The result of this is an unofficial policy of isolationism, especially from their new Communist and Turkish neighbouring states (whereas Italy is largely, but not entirely, excepted), which endures throughout the early years of what later comes to be known as "The Cold War" until the early 1960s, when oil is discovered in Cyrenaica, prompting a significant shift in foreign policy that culminates in the Hellenic Repatriation Program a few years later.
 
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Epilogue (1948-2018):
- 1950: Following extensive conversations and protracted negotiations in the aftermath of the war with both the Western and Eastern Blocs, on January 1st the Balkan Socialist Federation of Yugoslavia finally comes into existence after years in the making, with the automatic activation of a series of treaties signed by the respective leadership of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia and the People's Republic of Bulgaria between 1946 and 1949 that are designed to merge their respective governments into a single entity. As a byproduct, at the behest of the Western Bloc and the Hellenic Kingdom in particular, who remains weary of the "United Macedonia" ideology and potential Communist irredentism towards "Aegean Macedonia" as a result, the People's Republic of Macedonia is renamed to the People's Republic of Vardaria, whose borders, under its new constitution, cannot be expanded into other areas of the Macedonian geographic region. Unofficially, however, the Balkan Socialist Federation continues to pursue its aspirations of eventually expanding into Albania and Greece, just as Bulgaria's aspirations for eventual unification with Vardaria and her irredentist notions towards the Aegean in the forms of United Macedonia and Thrace never fully disappear, either.

In order to wipe out the remaining Bulgarophile sentiments permeating the new state, the People's Republic of Vardaria (later renamed to the Socialist Republic of Vardaria in 1963) draws extensively on the policies fomented by the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic and embarks upon a remarkable process of nation-building which focuses strongly on promoting a localised Slavic identity, against other, competing opinions which view the Vardarian Slavs as unassimilated Serbs or Bulgarians with no right to an independent existence of their own. Further, the official state policy, backed up by the federal government, states that the Vardaric and Bulgarian languages are two distinct, separate languages; in order to emphasise these distinctions, the Vardarian languages is given its own Cyrillic-based alphabet. The capital city of Vardaria is Veles and the biggest city is Skopje.


- 1952: Amidst rising tensions with Arab Nationalists over the continued "colonisation" efforts being undertaken in Cyrenaica by the Kingdom of Greece, the historic Egyptian Greek communities (also known as Egyptiotes) are expelled and largely resettled in Greek Cyrenaica.

- 1961: The Cyrenaican Oil Fields are discovered, prompting a new wave of migrations to Greek Cyrenaica.

- 1965: In order to undo the Greek Diaspora stemming from over a century and a half of political instabilities and rickety state finances which have permeated the Kingdom of Greece since its inception, the Hellenic Repatriation Program is established; using oil funds, ethnic Greeks are welcomed back to their ancestral homeland, where the economy is experiencing an unprecedented boom due to the exploitation of Cyrenaica's massive, high-quality oil reserves.

The discovery of vast deposits of high quality oil in both Italian Libya and Greek Cyrenaica positions the Greco-Italian Entente as a regional superpower throughout the Mediterranean, allowing them unprecedented economic boons and prestige as the leading importers of oil into Western Europe.

- 1974: The OPEC Oil Embargo results in a deal between the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Greece to repatriate the Elgin Marbles in return for favourable conditions on the export of Cyrenaican oil to the member-states of the European Communities (though the official records clearly state they're "a gift from the Queen to the Hellenic peoples as proof of the ongoing friendship between the two nations").

- 1977: After nearly two long decades of brutal fighting in Ethiopia that has left in its wake tens of thousands of Italians dead and the kingdom's continuing inability to deal with the violence stemming from the Anni di Piombo (Years of Lead), a successful military coup in Rome overthrows the established regime, prompting a reorganisation of Italian colonial policy by the new interim government in the form of a ceasefire offer pending an armistice agreement leading up to an eventual referendum on a finalised peace treaty and independence. The leftist elements which originally spearheaded the coup are quickly suppressed and marginalised in its aftermath, however, and Italy instead transitions into a parliamentary monarchy, following a series of constitutional reforms.
Further referendums are subsequently organised for the remainder of Italy's colonial holdings in the aftermath of mass protests across their respective major cities; all result largely in favour of independence, save for Tripolitania's, which narrowly votes in favour of remaining with the Italian Kingdom, much to the chagrin of its nationalist factions, who accuse the state of rigging the vote and vow to continue fighting "for a free, independent and unified Libyan state."
In the aftermath of this, the Principality of Albania enters into negotiations with the Italian Kingdom to exit the royal union they have had together since her (de facto) foundation in 1910, in favour of declaring the foundation of an independent Kingdom of Albania, under the rule of their current-serving Governor, who is elected to the position of King of the Albanians (they subsequently opt to reinforce ties with the Kingdom of Greece in order to best protect themselves from their Communist neighbouring states, forming a sort of an unofficial "Greco-Albanian Entente").
The first elections held in the Italian Kingdom under the new electoral system are won by the Christian Democrats Party (Partito dei Democratici Cristiani).
- 1978: After the successful transition to independence in the aftermath of an overwhelmingly-in-favour independence referendum, the new Ethiopian government undertakes a massive repatriation effort of Italian colonists settled in Africa, while Tunisian Italian communities emigrate en masse to Tripolitania and the Mezzogiorno.

