Osmanlı Yenilgisi Part 2: Italokratia

In the Year of Our Lord 1500, the Italokratia is upon Greece. Since the Turkish retreat from Europe, Byzantium has had a minor resurgence, but merely as a pawn of the Genoese. Venice’s growing strength, in turn, has threatened Genoa, who turned to King Władysław III for support. Though a very old man by then, the ‘Victor of Varna’ would sally forth one last time, to destroy Venetian hegemony in the Adriatic and cement his name in history as the greatest king of Poland. What followed was a disaster. After five years of fighting in the Adriatic, the Aegean, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, the Polish-Genoese alliance stood defeated. Despite minor Polish gains in the Balkans (subduing Herzegovina, a Venetian ally), they lost far more than they won. Venice secured the entire Adriatic coast, subduing Ragusa, and their erstwhile Crimean ally would conquer the Yedisan, cutting the Poles off from the Black Sea. Venice would even secure the allegiance of the Lusignan dynasty of Cyprus, which swiftly seized Genoese possessions on the island. Genoa’s only recourse was to tighten their hold on Byzantium, extracting concessions in Phanarion and Ainos. However, Venice has begun to take a greater interest in the Empire. Only further Italian intrusions will come in the future. In Anatolia, the Ottoman decline has accelerated with the outbreak of a Second Interregnum following the death of Mehmed II. Bayezid Çelebi faces threats from both of his brothers, and as of the New Year, Mustafa Çelebi is advancing on the capital, Kütahya, with a decisive battle soon to come. Further east, the Karamanids have clashed with the Mamluks over the beyliks that have formed a buffer between them. The result is somewhat inconclusive— the Karamanids made significant territorial gains, yet the Beyliks themselves have remained under Mamluk suzerainty. The way is open for further Egyptian meddling in Anatolia, unless the Karamanids can again check their advance. In the Caucasus, the Circassians have conquered or subdued many of their neighbors, spreading Orthodox Christianity. The seeds of a potential new empire are being planted. As Spain consolidates its hold over Sicily and seeks to extend its rule to Naples, they look east to Greece. In the coming years, a new power may enter the struggle for Greece…