"In summary, I humbly request that the esteemed and exalted Basileus, for the sake of the Lord, carefully consider my King's proposal." In the spring of 1460, a young-faced noble from the Kingdom of France, Charles of Maine, led an embassy to Constantinople, where he had an audience in the Grand Palace and requested aid from Roman Emperor Manuel III Gavras. The "my King" he referred to was not Basileus's in-law, King Charles VII of France, but rather his uncle, another member of the Valois dynasty, the titular King of Sicily and Jerusalem, Duke of Anjou, Duke of Lorraine, and Count of Provence, "Good King" René.
Since 1459, René had mobilized significant manpower and resources to support his son, John II, in his struggle for Naples against Ferdinand I, the illegitimate son of the former King Alfonso V of Aragon and Naples, who was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Naples. At this time, within Naples, "Angevin" nobles led by the prominent Orsini family rose in rebellion against King Ferdinand, requesting the Angevin dynasty to return to their former lands, thus reigniting the Neapolitan War of Succession, which had only been pacified for less than a decade.
In early 1460, John II, supported by a fleet provided by Genoa, defeated Ferdinand, but Ferdinand quickly received support from numerous powerful Italian states, including Duke Francesco I Sforza of Milan and Pope Pius II, and began a counterattack against John II, who had the Kingdom of France backing him. The Duke of Milan, threatened by French troops occupying Asti and Genoa, loudly called for the French to be driven out of Italy; Pius II even stated: "As soon as the French gain Naples, Italy will lose its freedom; defending Ferdinand is defending Italy itself."
If the original timeline had progressed, Ferdinand would have re-established his rule in 1464, completely defeating the French army led by John II in 1465, pushing the French entirely into the sea, and also completely losing the recently occupied Genoa by the end of 1464.
At this critical juncture, at the behest of Charles VII, René approached the French King's in-law—the East Rome Emperor Manuel III Gavras, who was capable of influencing the entire war.
After listening to Charles of Maine's statement, Manuel began to analyze the current situation in Italy, realizing that this was a rare godsend. Such a chaotic situation in Italy greatly stirred Manuel's heart.
Was this not the best time for the Roman Empire to return to Italy? Therefore, after treating René's envoy with courtesy, he excitedly summoned his cabinet members after court was dismissed to discuss the feasibility of bringing Southern Italy into the fold, preparing to temporarily set aside the Eastern strategy.
"If the Empire can adopt flexible diplomatic means at this time, then perhaps it can recover the Katepanikion of Italy, and even Sicily, in one fell swoop, allowing the Empire's glory to return to the Apennine Peninsula… "
"Wait, Your Majesty, I have an objection." Upon hearing this, the Empire's Chief Minister, Serenus, finally could not help but interrupt Manuel's lengthy discourse. When he was sent by the Emperor to the Apennine Peninsula, he deeply understood the true situation of Italy, a blessing in disguise. Therefore, before his Majesty led the Empire astray, this Prime Minister, risking being stripped of his office, once again stepped forward,
"Your Majesty, what is so good about Italy?"
"Sicily can become the Empire's new granary, Bari can become a stepping stone for the Empire to reclaim its former lands to the west, and Malta can control the choke point of the entire Mediterranean. Moreover, the old greek-speaking Romans in these lands are waiting for the revived Empire to save them again. I am the Emperor of all Romans, and I must also save these Roman people who are in distress in Italy," Manuel answered without hesitation. At this time, he truly had the idea of returning to Italy, just like the Emperor with the same name as him centuries ago.
"Your Majesty, does the Empire currently have the ability to obtain these?" Realizing that his Majesty looked as resolute as if Manuel I Komnenos had possessed him, Serenus was immediately startled and quickly elaborated on his views,
"Since 1445, the Empire has only recovered for about 15 years, not even a generation. The war of attrition with Venice earlier caused our country significant losses in trade, but given our country's status and strength, rashly intervening in the Italian situation will only make us a target for all sides. You must know that the King of the Frank did not directly intervene in Italy, but rather found his Burgundian relatives in Arles as a breakthrough.
"Do you really intend for the Empire, with its recently recovered national strength, to engage in a meat grinder with the Latins in Italy alongside the Franks?"
Serenus's words struck Manuel's heart, awakening this Emperor, who was leading the Empire to revival, from his fervor for reclaiming Southern Italy. Because, indeed, with the current national strength of the Roman Empire, it was impossible to reclaim the Southern Italy region.
