The eagle's left head

[Lascaris]

Agreed, think how this looks to the average citizen of the empire, the Palaiologoi are siding with the very republic that destroyed the empire against the descendent and heir of one of the men who helped restore it, as he tries to free their fellow countryman from said republic all the while the Ottomans are running rampant in the Balkans.

By now it's not the first time the empire fought in alliance with Venice against someone else. And its almost a century since the Lascarids lost the purple...

Well, this now that has proven as a comprehensible error, that Alexandros will have to correct and bring both Sicily and Hellas halves of his kingdom to war footing.

A comprehensible but costly one. Sicily has lost over a third of the galleys it had in the stocks in the battles of 1365 and a smaller but significant part of available naval manpower.

So, now Hellas border has reached the Arachthos river and has get them in close contact with the nearby Albanian tribes.

Some Albanian tribes are in Epirus, other settled further south, Ioannis Buas Alexandros most prominent general is a Hellenized Albanian after all...

With the Cypriots gone, the Greeks have more than enough men to control the interior. I guess the Venetians control Candia, Spinalonga, Sitia and Ierapetra with their respective fortresses.

There are about 5,000 men left on the island against 2,000 Venetians. About 80% of the island is in Greek hands. And of course as this includes regular Sicilian troops also means heavy cavalry and siege machinery.

However, I don't think that the Venetian will give up Treviso. In OTL 1358, Da Carrara was left on his own and had to face the full might of Venice. However now, the best part of venetian manpower is fighting the Sicilians. Treviso is under siege for more than a year as of the end of 1365 and cannot be expected to hold on for much more. Padua and its interior should have slightly more than 40% of the venetian population (Terrafirma and the Lagoon with Venice). A significant part of the Terrafirma is under paduan occupation and the besieged Treviso houses a bit more than 20% of Terrafirma's total population. Overall, as long as Sicily stays in the war, the odds are more than even between Padua and Venice.

Venice is of course disproportionately richer. How much though? By the late 15th century her tax revenues were 1.15 million ducats, with 420,000 coming from the terraferma. Of the remaining 730,000 it's not unreasonable to estimate about half a million was coming from Venice itself. Backtrack to the mid 1360s and it should be a fraction of that half million. A significant fraction but still a fraction.

Especially if Lajos doesn't satisfy Aquileia, the combined populations of Friuli and Padua must be close to that of Venice and again, most of the venetian forces are with Pisani east.

Time to sign a few or not so few condottas it seems before things go wrong...

Those 5 galleys in Corfu will have a disproportionate impact on the war. Moreover, in the early 15th century Venice regularly got a galley from Corfu and from the second half of the century, two galleys. At this point, I think that a single galley can be provided by the island.

These 5 galleys went to join with the rest of Alexandros fleet in Piraeus just as the 16 Venetian ones went to join Pisani's fleet in the Dodecanese.

From Corfu the Sicilians can pretty much destroy venetian trade and the ability of Venice to finance its war effort. After all, in contrast to classical Athens, Venice doesn't receive a significant tribute from its empire (especially now), rents from cleruch land or the produce of silver mines. They depend on trade for their state finances.

As shown in the war of Chioggia Venice IS vulnerable if an enemy fleet barges it's way to the Adriatic.

Did Buas pull a Licario in the months before Pisani's arrival and captured other parts of Euboea or was solely focused on Chalkis ?

He did concentrate on Chalkis, for sound reasons, if that fell the rest of the island would had shortly followed. Too bad Pisani messed this up...

Without a field army, I expect Ioannina to follow Arta's example.

That's not unlikely but that's for 1367... which I'm quite tempted to write early.

Pisani is winning but is losing a lot of manpower, 1,800 so far. His force regeneration capacity in the Aegean is severely restricted.

Pisani is recovering most of his lost manpower though. He's being left in control of the battlefields, so there to pick up the ones not killed or badly wounded. Unlike the defeated who end up as prisoners of war.

