Favorite Small Medieval Kingdom

[niikeb]

What is your favorite underdog in Medieval history?

The Plucky little fellow that was unique in some way?

Were they the Knights of Malta? A tiny little island figting a naval war against The Ottomans?

Amorica, the Briton refuge in France that never gave up?

Venice? The last never conquered portion of Roman Italy (until Napoleon)?

Switzerland, those plucky Mountaineers who took on the HRE?

Or even some of the less successful ones?
Cornwalls the northern version of Amorica?
The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia?

There are a ton of kingdoms (And Even a few Democracies) that existed in the Medieval era.

Who is your favorite and Why?

[Wellington95]

Definitely the Bohemian Hussites for me...even though they didn't last very long. They proved to be a real pain in the Empire's backside and would have been unbeatable in my opinion if internal conflict hadn't arisen. Jan Zizka goes on my top 50 greatest commanders of all time.

[niikeb]

Originally Posted by Wellington95

Definitely the Bohemian Hussites for me...even though they didn't last very long. They proved to be a real pain in the Empire's backside and would have been unbeatable in my opinion if internal conflict hadn't arisen. Jan Zizka goes on my top 50 greatest commanders of all time.

Agreed, Great Choice! Probably the first real peasant army that fought in a professional manner in an offensive war.

Had Zizka not died it would have been interesting to see.

Also if Joan of Arc had not been captured and had indeed lead a Crusade against the Hussites it would have been a fantasy military match up. (Zizka would have won)

[Wellington95]

Originally Posted by niikeb

Agreed, Great Choice! Probably the first real peasant army that fought in a professional manner in an offensive war.

Had Zizka not died it would have been interesting to see.

Also if Joan of Arc had not been captured and had indeed lead a Crusade against the Hussites it would have been a fantasy military match up. (Zizka would have won)

Ummm, why would she have led a crusade against them?

[Pruitt]

I have always been fond of the Archbishopric of Salzburg. That guy had Mozart working for him! The Archbishops have also never let cattle roam free in the forests. That means the Forests are in the same shape as when Rome rose!

Pruitt

[niikeb]

Originally Posted by Wellington95

Ummm, why would she have led a crusade against them?

http://archive.joan-of-arc.org/joano...h_23_1430.html

6 years after Zizka died, but still one of those fantasy general matchups of uniquely different generals tactics and armies.

[Wellington95]

Originally Posted by niikeb

http://archive.joan-of-arc.org/joano...h_23_1430.html

6 years after Zizka died, but still one of those fantasy general matchups of uniquely different generals tactics and armies.

Oh wow, I had no idea about this. Many thanks for sharing!

[niikeb]

My favorite is probably Venice, the last unconquered outpost of Rome. (Until Napoleon)
It was founded as a city in 421 AD by citizens from Pauda. Prior to that it was a Roman fishing Village.
After the Invasion of the Huns in 452, many citizens of Padua, Aquileia, Treviso, Altino and Concordia fled the barbarians and became citizens of Venice.
Pauda was a city founded by the Veneti and by 45 AD it was a Roman Municipium. Aquileia was a Roman Colony since 181 BC. The citizens of Venice were old Latin.
After the Fall of the Western Empire, Venice was part of the Byzantine Empire, resisting the Lombards as part of a League of Roman/Byzantine cities out of Ravenna.

When Ravenna finally fell in 751, Venice already had a Doge who held office for life, with the nominal support of the Byzantine Emperor. However by this time, Venice was already balancing the peace with the Lombards, the Franks, and the Byzantine. They withstood siege by Pepin the son of Charlemange, and Pepin died soon after of disease he probably contracted during the siege. They had also revolted against the iconoclast ruler of Ravenna, and by that 814, Venice was free of both the Franks, and the Byzantines.

By 841, Venice was active in both a naval alliance with the HRE for who they hunted Arab Pirates, and with Byzantium, who they supported in several military expeditions.
After 950 AD they started expanding down the Adriatic coast, and with the advent of the First Crusade, Venice had merchants in every major port from Venice to The Middle East. They had trade treaties as far as Axum, India, and the Mongol Empire.

They picked up Cyprus and Crete, and the 4th crusade they were heavily involved in conquering Constantinople.

After a golden age of trade and conquest, Venice became the front line of the defense of the West against Islam.

In the 15th century, Venice lost Thessolnika to the Ottomans, and attempted to raise the siege at Contantinople. After this, they allied with Hungary against the Ottomans. After a Peace with the Ottomans, they turned their attention back to Italy, warring with Austria, the Pope, and other Italian states before joining the Italian League against France.

After the outbreak of another Ottoman war Spain, Venice, and the pope formed the Holy League, where they stopped the Ottomans at Lepanto.

By the late 1600s, Venice found itself in the position of the Byzantines and Crusaders, where they needed foreign support to wage war against the Ottomans. They sided with Russia and Austria against the Ottomans, but the peace was better for Russia and Austria than Venice.

At the start of the 17th Century, the Ottomans took Corinth and Morea, but were Repulsed at Corfu. Austria made great gains but Venice lost most of it's Greek Colonies.

After that, history had passed up Venice, and it fell to Napoleon with little effort.

But for over a thousand years, the little remainder of Rome stood, with out a king, or a ruling dynasty. They brought wealth and trade to Europe, stood at the forefront of the War between Islam and Christianity, and then faded as a relic of history once the west became ascendant.

If Imperial Rome had survived, it would have evolved in a similar sense to Venice. For centuries, Venice used citizen soldiers, sailors, and rowers. They had world class cavalry and infantry. Their culture grew refined, and their art grew on Roman and Greek foundations. Venice was one of the birthplaces of the Renaissance, and out of the remnant of Old Rome, New Europe grew.

[mimike]

I agree with everyone who list Zizka - I think one of the most overlooked military commanders in history.