"Alas, my beloved Italy. It's so hard to get such an opportunity, but in the end, is it still out of reach… " The unwilling Manuel sighed, clearly much more dejected after recognizing reality.
"Your Majesty, stop thinking about your Italy!"
"Yes, and no," Manuel said, stroking his grayish-black beard after calmly re-analyzing the situation, and then sharply reminded his Prime Minister, "However, Serenus, you seem to have overlooked something as well."
"?"
"What I mean is," Manuel burst into laughter after realizing something, "Since I don't want this Italy, why not make Italy even more chaotic. Mana and Serenus, later you two will convey my decree to that Frank from Maine, tell him I will definitely help him with this!"
"As you command, Your Majesty." Although confused by Basileus's words, the two ministers still expressed their obedience to his order.
In mid-1460, five thousand Roman soldiers, fully equipped and ready for battle, led by the young General, co-Basileus Constantine XI's nephew, Messias Palaiologos, boarded the ships prepared for them by France and Genoa, and set off majestically towards Southern Italy. However, the East Rome did not intervene in this war in its own name, but rather under the guise of the Albanian Despotate, and Skanderbeg, the Despot of Albania himself, had no choice but to obey the Empire's order, bringing 500 elite soldiers and nominally serving as the commander of this expedition. Ironically, in official history, it was Skanderbeg who led the Milanese army and the Albanian allied forces in 1462 to aid Ferdinand I in defeating the French.
With the entry of the Romans, the Italian allied forces, which were about to gain the upper hand, once again fell into a stalemate with the French on the battlefield. And these small actions by the Roman Empire clearly could not be hidden from both friend and foe. Thus, in November, a letter of censure from Rome arrived before Manuel III Gavras in the Constantinople Grand Palace.
"Bessarion, is this what the Western Church has to say?" After reading the letter of censure, Manuel, though appearing amiable, was inwardly laughing wildly as he looked at Bessarion, the current Latin Patriarch of Constantinople. The content of the letter was simple: besides brief pleasantries, it ordered him to withdraw from the Italian battlefield, otherwise the Empire would face sanctions in various areas, including but not limited to excommunication of the Gavras imperial family, excommunication of high-ranking East Rome officials, shelving of church reunification, and allowing the Latins, led by Venice, to return to the Eastern Mediterranean, and so on.
After reading this letter, Manuel's heart was immediately filled with mockery for the Catholic Curia. Now the Empire was fully grown and basically no longer needed the Curia, and the Holy Roman Emperor and the King of France had good relations with him, while Hungary and Poland were still in turmoil, so he wondered where the Pope got the courage to threaten him.
Previously, out of respect for the Curia's assistance to the Empire fifteen or sixteen years ago, he had kept the decree of church reunification hanging without directly abolishing it. But now, it seemed there was no longer any need to maintain this meaningless relationship.
"Bessarion, answer my question. Is your Curia serious?" Manuel casually put the letter of censure aside, narrowing his eyes as he questioned the Greek-born Renaissance scholar before him. Due to the existence of the church reunification decree, this Latin Patriarch of Constantinople, born in Trabzon, also held the position of Metropolitan of the Nicaea diocese in the orthodox Church. However, Manuel was now already considering a successor for the Nicaea diocese.
"Yes, please, Basileus Your Majesty, proceed with caution." Although knowing that the Emperor would surely disregard the matter, Bessarion, with white hair and beard, dressed in red ecclesiastical robes, still bit the bullet and conveyed the Roman Curia's message.
"Ha? Hahahaha, hahahahahaha… " Hearing this, Manuel seemed to have been poked in a funny bone and burst out laughing. After a while, he finally suppressed his laughter, and with a challenging gesture, tapped the ground with his scepter, demanding:
"The Pope? How many legions does he have!?"
Upon hearing this, Bessarion's face immediately turned extremely unsightly, but Basileus did not give him another chance to speak, instead waving his hand and saying: "Go back, tell the Roman Patriarch what I just said. Your Excellency Bessarion, since we are acquainted, for the sake of the Holy Father, let's not make things too ugly in the end."
With that, Bessarion sighed and had no choice but to leave the Grand Palace with the attendants from the Curia, and immediately began preparing to travel to Rome upon returning to his residence. He had a premonition that he would not be staying in Constantinople for long.