Venice without Dalmatia and Istria is in an awful strategic position in the Adriatic, especially with the Sicilians now firmly anchored on both sides. Venetian trade cannot be secured against a hostile Lascarid state and minor victories in the Aegean won't change that.

The first part is true, the second, Sicily mobilized 44 galleys in total in 1365. It has lost 24. Venice mobilized 56 and has lost 10.

Odds are, considering Lajos' character, that the Hungarians will leave the Lascarids to fend for themselves.

I would be hardly surprised.

Therein lies the rub.
Since this war had not been in defense of an existential threat, Alexandros II will likely find it hard - politically - to raise the subvertio generalis, very hard to convince the parliament to consent to it without a significant backlash. Take new loans from Genoese banks is less risky, politically speaking, so more likely I think.

The Sicilian political setup does offer big advantages on a defensive war or a popular war. By the same time it makes more difficult to move the parliament to extraordinary efforts otherwise. Sure liberating Crete and the Venetian holdings in Greece would be nice. Reason enough to raise extraordinary taxes just 7 years after a dozen years long costly war?

Was privateering something yet in this era? If Alexandros cannot raise too many ships without raising taxes sky-high or huge loans, he could encourage/incentivize private actors to prey Venetian shipping on his behalf and pay themselves in loot.

They certainly are a thing, the first documented letters of marque date to 1295

 

[Avrorrange]

Theoretically, if the entire Cypriot army becomes POWs, how much money could Alexandros raise from that? Is it sufficient to pay off a substantial amount of the war?I remember that even without capturing the French King, the ransoms from Crecy and Poitiers alleviated the English debt substantially.

 

[X Oristos]

I wouldn't place bets he was winning. True Visconti was defeated in the battle of Solara. Within 8 days he had already replaced the defeated army and was back to besieging Modena. Not the actions of a state actually losing a war. So the real argument is did Urban V agree to peace with Milan, a highly favorable one at that just to open the road for Peter's crusade, into which Milan was not participating, or because despite Solara he was actually losing the fight? I'm inclined towards the second.

That's a very compelling argument. Consider me convinced. It seems that part of the Curia were dissatisfied with Albornoz because of the high cost of his campaigns.

In April 1364 the Pope had promised the tithes of six years to the Green Count. However after the death of John the Good, the French were reluctant to embark upon a crusade. Avignon used that as an excuse to revoke the grant to Savoy even after Amedeo protested in person and presented his preparations for the crusade. I think that this attitude of the Curia reinforces your view that the Papacy cut its losses with the Visconti war, rather than being fervent for a crusade. The Papacy didn't even provide loans to Amedeo and he had to get loans from Lyonnais bankers and Galeazzo Visconti.

In OTL the Green Count the flower of the savoyard chivalry took with him: 957 nobles and sworn knights out of a total of 1,500-1,800 men. The man didn't trust mercenaries and despised them since he was almost captured by a sneaky mercenary attack a few years ago. But since he needed to include mercenaries in his host, he made sure to be surrounded by loyal nobility.

Milan might not have been participating but Galeazzo provided 600 mercenaries, paid their salaries for 6 months and provided a loan of 20,000 florins. He was all about business and I think he might be willing to provide a loan as in OTL. Not a bigger one though, because it will be a risky investement: Amedeo wouldn't embark on anything like the OTL Alexandrian Crusade, but on a more dangerous campaign. I guess that Venice can pick the tab for those mercenaries.

Venice is of course disproportionately richer. How much though? By the late 15th century her tax revenues were 1.15 million ducats, with 420,000 coming from the terraferma. Of the remaining 730,000 it's not unreasonable to estimate about half a million was coming from Venice itself. Backtrack to the mid 1360s and it should be a fraction of that half million. A significant fraction but still a fraction.

Time to sign a few or not so few condottas it seems before things go wrong...