- 1983: Ferdinand I, King of Italy
- 1986: Ioannis I, King and Autocrat of the Hellenes

- 1990: The Hellenic Parliament passes the Kapodistrias Administrative Reform Plan and His Hellenic Majesty subsequently signs it into law; the implementation stage is split into three phases, which are scheduled to enter into effect in 1992, 1994 and 1996, respectively.

Upon the start of what eventually comes to be known as the Cold War, the Greco-Italian Entente adopts a joint neutrality position which they successfully maintain throughout its duration. However, the two regimes ultimately find themselves on very diverging paths, as, following the start of the Hellenic Repatriation Program in 1965, attitudes in Greece slowly begin to change as outside voices begin to inject new ideas into Hellenic society (the effects of which can be clearly noted in the 1970s), while Italy falls deeper into authoritarianism upon the outbreak of the Anni di Piombo in 1968. As a result, the Italian regime ultimately ends suddenly amidst violence, following a successful coup in 1977 brought on by gross discontent with the established order and continues on with a period of protracted political instability in its aftermath, whereas the Hellenic Kingdom's regime endures until the death of King Alexander in 1986 and is subsequently followed by a peaceful transition into a new age under the guiding hand of King Ioannis.

Finally, ensuing the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the reestablishment of independent states throughout Eastern Europe and the Balkans, the Hellenic Kingdom begins to take a more dominant role in regional affairs, filling in the power vacuum left behind after the final dissolution of the Balkan Socialist Federation of Yugoslavia in 1995 which comes in the aftermath of a long and protracted civil war between the member states; the Greco-Albanian relationship serves them well as a starting point in this endeavour.
 
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Administrative Divisions of the Kingdom of Greece, Published by the Hellenic Cartographic Society in 2018:

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Following the death of King Alexander and the ultimate dissolution of the Hellenic regime in 1986, a gradual process of reform with a side-focus on decentralisation swept over the Kingdom, the ultimate result of which was the Kapodistrias Plan; named after the first Governor and Prime Minister of the modern Hellenic Kingdom and implemented in stages throughout the 1990s, it saw a top-down total reform of the nation's administrative divisions into regional units whose borders were purposefully drawn to coincide with the historical regions of Hellas as closely as possible.

Each region is overseen by a crown-appointed governor, which oversees the duties undertaken by the elected prefect from each prefecture, whose duties are, in turn, shared with the elected municipal governments throughout their respective prefectures; there are also two city-prefectures, comprising the dual capitals of Athens and Constantinople, whose prefects are elected separately from the regional ones and who operate exclusively within their respective designated boundaries in conjunction with the elected mayors and city councils. However, even following the reforms, the regional government's powers continue to be limited only to those specific fields required by them for their everyday local functions, leaving the Athenian Ministries in direct control of most of the actual state through the governors in what continues to be one of the most centralised states in modern-day Europe.

With that being said, select prefectures in Epirus, the Korysta Prefecture in north-western Macedonia, the region of Cyrenaica and the Autonomous Monastic State of the Holy Community of Mount Athos reserve for themselves certain unique rights; in the case of Epirus and Macedonia, under the new reforms, the prefectures are now permitted to operate jointly in both Greek and Albanian, in recognition of the historic Albanian communities permeating the areas in question, whereas the lingual rights legally attributed to Cyrenaica under the Hellenic state's standing legislation are the subject of a long-standing dispute between the locals and the regional government, which has so far steadfastly refused to actually implement bilingualism in any official capacity. Finally, in the case of Mount Athos, historic legislation ingrained into the Hellenic Constitution has permitted it theocratic self-rule since Macedonia's liberation from the Ottomans in 1912.
 