At the end of 1460, to punish the East Rome for intervening in Italian affairs, Pope Pius II announced the excommunication of orthodox believers and imposed an anathema on Roman Emperor Manuel III. In response, the Empire expelled the Latin Patriarch of Constantinople and the Curia's envoys, and likewise had Ecumenical Patriarch Gennadius II Scholarius impose an anathema on Pope Pius II and the monarchs of enemy states who stood against him. Seizing this opportunity, Manuel simply declared the church reunification signed since 1442 invalid, and both sides completely broke ties.
After this, the intensity of the Italian War escalated to another level, with both sides stalemated in Southern Italy for over two years.
When 1462 arrived, a political upheaval in Iberia indirectly affected Italy. The escalating war in Italy also brought unrest to the Kingdom of Aragon along the Mediterranean coast. The Catalans, believing the time was ripe, received aid from Italian states and, at the beginning of the year, attempted to hand over the rule of the Principality of Catalonia to a foreign monarch. Therefore, to obtain French aid, the unpopular King John II of Aragon did not hesitate to cede Roussillon and Cerdagne to France. The French King readily agreed, sending troops south to take over the two regions and incidentally suppressing the Catalan rebellion. Aragon and France also became allies, and the former thus tacitly allowed René of Provence to use ports within Aragon.
At this moment, the Roman Empire finally reached out and grasped its true objective for intervening in Italy this time.
In March 1462, the Roman navy, under the pretext of obtaining supplies, intruded into the Maltese archipelago and, taking advantage of Aragon's main forces suppressing rebellion at home, seized the area. King John II, having suffered a silent loss, complained to the newly enthroned French King Louis XI after Catalonia was pacified, but unexpectedly, the Empire refused to yield an inch. Its Foreign Affairs Director, Georgia Mana, even stated that it was merely a sparsely populated, broken island, and there was no harm in giving it to the Romans.
While his diplomatic personnel dealt with Aragon, Manuel III, knowing that the ownership of Malta at this moment was decided not by Aragon but by France, began secret negotiations with the French King. Louis XI, who would later be known as the "Universal Spider," also understood that the Roman Empire, which lacked geopolitical conflict with him, was a better ally than Aragon, which was wavering on the Italian question after regaining its strength.
Thus, after the Romans promised to increase their support for France in Italy, Aragon was sold out.
In September 1462, after multiple negotiations, Louis XI persuaded John II to sell Malta to East Rome for 30,000 sterling gold coins. At the same time, the Roman Empire was also obligated to help John maintain his rule in Sicily and increase its involvement in Italian affairs. Manuel accepted all conditions but requested to pay for the island in installments.
Aragon also agreed to this matter. Although many Italian states, including the Curia, protested, Manuel finally led the Empire back to his longed-for Italy, albeit only a few islands.
At the end of 1462, Manuel, finally firmly established in Italy, ascended the port of Valletta at dawn, bathed in the salty and somewhat chilly sea breeze—
"Alright, this way our Roman Empire has Italy again." Standing by the port, dressed in a luxurious dalmatica, a look of relief appeared on his face.
Meanwhile, in Naples, signs of a decisive outcome finally emerged—
In mid-1462, the Angevin mercenary General Piccinino defeated Sforza of Milan in Apulia;
At the end of 1462, Skanderbeg and Messias led the French-East Rome allied forces to a major victory over the Italian allied forces in Capua;
In 1463, both sides remained in a stalemate, but riots against the Kingdom of France began to break out in Genoa;
In early 1464, the main force of the Kingdom of Naples was routed in Campania by 5,000 Roman troops led by Messias, and Ferdinand I fled Naples;
In April 1464, the secret plot of the Republic of Genoa to welcome Duke Sforza of Milan was exposed, forcing the main French army to move north to quell the unrest in Genoa;
In December 1464, the Italian allied forces, attempting a counterattack, were repelled by the Roman-Provence allied forces in Salento;
In early 1465, French nobles formed the League of Public Weal against King Louis XI, who was strongly centralizing power, and the fragile alliance between "Good King" René and Louis XI disintegrated;
In February of the same year, the remaining French troops withdrew from Southern Italy;
In June of the same year, the Roman Empire signed a peace treaty with the Italian states, withdrawing from the war on the condition that the latter recognized the Empire's rights in Malta;
In July of the same year, to protect his territories in France, René and his son John II signed an agreement to withdraw from Southern Italy while retaining their claims;
From then on, Italy haphazardly won this Italian War.