And the Venetians certainly have the money for it. In the War of Chioggia they were able to hire around 6,000 mercenaries. If they dig deep in their pockets, mercenaries and Amedeo will be enough to contain Padua or even get them to sign a white peace. Having said that, large numbers of mercenaries are expensive. If they hire them, then it will be difficult to man more galleys after the general muster.

Some Albanian tribes are in Epirus, other settled further south, Ioannis Buas Alexandros most prominent general is a Hellenized Albanian after all...

Buas provides a great example to the albanian tribes, since a clan chieftain has been elevated to a position of power, prestige and wealth. And the Albanians who were settled already in Italy provide another great example to be followed: land for leal service.

The Sicilian political setup does offer big advantages on a defensive war or a popular war. By the same time it makes more difficult to move the parliament to extraordinary efforts otherwise. Sure liberating Crete and the Venetian holdings in Greece would be nice. Reason enough to raise extraordinary taxes just 7 years after a dozen years long costly war?

Trade privileges in the east ? After all, in the early 1370s the Genoese coveted Cyprus and sent a fleet of 36 galleys to capture the island. The Sicilian merchants know that Pierre Lousignan has joined in the fight and brought all his might in Crete and Rhodes. Moreover, Alexandros is far away and the burghers have more leverage to promote a protectionist agenda where they will have the upper hand in the Empire's markets over north Italians. These are very legitimate reasons to invest money in the war effort.

The first part is true, the second, Sicily mobilized 44 galleys in total in 1365. It has lost 24. Venice mobilized 56 and has lost 10.

Even though I believe it will make sense for the Sicilians to pay for a second fleet, it will take time. I think the Venetians will be able to send their reserves in the Aegean before the sicilian fleet is ready to sail. They might have deeper reserves but the Venetians have the time to throw another punch. Of course the greek part of the Empire has every reason to work quickly and tirelessly to build more galleys.

 

[Xenophonte]

Even though I believe it will make sense for the Sicilians to pay for a second fleet, it will take time. I think the Venetians will be able to send their reserves in the Aegean before the sicilian fleet is ready to sail. They might have deeper reserves but the Venetians have the time to throw another punch. Of course the greek part of the Empire has every reason to work quickly and tirelessly to build more galleys.

I wonder if would it be necessary to wait to build a new one or perhaps with commissioning/hiring some civilians owned by the Basileia Sicilians/Aegean Greeks merchants, would, at least for now, be enough?

 

[X Oristos]

I wonder if would it be necessary to wait to build a new one or perhaps with commissioning/hiring some civilians owned by the Basileia Sicilians/Aegean Greeks merchants, would, at least for now, be enough?

That's a very good question. We know that the Despots had a standing galley fleet, but we don't know if they enacted policies similar to the venetian ones. Venice was very careful to manage the merchant/great galley fleet. I wouldn't bet on it. The Genoese had a lot of (semi)independent actors with private squadrons so their example is not one for Syracuse. We also don't know the composition of the sicilian merchant fleet. It would make sense that there would be merchant galleys that specialize in the spice trade with Egypt. But were they already part of the 1364 fleet? Only the author knows.

I would bet that since most of the Lascarid Empire's exports are bulky items (grain, cotton, wine, olive oil, alum) they will have a substantial cog/early carrack fleet. However, since they have a long coastline and a lot of small islands, I would bet that a great part of the regional trade was carried by small oared ships, fustas basically. These could be swiftly turned into warships. Fustas make excellent cruisers to unleash against enemy shipping, but poor warships against galleys.

Overall, I think the majority of the new fleet needs to be built.

And the million ducat question remains: what will Genoa do ?

 

[Lascaris]

What is actually the point of the charade again?Time to suppress the Palaiologian Uprising started nearly 100 years ago. Once the war with the Latins are over,it would be a good time to deal with the Ottomans and the Palaiologos at once.Don’t want the Turks’ foothold in Europe to get bigger.