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Regional Flag of Greek Cyrenaica:
regional_flag_of_greek_cyrenaica_by_reagentah-dce3n9k.png


While lacking official status as flag, the Golden Silphium is as dear a symbol to the Greeks of Cyrenaica as the Vergina Sun is to those living in Macedonia.

The Silphium depicted on the flag is an extinct plant that was once native to Cyrenaica. Known for its medicinal qualities, the export of the plant made Cyrenaica a prosperous part of the Classical world. Demand for this plant was so high in fact, that it was harvested to extinction.

The Gold coloring on the flag represents the wealth of the region. Today, thanks to petroleum extraction, Cyrenaica is the wealthiest region in the Kingdom of Greece, with per capita income surpassing even the dual capitals of Athens and Constantinople.

The Purple coloring on the flag has a dual meaning. According to Herodotus, the first Greeks to settle in Cyrenaica did so at the behest of the Oracle at Delphi. Not knowing how to reach Cyrenaica, the Greek colonists stopped in Crete, and solicited a pilot to navigate them to the unknown land. Corobius, a dealer in purple dyes, would ultimately lead the colonists to Cyrenaica. Additionally, Purple signifies the strong dedication to the Greek royal family. During the Second Great War, Cyrenaica hosted the royal family and the rest of the Greek government in exile when the Axis powers occupied the country.
 
So was Italy under the Fascist Party after the First World War?

I wrote Mussolini and Venizelos out of history with the Butterfly Effect, though a nationalist anti-Communist regime in which Gabriele D'Annunzio plays a prominent role does nevertheless come to power in Italy following the Biennio Rosso (Red Years) of 1919-1920. Same deal in Greece; there's a Metaxas-like regime that comes to power following the Asia Minor Disaster, but it's not quite Metaxism itself.

I clarified that now, thanks for pointing it out ^^
 
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Further referendums are subsequently organised for the remainder of Italy's colonial holdings in the aftermath of mass protests across their respective major cities. All result largely in favour of independence, save for Tripolitania's, which narrowly votes in favour of remaining with the Italian Kingdom, much to the chagrin of its nationalist factions, who accuse the state of rigging the vote and vow to continue fighting "for a free, independent, and unified Libyan state."
Great Map! Does TTL Italian Tripoltania include the Fezzan region? Is the European Union going to exist TTL?
 
Great Map! Does TTL Italian Tripoltania include the Fezzan region? Is the European Union going to exist TTL?

Yeah, Tripolitania is their name for the entire colony of Italian Libya, including the Fezzan region. The borders evolve the same as per OTL, excepting the absence of Cyrenaica, of course.

As for the EU; a version of it, probably. After two world wars, averting "European Unity" is rather difficult, after all, especially since such thoughts date back to the 1910s (if not earlier if we count Napoleon's Continental System). However, due to Italy's regime, she isn't a founding member (Spain was also rejected membership in OTL due to Franco, and Greece's was suspended upon the Colonel's Coup), so the Greco-Italian Kingdoms work on their own independent, joint partnerships, instead, with Albania in the middle of it all. Italy, Spain and Portugal subsequently join in the second wave (with the UK being the first wave), following the demise of their respective regimes and decolonisation periods, whereas Greece remains independent, opting for more ties with Albania, instead.

Then, after the Yugoslav War ends, Greece starts looking into forming a regional community, some sort of a Balkan Confederation, in order to avert the European Community/Union/other expanding into the Balkans at her expense (the Western nations don't particularly care for her standing policy of refusing to even entertain the idea of "liberating" Cyrenaica, which has put her at odds with the decolonised European powers more than once).
 
I'm curious as to why Turkey wasn't punished more harshly at the end of WWII in terms of territorial losses. If the major Allied powers are willing, why doesn't Greece press for the annexation of Ionia/Smyrna, or really anything from Turkey beyond a confirmation of the status quo?

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Sure, most of the Greeks have left the area by then, by the paucity of Poles in Stettin didn't prevent that city from being awarded to Poland after the end of the OTL Second World War.

(Btw, has a somewhat different WWII changed European borders here outside of the Balkans? Do Germany, Poland, Hungary, Romania, or any other country look different on a map? And what are Italy's exact European borders?)
 
Interesting and well written TL. Is there going to be more?

