[Trissinas]

1. Can i make a suggestion - that if we're going to do whatifs, we make a point of fully specifying the POD (point of departure) We dont have to be as anal about it as the folks at Soc.history.what-if, but really, the origin matters.


I assume your POD is that in the last years of OTL byzantium, the negotiations for Byz to go RC in exchange for assistance work out. Thats probably difficult, since the westerners, IIUC, werent really ready to offer meaningful help, and the rivalries between Genoa and Venice meant there was alwasy somebody who thought the Byz E wasnt worth keeping for commercial reasons, and none of the Italians were all that concerned about religious matters. But lets handwave that away - lets say, that, through some odd set of events, the Venetian upper class is dominated by folks who REALLY do care whether the Greeks in Constantinople say Filoque (or whatever) and will offer a large fleet and lots of ducats if they make the switch. So enough force goes to Constantinople to harm, delay, Ottoman military activities, and perhaps lead to a lucky death of a key general, and to a failure of nerve on the Ottoman part, and maybe to internal troubles on the Ottoman part. Siege ends, for the moment.

What happens next? Youve now got a Byz empire, thats nominally RC, under Venetian dominance, and small.

1. Will the ordinary guy on the street really follow RC? Will there be a breakaways church of "old believers"?

2. Does Venice even want them to expand back into Anatolia? That both risks a big loss, and OTOH, if its a win, could make the BE more independent. I would say that Venice tries to hold them back.

3. How easy would a reconquista be anyway? I suspect going deep into Asia Minor will be VERY difficult. Theres always Trebizond, though

4. What happens to the Ottoman vassals in the Balkans, Serbia and Bulgaria? Depends how bad things get for the Ottomans in Asia Minor, I suspect. Genoa, say, while possibly considering trying to rival Venice in BE, may have a better shot at an alliance with Serbia or Bulgaria, and using that as a balance to BE.

5. How does the conversion of the BE effect the rest of the Orthodox world, especially Russia? I doubt they will follow suit, but this has to be demoralizing, and lessen the sense of Russia as "heir" of BE.