53% of the population of the Lascarid state was last part of the empire in 1071. Which makes it shall we say a different beast than the post-1204 Byzantine successor states? Of which it is one but it is more than that. And given when all this is happening...

 

[Alkmaion]

Just to clearify: when I criticized things in TELH in recent days that was criticism of Alexander II. politics, not the scenario itself

@Lascaris: you give us a really flawed character here. I am very curious what will happen

 

[Quinkana]

Just to clearify: when I criticized things in TELH in recent days that was criticism of Alexander II. politics, not the scenario itself

@Lascaris: you give us a really flawed character here. I am very curious what will happen

I think Alexandros II wanting to become a king makes a lot of sense: he is the first king who grew up in a prosperous state who beat their enemies with prejudice, and is close to becoming the main power in the area. Alexandros II is just pushing that with the state that he wields, and theoretically he is able to do so if he conquers former empire land from the Venetians and Serbian lords.

I just hope he has enough time to become 'Alexander the Great/Conquerer' since I think he could very well be our Mehmed the Conquerer equivalent in the Balkans if things go well for him.

 

[Avrorrange]

Just to clearify: when I criticized things in TELH in recent days that was criticism of Alexander II. politics, not the scenario itself

@Lascaris: you give us a really flawed character here. I am very curious what will happen

What is wrong with Alexandros II? Don’t really see much problems on my part here.

I think Alexandros II wanting to become a king makes a lot of sense: he is the first king who grew up in a prosperous state who beat their enemies with prejudice, and is close to becoming the main power in the area. Alexandros II is just pushing that with the state that he wields, and theoretically he is able to do so if he conquers former empire land from the Venetians and Serbian lords.

I just hope he has enough time to become 'Alexander the Great/Conquerer' since I think he could very well be our Mehmed the Conquerer equivalent in the Balkans if things go well for him.

There’s no reason not to declare himself a king. He basically has no overlord in Italy and in mainland Greece. The Mainland Greek and Italian territories all theoretically owed allegiance to the House of Anjou, not Constantinople prior to the house of Anjou arbitrarily declaring war. The Aegean islands were territories conquered from the ERE. They were never lands bestowed upon the Lascarids ‘Free of charge’ so to speak. Furthermore, the usurper on sits on the Roman throne stole said throne from his family.

 

[HunterX]

The Mainland Greek and Italian territories all theoretically owed allegiance to the House of Anjou, not Constantinople prior to the house of Anjou arbitrarily declaring war.

They were mostly Papal fiefs, but that's just further incentive to claim a title not beholden to a Papacy that has continuously acted against you.

 

[Avrorrange]

They were mostly Papal fiefs, but that's just further incentive to claim a title not beholden to a Papacy that has continuously acted against you.

They are no longer papal fiefs since those territories are now no longer part of the Kingdom of Sicily.If the Papacy would like to dispute that, they could be assured that the Sword is Mightier than the pen.

 

[galileo-034]

After all, in the early 1370s the Genoese coveted Cyprus and sent a fleet of 36 galleys to capture the island.

And the million ducat question remains: what will Genoa do ?

To come back to my earlier question on Cyprus, I sense another idea. What odds Genoa attack Cyprus while Peter is stuck besieging Rhodes, and conquer it right under Alexandros' nose ?
As you pointed out, they did try to conquer it IOTL. The Lascarid manpower and fleet is tied fighting the Venetians; Genoa won't have a better opportunity at capturing Cyprus, since, should they wait, the odds become that Alexandros will make an attempt at it when he is free to do so.

 

[X Oristos]

To come back to my earlier question on Cyprus, I sense another idea. What odds Genoa attack Cyprus while Peter is stuck besieging Rhodes, and conquer it right under Alexandros' nose ?
As you pointed out, they did try to conquer it IOTL. The Lascarid manpower and fleet is tied fighting the Venetians; Genoa won't have a better opportunity at capturing Cyprus, since, should they wait, the odds become that Alexandros will make an attempt at it when he is free to do so.

