WI: Rhomania Survives to the Present Day....Sort of...

Most WI Roman timelines I'm aware of always have the empire retain it's territorial integrity to a greater or lesser extent and is nearly always considered a great power.

But what if Rome survived in some fashion after the fall of Constantinople? Suppose one of the Emperor's relatives manages to flee to some small island chain in the Mediterranean or Aegean and sets up shop there, persisting throughout the centuries in some form or another, but having basically zero impact on history from then out?

The idea I had for a 'modern Roman *Empire*' is one that's basically a modern curiosity, revered by some for its direct and unbroken connection to the past but for the most part known mainly for being a corrupt and disheveled little tax haven whose main export is organized crime.

Once upon a time the Baselius could count on some minor support from the CIA in return for not being a Communist, but those days are long gone. The island's security forces (mercenaries. The last, ceremonial vestigial connection to the legion died out over a century ago) are finding themselves increasingly incapable of containing riots over the government's inability to provide basic necessities and the days of the regime, whose lineage can be traced back to the founding of Rome itself, are regarded as numbered.

What would be a semi-plausible timeline that connects these two points in history?
 
Emperor might claim crown of independent Greece and might even be succesful. But not sure how this small Roman colony could survive so long. Ottomans might try finish that. At least it would need much of foreign support.
 
Most WI Roman timelines I'm aware of always have the empire retain it's territorial integrity to a greater or lesser extent and is nearly always considered a great power.

But what if Rome survived in some fashion after the fall of Constantinople? Suppose one of the Emperor's relatives manages to flee to some small island chain in the Mediterranean or Aegean and sets up shop there, persisting throughout the centuries in some form or another, but having basically zero impact on history from then out?

The idea I had for a 'modern Roman *Empire*' is one that's basically a modern curiosity, revered by some for its direct and unbroken connection to the past but for the most part known mainly for being a corrupt and disheveled little tax haven whose main export is organized crime.

Once upon a time the Baselius could count on some minor support from the CIA in return for not being a Communist, but those days are long gone. The island's security forces (mercenaries. The last, ceremonial vestigial connection to the legion died out over a century ago) are finding themselves increasingly incapable of containing riots over the government's inability to provide basic necessities and the days of the regime, whose lineage can be traced back to the founding of Rome itself, are regarded as numbered.

What would be a semi-plausible timeline that connects these two points in history?

Maybe start by having the Ottomans puppet the Byzantines instead of taking them outright and then if the Ottomans eclipse the Byzantines and then fall, they'd have enough of a cultural uniqueness they couldn't just be merged with Greece but they'd be stuck undeveloped and with all of the problems of the later Ottoman regime? That plus a fascist "revivalist" regime in WWII making them bombed to hell and back might do it, too.
 
A broadly similar situation actually exists OTL with Mount Athos, a semi-autonomous ecclesiastical community dating back to the Byzantine Empire confined to a small peninsula in northern Greece. Theoretically, having someone like Thomas or Demetrios Palaeologus (Constantine XI's brothers) fleeing to the monastic community and taking up the life of a non-monk worker could preserve the Palaeologus bloodline, but that's assuming that Mehmed II doesn't sweep down on the community to eliminate any potential threats in the form of a figure that Greek opposition could rally around, and the brother of an Emperor is a prime candidate for that. Still, if some sort of agreement could've been reached, and Mount Athos's ecclesiastical importance makes it too much trouble to outright conquer the peninsula, you could make it look something like what you're looking for.

However,

Possibly unpopular opinion: you can't have a PoD in 1453 and still have the CIA and WW2, no matter whatsoever how small it is.

Yeah, I 100% agree with this sentiment.
 
Possibly unpopular opinion: you can't have a PoD in 1453 and still have the CIA and WW2, no matter whatsoever how small it is.

Yeah, that's how butterflies work. I'm more thinking about this for fun, though, and it's easier to play around with concepts when the limit is "vague suspension of disbelief plausibility" instead of "Basically everything is invalid". Could you do this for an actual TL? Of course not, that would be stupid. But for a What If, I think that that's at least a valid answer.

Turtledove and Stirling have done much worse, and they're famous. IDK, man.
 
Emperor might claim crown of independent Greece and might even be succesful. But not sure how this small Roman colony could survive so long. Ottomans might try finish that. At least it would need much of foreign support.
As @RiverDelta pointed out above they don't necessarily need to be independent. Perhaps the Ottomans do come for them a few years later, but for whatever reason decide that puppeting the rump 'Baselius' is more expedient than annexing the island and killing the royal family.
Possibly unpopular opinion: you can't have a PoD in 1453 and still have the CIA and WW2, no matter whatsoever how small it is.
Quiet, you
 
Perhaps what needed is for the King of Sicily or Aragon to assume the Latin Imperial title and agree to host the refugee Greek Imperials in return for agreed vassalage?
The Greek Imperials then shortly set up shop in Malta, perhaps with the Hospitalers providing defence.
 
You could twist some wacky situation wherein there becomes an Paleologo Emperor in Montferrat...assuming, then, that the Imperial title becomes an issue, the March is seized and the Emperor flees elsewhere. Marrying some variety of weak or incapable Queen (or Duchess, I suppose) regnant, the Emperor could probably quickly subsume the realm into a new part of the Empire as Greek refugees and former courtesans swarm in. It's a bit fantastical I admit and would probably stink of a coup, but if this individual was capable enough (consider a Joanna the Mad type analogue), it could be done. Naples seems like a nice option given its proximity. It's all a bit contrived but surely possible?
 
It would pretty much be a puppet state of Venice at constant threat of Turkish obliteration. But the Venetians are just as likely to destroy the Byzantines as the Turks are at this point given that at some point it will better serve Venice's interests to depose the last "Roman Emperor" and more directly rule the place.

And given the choice between Constantine XI's last stand and some emperor selling his "empire" to the Venetians (or whatever the Venetians do take control, it won't be anywhere near as epic as the fall of Constantinople), most people would rather forget this "Roman Empire in Crete/wherever" was a thing. Even while it still exists, how many people would really respect it? The Russians would likely still be calling themselves the Third Rome.
 
The Paleologoi family continued to exist in the early Ottoman Empire and even have some measure of wealth and prominence (particularly members that converted) so it is not impossible to have them rule some unimportant place as a fiefdom/vassal state.

The best bet for this is probably the island of Lemnos in the northern aegean. It was effectively the last possession of the Paleologoi outside of Morea/Constantinoupole. In OTL the island was granted in 1453 to the Genoan Gattilusi family who were very heavily intermarried with the Paleologoi, and they retained it as a tributary of the Ottomans for a few decades until the local Greeks rose up in rebellion and invited the turks instead. It's not impossible for it to remain with the Paleologoi and for the Sultan to let them remain as vassals, particularly if this provides the ability to further shore up legitimacy as the successor of the Roman Empire by providing a source of palaeologoi wives.

Assuming there is no butterfly to the Ottoman decline and the eventual rise of Moreot/Greek nationalism, the islands geographic and political proximity to Istanbul could see it avoid becoming part of any independent Greek state, but still retaining a distinct identity and autonomy until eventual independence.
 
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