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The
external policy of Michael VIII
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Page 5
It could hardly be expected that pressure from Louis would really persuade his warlike brother to give up his aggressive plans against the Empire. But Charles was somewhat delayed in his hostilities against Byzantium by Louis' second crusade to Tunis, which encroached upon the policy of Charles in the West. The question of Charles' attitude as to the origin of this crusade, is one on which scholars' opinions vary. The sudden death of Louis in Tunis in 1270 destroyed Michael's hopes of his co-operation. The Byzantine, envoys, who had arrived in Tunis for negotiations a short time before Louis' death, went back, said a Greek source, with hands empty of promises. Charles made his appearance in Tunis and after two brilliant victories compelled the emir of Tunis to make peace on his terms, that the emir should indemnify Charles for his military expenses and pay him an annual tribute. Charles then decided to carry out his plan of invading Byzantium. But on his way back from Tunis a terrible storm destroyed a major part of his fleet, so that, at least for a time, he was unable to undertake the offensive against Byzantium on such a large scale as he had planned.
At the beginning of the seventies, however, Charles was able to send a considerable number of auxiliaries to the Peloponnesus, into Achata, where they fought successfully against the imperial troops. At the same time Charles succeeded in establishing himself in the Balkan peninsula. He seized several fortified places, the most important of which was Dyrrachium (Durazzo, Drac), on the east coast of the Ionian Sea; the Albanian mountaineers became Charles' subjects, and the Despot of Epirus took the oath to him. Accordingly, the king of the Two Sicilies began to style himself the king of Albania (regnum Albaniae).
In a document he names himself by the Grace of God the King of Sicily and Albania (Dei gratia rex Sicilie et Albanie). In a letter Charles writes that the Albanians elected us and our heirs kings and perpetual masters of the said kingdom (nos et heredes nostros elegerunt in reges et dominos perpetuos dicti Regni). An Italian historian of the twentieth century remarks: When Charles' work is better studied and known, he will appear in his true light, as a dim precursor of the political and civil autonomy of the Albanian people that, even at the beginning of the twentieth century, seems a dream and a vague and indetermined aspiration. But Charles was not satisfied. He addressed the Serbs and Bulgars and found in them zealous allies. The envoys of imperators Vulgarorum et regis Servie appeared at his court. The southern Slavs began to crowd into his service and to emigrate into his Italian dominions. A Russian scholar, who was well acquainted with the Italian archives and from them drew a great deal of information on the Slavs, V. Makushev, wrote that, in spite of the incomplete and laconic material, one may form an idea of the course of the Slavonic settlements in southern Italy and of the great number of Slavs pouring from all quarters of the south-Slavonic world into the service of the Angevins... The Slavonic settlements in southern Italy, from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century, are constantly increasing: new ones are being founded, the old ones are growing. In a document of 1323 at Naples is mentioned a quarter called Bulgarian (vicus qui vocatur Bulgarus). The Serbian and Bulgarian envoys arrived in Naples for negotiations. Obviously serious danger threatened Byzantium from the Slavo-French allies. Moreover, Venice, which occupied a most important place in the political, economic, and commercial life of Charles' realm, was also on a friendly footing with him and for the time being supported his imperialistic policy in the East. In addition, the last Emperor of Nicaea, John IV Lascaris, deposed and blinded by Michael VIII, escaped from his Byzantine prison and, at Charles' invitation, appeared at his court.
A History of the Byzantine Empire - Table of Contents
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Reference address : https://ellopos.net/elpenor/vasilief/external-policy-michael-viii.asp?pg=5