That is a very plausible case! Although it will be too much of a risk to be seen as greedy opportunists - Sicily is a major trade partner and controls the Aegean and the route to the Black Sea. I don't see the Genoese just attacking Cyprus. They might attempt a sneaky land grab, but they will have to show that they fight the Venetians as well. So they might combine business (Cyprus) with pleasue (fight the Venetians). Alexandros cannot be hostile to Genoa if they assist him in the war against Venice, even if they conquer Cyprus under his nose.

Then there is the matter of the Black Sea. The Genoese can dislodge the Venetians from Tana even without a fleet from the metropole. In the War of Chioggia, Caffa and the genoese colonies had 5 galleys of their own.

 

[Lascaris]

Rhodes. January 6th, 1366

Both the besiegers and the besieged were celebrating the day of the epiphany. Or nearly everyone was doing so as 300 Hospitaller knights and men at arms were instead taking one of the supposedly closed underground passages into the fortress, it helped still having at hand some of the men who had designed the fortifications you were trying to defeat in the first place. By the end of day Rhodes was once more in the hands of the Knights of St John.

Syracuse, February 1st, 1366

"Our lands are still recovering from a dozen years of war. On behalf of the commune of Palermo, we cannot in good conscience agree to the raising of the subvertio generalis. We can understand why it is in the interest of the realm for Crete to join us but this country has lived without Crete for 8 decades. It can live without it for a few more years if need be."

Agnes Doukas Lascaris Vatatzes suppressed a sigh. Not much could be done about it. Her husband would have to deal with the Venetians and their puppets without the additional taxes...

Venice, February 25th, 1366

The Venetian senate accepted peace with Hungary, surrendering the entirety of her Dalmatian holdings to Hungary and accepting the independence of Ragusa. Francesco I da Carrara of Padua, much to his disgruntlement would be forced to also accept the peace without making any gains against Venice. The republic would not forget though that he had turned against the Serenissima at here hour of need.

Ioannina, March 1366

The city threw its gates open to the Sicilian army. Between Alexandros II, a Serb princeling and Charles Thopia Albanians it was not all that difficult to make a choice. But between the Serb remnants and Thopia's Albanians descending south securing Ioannina was different from securing Epirus. Alexandros would leave Ioannis Buas behind at the head of the army to continue the campaign in Epirus.
Rhodes, March 1366

The fleet and army under Vettor Pisani and Peter I moved against Samos and Ikaria. Smaller detachments were trying to bring the lesser Dodecanese islands under the control of the knights but unlike the hopes of some the islands and their small garrisons were resisting instead of merely submitting to the Knights.

Athens, April 1366

George Chrysaphis had died of old age earlier in the year. Alexandros II replaced him with his cousin Alexandros Philanthropenos as ketepano of Hellas before sailing at the head of 48 galleys to lift the siege of Samos.

Contantinople, April 1366

Andronikos IV Palaiologos had been made co-emperor at age 4 back in 1352. But now he had come of age. It was about time he thought. His father was just 34 years old it was true but Andronikos thought he had excellent reasons to believe he would be a better emperor than his father. After all Ioannis V had just joined the Venetians in war against the Sicilians merely because he did not like Alexandros II and owned Venice 50.000 ducats about as much as half a dozen ships would had cost for a year.

Corfu, April 1366

A Venetian fleet of 25 galleys with 1,500 mercenaries aboard showed up before the island putting it under siege. Corfu was strongly fortified and well provisioned but the Venetian senate correctly identified it as of key strategic importance...

Samos, May 1366

Alexandros II was forced to order a retreat. He had hoped to outnumber Pisani. Thanks to the galleys brought by Ioannis V, the man apparently disliked him badly enough to show up in person, he was slightly outnumbered after all, with the Venetians and their allies having 53 galleys in total. His fleet was giving almost as good as it got but was already down half a dozen galleys. He could not afford to lose his fleet. Better pull back to Piraeus and it secure anchorage and come back for a repeat engagement. The garrison of Samos would be forced to surrender in early July.

