Kingdoms of Athens and Epirus

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Kingdom of Athens Common Names: Athens Capital: Athens Demonym: Athenian Languages Official/National: Greek Recognized/Regional: Romanian, Turkish, Italian, Others Ethnic Groups Greek, Turkish, Romanian, Others Government: Constitutional Monarchy Head of State: King of Athens Head of Government: King of Athens Legislature: Symvoúlio <Links to various detailed posts>

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Recent History

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Following the beginning of the Second Ottoman Siege of Constantinople in 1453, Varangian Guardsmen embarked to smuggle the Emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos, out of the city before the Ottoman fleet could make its way through the Byzantine naval defenses. Embarking him onto a swift galley on the north shore of the Golden Horn, they sailed their Emperor straight up the Danube river under the guise of an Ottoman trade ship. The journey was fraught with danger, several times the Emperor was nearly recognized and once almost captured by bandits, but they eventually arrived in Budapest. There the Varangians and Emperor Constantine XI began a land journey to the Republic of Venice. After a week long journey their party arrived in Venice and were received by the Doge, who welcomed the exiled emperor with open arms. The Venetians agreed to allow the Palaiologos dynasty to stay so long as they held no land of their own and vowed to assist in their reclamation of the lost Greek land.

The Palaiologos dynasty continued, and in 1760 their pact with the Venetians was finally fulfilled. The throne of the Kingdom of Athens was presented to the eldest living male of the dynasty, Andronikos VI. The Venetians however had claimed much of Greece as their own and Andronikos VI saw this as a betrayal, one he vowed to avenge.