Arc II
Chapter 2
Part 2
Sinibaldo II becomes Grand Prince/ Across the Red Sea to the Gulf of Oman/ Rivalry with the della Gherardesca/ Grand Prince Sinibaldo II reclaims Aswan
12 June 1269
The Leaning Tower, City of Pisa
“Look…Look!!! The evidence is here, can you not see?!”
It was a typical summer morning in Pisa when the entourage of the Grand Prince unlocked the door to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, its doors sealed by the later Grand Princes following Chiaffredo Visconti the Condottiero for safety reasons.
‘Safety reasons of the public’. A catch all phrase to warn the residents both for their potential hazard due to the curve of the Tower, long ago constructed by Doge Pietro II Visconti, almost two hundred years ago and , more importantly, the connection that Tower had with the ominous events of the Great Fire.
“Devil worship my Grand Prince… here, a pentacle engraved on the foundation stone… how could we have been so blind?”
The priest began to chant and bless with holy water the Tower. The echoes of the holy ritual doubled his voice and it was as if thunder had erupted inside.
They catiously proceeded upon the roof of the Tower. In full sight, the city of Pisa sprawled and it was as if time had not touched this part of the closed edifice. For sure, the furniture were covered with blankets, but there were no spider webs nor dust, to signify the place as unused
“Careful Grand Prince Davide…watch your step…”
“Here…and here…Grand Prince Sinibaldo was an alchemist! And you expect the grandson of this devil spawn to be elected as Grand Prince?!”
The Grand Prince’s eyes gleamed at the evidence he had uncovered. Already, he envisaged the Doge of Alexandria being in trial as a warlock’s progeny and his candidateship being forfeit. He too knew how to play the game….and the d’Appiano could share the wealth of the Visconti and Alexandria to those he would favor and accept their eternal gratitude.
He was lost in thoughts and the potentials which unraveled before him. He placed his hands upon the wooden rail and enjoyed the view of the Grand City.
“My Grand Prince…the height… these rails have not been repaired since…”
“Stop your nagging; I am not a child… I am…”
Suddenly, he touched his chest as he felt an excruciating pain of a hundred swords striking him. Each sword thrust mercilessly upon him, his eyes burning at the experience. He began to feel his hands being numbed and his voice being reduced to a squeak. The chanting of the priest buzzed his ears, feeling his head would explode. Then, he felt a blinding light and the vision of a monster with tentacles grasping upon a globe overwhelmed his mind and Pisa was in flames. A large single eye was piercing inside his thoughts, his emotions, his life…
What was happening to him? Was he dying?
From the vertigo of the illusions he could hear voices trailing off
“Now is the time. I am done with his lunacies, we should throw him from here once and for all!”
“Kill the Grand Prince?! Are you insane? We should not interefere in earthly matters…but if we could… what about the priest below?”
“Don’t worry…I will take care of him…”
Before he could understand the meaning of the dialogue, the two men suddenly changed their shape into beings undescribable… their clothes lay tarnished here and there and with lightning speed, they disappeared from the room. Then he heard a cry of agony, just at the moment the priest was chanting “Vade Retro…”
“Do you not wonder what you have seen…is it illusion or a reality? Were you mad by human standards or did you sense what is bound to happen? Either way… this is the end for you here…”
The sickening crack of the woods retreating under the burden of the weight of the Grand Prince was heard. In broad daylight, the people pointed as a figure descended with gravity at the cobbled streets. They soon found out who the person was…
4 July 1269
Muscat, Oman, Abbasid Caliphate
“The white flag of surrender! The garrison asks to surrender!”
The cheer of the besiegers echoed into the valley while the first bastion of Muscat had fallen to the Alexandrine troops. Doge Sinibaldo II Visconti had chosen the right time both to launch his attack and escape from the viper nest of Pisa: had he stalled another day, the Grand Prince would have imprisoned him under the grounds of treason and what else forged accusation he had in his troubled mind.
It would take some time for the Abbasid Caliphate to reorganize its troops and contest the Doge: for the Caliph was occupied in the Sunni coalition war against the Shia Caliph, who arrogantly declared Holy War for Khorasan, wishing to restablish Shia belief in the entire Persian domain. He also had on his hands an internal revolt for some petty reason and all in all, multiple fronts to fend off the gambit of the Visconti.
“A message for the Doge!”