Piraeus, June 1366

The shipwrights were busy at work repairing the fleet. The news reaching Alexandros were not good. With peace between Venice and Hungary the Venetians had proven bold enough to risk their Adriatic fleet to attack Corfu. If Corfu fell his position would get considerably more difficult. But the Venetian fleet being split between Corfu and Samos also offered opportunities. The Sicilian fleet would head off into the sea as soon as the ships were ready and the crews filled up...

Syracuse, July 1366

Adrienne Lascaris Vatatzes was betrothed to Ioannis Gryphon Maniakes, the son of Alexios Gryphon. Ioannis was not a royal it was true. But the much offered several advantages given his family's network within Sicily, family ties with the Philanthropenos family and illustrious descent from George Maniakes and Leo Phokas. And for good reason the young man, he was 3 years Adrienne's senior appeared clever, courageous and had a crush on Adrienne who reciprocated. As far as the elder Adrienne and Agnes were concerned this was a match combining political expedient with getting the younger Adrienne happy...

Genoa, July 1366

The republic was forced into peace with the Viscontis after the Milanese had put Genoa itself under siege. Genoa was forced to pay 60,000 ducats in war reparations. It would take a bit of time for Genoa to recover from its ordeal.

Corfu channel, July 11th, 1366

The Venetians besieging Corfu were expecting to get at least some warning if a Sicilian fleet passed Methone on it's way westwards. Alexandros II had made the same though and instead of hugging the coast of the Peloponesse on his way west had sailed down to Souda bay instead and from there had taken a wide ark westwards to reach Cephalonia to water his fleet and move north. It had been riskier but had worked as the Venetians had been forced to battle despite being severely outnumbered with 25 galleys against 42. The Venetian fleet would be forced to flee north after losing a third of its ships.

Corfu, July 15th, 1366

"Our contract forbids us from fighting Venice though..."

Alexandros II Doukas Lascaris gave a tight smile. "Of course I will not ask you to break your condotta." he answered in perfect Italian. "But I don't think you have any trouble fighting Albanians or Serbs for a price. Do you?"

The mercenary smiled in turn and 1,500 men switched from Venetian to Greek service without a nose opening.

Naples, August 1366

The Hungarian army, or typically that of the kingdom of Sicily if you asked Louis I of Anjou put Naples under siege. Charles of Gravina who had been chosen by Louis as the future king of Sicily was back from Hungary to Italy to lead the siege...

Chioggia, August 15th, 1366

The garrison, 1,500 militiamen, did try to fight back against the 38 galleys and 3,000 soldiers Alexandros had brought. But the enemy force was overwhelmingly stronger. Chioggia was forced to surrender within two days. The shocked Venetian senate would offer peace to the Sicilians. But when Alexandros would ask for Venice surrendering Crete, Euboea and Methone in exchange for peace the Venetians would refuse outright and prepare for a siege instead.

Ikaria, August 22nd, 1366

The fortress fell to Peter I of Cyprus and Ioannis V. The crusade moved north against a far more difficult but also far more rewarding target. Chios. Soon the siege of Chios difficult already would become all the more difficult when news would reach Pisani that Alexandros was threatening Venice itself and he would sail with the entire Venetian squadron of 29 galleys west to relieve the motherland.

Crete, October 1366

Ierapetra fell to the Greeks. Only Candia remained still in Venetian hands...

Brondolo, Venice, December 22nd, 1366

When Pisani had showed up before Chioggia he had hopped to cut off Alexandros and his men in Chioggia. Alexandros, who not unsurprisingly had been taught at a very young age what had happened to the Athenian fleet at Syracuse had accepted losing Chioggia and had made a breakout. He had succeeded as well in a very hard fought battle that had cost the Sicilians nearly 3,000 men and the Venetians not much fewer. But among the casualties was Alexandros II himself who has heavily wounded leading his fleet...

