(AH) Italian Peninsula in 1494

Let me preface by saying: it's been a bloody long time. I've spent a lot of time in the past half-year working on lots of projects but not quite finishing any of them until this one. Something about it makes me feel accomplished. I've also spent a lot of time learning and working on my Lilies and Lions timeline (of which this map is a part of). Plus, I have a job now which takes up most of time.

So, with all of that said, let's take a very brief look at what's happening in this map of the Italian Peninsula in mid-1494.

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The north of Italy had yet to recover fully from the First Lombardian War (1479 - 1483) which in itself was a carryover from the Visconti Succession Crisis only a short while before, and tensions remained high between the imperial princes and the free Lombardian states. Venice, although seemingly in a position to take the small states, looked instead to its growing powers in North Africa and the Black Sea. In the west, Savoy looked on hungrily towards the smaller states, but was powerless to combat the powerful empire alone.

Moving south, the situation in Emilia and the Romagna was in many ways the equal of that in Lombardy, only the Papacy replaced the Empire. During the reign of Pope Pius III, Emilia and the Romagna were able to effectively break away from the greatly weakened Papal States. The attention of the Papacy was focused too much on war between the two Sicilian Kingdoms to the south. However, with the election of Pope Alexander VI, and the appointment of Cesare Borgia as gonfaloniere of the Church, the Papacy looked to be making an effort to reclaim its lost territory before other powers could claim it.

For the Angevine Kingdom of Sicily, the renewed crusades of the century did much to bolster and strengthen them. As well, their natural alliance with the Angevine Monarchy of England and France had proven to be incredibly fruitful, as King Charles V of Sicily was able to seize and hold Messina on the isle of Sicily during the later part of the century. The rebellion of Syracuse against the Aragonese crown helped to ensure a growing Neapolitan control over the Mediterranean-one that would continue on well into the modern era.

In North Africa, the first of the religiously based conquests began in the Hafsid Kingdom during the later 1480s under the proclamation of Pius III. Once again, Charles V did not ignore the opportunity, and with the assistance of the Angevine Monarchy and John I of Provence, was able to conquer a large part of the northern coast. Venice followed and launched their own successful conquests in 1491.

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If nothing else, I'm rather happy posting again! And as always, thanks for all of the lovely comments and critiques.