Thanks ^^ Though, honestly, we don't really have any bigger plans for this timeline at this time. I make an occasional edit to tweak or add something, but the broad strokes are just about done. I can say that Reagent does have at least one more map planned right now, but beyond that, there's just nothing else to say right now, really.

I'm curious as to why Turkey wasn't punished more harshly at the end of WWII in terms of territorial losses. If the major Allied powers are willing, why doesn't Greece press for the annexation of Ionia/Smyrna, or really anything from Turkey beyond a confirmation of the status quo?

<snip>

Sure, most of the Greeks have left the area by then, by the paucity of Poles in Stettin didn't prevent that city from being awarded to Poland after the end of the OTL Second World War.

(Btw, has a somewhat different WWII changed European borders here outside of the Balkans? Do Germany, Poland, Hungary, Romania, or any other country look different on a map? And what are Italy's exact European borders?)

We did actually briefly toy with the idea of having a Turkish partition, with joint "People's Republic of Turkey" / "North Turkey" and "Republic of Turkey" / "South Turkey" states, but with the Soviets in full control of the Black Sea, the front lines would be shifted so completely towards Greece that they would be forced to join NATO, which I didn't want them to do in this timeline. ITTL Greece's regime basically ensures that it's neutral, but also largely isolated from both the West and the East until the oil discovery in 1961, which prompts them to start opening up a little, ultimately resulting in the Hellenic Repatriation Program in 1965 once the first oil deals start really paying off. Then, from there, they slowly become more and more open as outside ideas start to permeate the nation, but as they insist on retaining their neutrality, they largely replace Yugoslavia in this scenario (since Tito either doesn't exist, or gets shot in the head while fighting in the Spanish Civil War; your choice, dear reader) as an independent, neutral power in the Balkans (albeit, in tandem with Italy until the late 1970s).

Other than that, it's also a combination of other factors; out-of-universe, I have personally never believed in the long-term viability of the Smyrna Zone, so reconstituting that disaster wasn't something I ever bothered to even consider. In-universe, neither the Allies nor the Greeks wanted to further inflame Turkish irredentist sentiments by demanding the Anatolian Dardanelles, or even more than that, even. Likewise, the Allies don't want to lose the Turks as potential friends and allies in the future due to their strategic geo-political importance in any future engagements against the Soviets, which prompts the Allied Leadership to "go easy" on them - especially in light of the Soviets' territorial demands from them as reparations.

Also, the respective territories were thoroughly cleansed in the population exchanges of the 1920s, both in OTL, but also in particular in TTL, since in OTL the agreements made an exception for the Turks in West Thrace and the Greeks in East Thrace which TTL doesn't, as there's no need for it. Hell, TTL even cleanses Cyprus of its Turkish community, it's a very thorough affair for both of them, so why bother with all that Megali Idea drama all over again. It died with the Asia Minor Disaster, no point in revisiting it 20 years later, especially after how badly the Treaty of Sèvres went for everyone involved.

Furthermore, by comparison, the Poles actually had at their disposal millions of purposefully displaced people to resettle into the formerly-German areas when the Soviets retook the territories in the east and deported the Poles living throughout the Soviet Union (Ukraine in particular), whereas the Anatolian Greeks were already resettled 20 years earlier, so there's really no point in continuously moving them around.

And we haven't really discussed much of anything outside of the Balkans, so aside from Belgium having a different monarchy and the Second World War having a couple of different fronts which results in the Soviet Union taking a piece of Turkey, assume the Potsdam Conference plays out the same way, etc. As for Italy's borders, specifically...... Funny you should ask, I was actually looking at them on a map just this morning, trying to figure out how/if Italy would be able to retain Zara/Zadar, how the ethnic tensions in Venezia-Giulia would ultimately end up playing out, etc. so, honestly, I'm not entirely sure just yet :D

Itally retained its part of Libya - what of Tunisia?

I would think Italy would have an easier time settling it than francr.

Yeah, we discussed that, but we figured when factoring in the native's birth rates, the Italians would probably ultimately only be able to gain an overall majority in some of the major coastal cities (not that this actually even happens in that many places), so in the best case scenario upon decolonisation, Italy would only be able to retain a few major cities along the coast (akin to OTL Spain), except Tunisia would most likely be far less tolerant of such a situation since Italian settlement in Tunisia focused on the main cities and they'd have to retain control of these cities in the face of a very outwardly hostile regime, which would ultimately serve to produce a very untenable situation for Italy.
 
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