Syracuse, January 20th, 1367

Alexandros II oversaw the marriage of Adrienne with Ioannis Gryphon Maniakes. It had been a hurried affair, just a week after the fleet was back to Syracuse. But Alexandros had reason to hurry as he would succumb to his wounds a week afterwards.

 

[Xenophonte]

Syracuse, January 20th, 1366

Alexandros II oversaw the marriage of Adrienne with Ioannis Gryphon Maniakes. It had been a hurried affair, just a week after the fleet was back to Syracuse. But Alexandros had reason to hurry as he would succumb to his wounds a week afterwards.

Shocking and unexpected development! I suppose that G. Maniakes would either ruling in stead of his new wife or assuming the regency...

 

[galileo-034]

Oh oh... Icarus flew a bit too high and burned his wings.

So, a regency it is.

It's going to be interesting.
Theodoros II is barely two years old, and old Alexios is no longer around, so it's going to be run by Grandma Adrienne and the basilissa Agnes.
His eldest sister, though still a teenager, has just been married into a powerful family, and I have trouble seeing her a perfect image of loyalty for the next fifteen years of regency. Byzantine tradition had plenty of ambitious princesses if I'm not mistaken.

Meanwhile, Alexandros Philantropenos is the new Katepan of Hellas, and something tells me that, with an infant on the throne, he will remain so for a long time.

Then, the communes have begun showing their teeth on the matter of the subvertio generalis.

And the war still not over.
Crete is basically conquered, and though Agnes and Adrienne Sr might be flexible on Methone and Euboea, they cannot really abandon Rhodes, Samos and all the other islands they just lost.

It's going to be a very eventful regency.

Theodoros II born in 1364, that means potentially a reign into the late 1420s if he lives as long as his grandfather.

 

[galileo-034]

suppose that G. Maniakes would either ruling in stead of his new wife or assuming the regency...

Adrienne and Gryphon Maniakes are still teenagers.

 

[Anarch King of Dipsodes]

Syracuse, January 20th, 1367

Alexandros II oversaw the marriage of Adrienne with Ioannis Gryphon Maniakes. It had been a hurried affair, just a week after the fleet was back to Syracuse. But Alexandros had reason to hurry as he would succumb to his wounds a week afterwards.

Leaving a two-year-old boy as heir. Who did he appoint as regent?

His widow Agnes, probably.

 

[Aristomenes]

Shocking development! The best thing for the Lascarids now would be to offer peace only to the Venetians and ask only for for Crete. Would the Venetians conclude a separate peace with the Lascarids though?

 

[Quinkana]

Shocking development! The best thing for the Lascarids now would be to offer peace only to the Venetians and ask only for for Crete. Would the Venetians conclude a separate peace with the Lascarids though?

I think Euboea is majority Lascarid too at this point, but I think Rhodes would be the main point of contention. The Lascarids can stop their expansion into the Serbs, but they still need Baus to keep the borderlands secure, and they need to defeat the Venetians at sea to keep Rhodes. And I don't think Venice will ever allow the Lascarids to control Euboea and Crete and Rhodes if they can help it.

The Lascarids probably would have to tough it out. Maaaaybe if the Venetians do something stupid like burning one of the merchant cities in the region...

We're getting our first regency too which will be interesting as there are a lot of ways this can go. It can go from the communes gaining more power to Gryphos getting power to Anges ruling the regency. I'm betting on Anges ruling capably, after all her otl counterpart was a very capable woman.

Adrienne and Gryphon Maniakes are still teenagers.

We still have Maria of Taranto becoming the main opposition to Joanna of Naples as a teen, so I don't think that's something that would stop them. After all, a figurehead is important in these circumstances.