The ships approached the flagship of the Alexandrine fleet: it was nothing too amazing as most of the ships were conscripted merchant vessels.
The Doge was a reserved man and only accepted the messages from his trusted chosen ones. The hanging accusations also made him more cautious, should an assassin of the d’Appiano make his way onto the flagship…
“Great news my lord!! The people of Pisa and the Great Houses have elected you as the new Grand Prince! Davide the Mad must have had…a fit of depression it seems…”
How many Grand Princes have passed since Sinibaldo I, his grandfather? Countless number and of little importance. All were senile men, elected only because the next day they would croak and die. Here now, a man with ambition and aspiration was captain of the flagship of Pisa and thanks to him, Pisa would enter boldly at the marketplaces of Lesser and Greater India…
The neighboring realms had taken advantage of the late Grand Prince’s mental illness and Grand Prince Sinibaldo II Visconti inherited with the Principality two ongoing wars: the Duke of Provence claimed some holdings of his demesne from Pisa and more importantly, the Holy Roman Emperor fought for the County of Brescia, by law a part of the Duchy of Lombardy.
Fortunately these wars, despite the gravity of their name, were concluded most successfully with the use of hired arms. It should be noted that at the last stages of Grand Prince Davide’s life, perhaps the only logical thing he did, he formed an alliance with the Basileia Rhomaion, tipping the scales of war to his side.
Of course it was not surprising when Grand Prince Sinibaldo II with the might of the Principality speeded up his conquest of Muscat and by August 1271, it was a Pisan possession. The Orient was coming closer to the Maritime Principality and the Visconti only a grasp away from their family creed: to the edge of the world.
The Catholic Church was most delighted to bring the people of the Arabian Peninsula to the True Faith: rumors of an island nearby which still had Christians proved to be false and the priests took the opportunity to convert the populace to their religion. Convents, religious schools, all found fertile ground in Muscat and the Major Silk Road City established made the Grand Prince a man richer than even the wildest dreams.
But gold and success brings envy and there were no few times that the Visconti had been the target of jealousy: it did hurt however when the instigator was one of the Great Houses which was benefacted by the Visconti a long time ago by granting them dominion over Amalfi. These were the della Gherardesca, who sought to find ways to minimize the Visconti victories.
Indeed, in their bid to make Amalfi a competitive center of trade and make it the port of call instead of the island of Sardinia, to the end node of Pisa, Doge Innocenzo ‘the Hunter’ copied the tactics of Doge Ausonio: he announced a grand three days feast filled with hunting in the nearby woods to celebrate the prosperity of House della Gherardesca. Everyone received an invitation…except the Grand Prince Sinibaldo II.
“Is it possible for a Ball to be arranged without the first amongst equals? The nerve of the della Gherardesca… I shall go there and demand explanations in person!”’
The Grand Prince Sinibaldo II made his way with haste to Amalfi and the Palazzo della Gherardesca. He still could not believe how the Doge neglected to send an invitation to his House, if not out of maleficence.
He stormed past the guards and announced his presence
“Innocenzo! Innocenzo della Gherardesca!”
The music and loud voices overshadowed his call. Suddenly he began to feel the pang of his shyness creeping in, regretting the fact that temper overcame his patience. But it was an affront he could not forgive…
“May I see your invitation please?”
Grand Prince Sinibaldo II lost it… he may have been the Grand Prince but he was also bound by law, which he had trespassed into stepping in uninvited into a residence. He realized immediately the deception of the della Gherardesca, which he noted with hope of redemption.
The Grand Ball of the della Gherardesca was a huge success and on everyone’s lips was the childish behavior of the Grand Prince to barge in without invitation and his humiliating exit.
But Sinibaldo had no said the last word: immediately he made way for preparing an even greater Ball, right in the heart of the Principality: in Pisa. The majestic Palazzo Visconti was renovated anew and he invited entertainers of all kinds: troubadours from Aquitane and France, jugglers, flame-eaters, exotic Ethiopians, even an Indian faqir who slept upon a bed of nails!
It was an amazing event such like Europe had never seen. What made matters even more interesting was that the Ball was a masquerade and the Grand Prince hid behind an ornate mask and as such did not feel the pressure of the people’s eyes staring at him.
Yet someone was mumbling in the corner of the room, criticizing the extravagant display of Visconti wealth and how the Visconti actually sought to displace the elections of the Principality with the hereditary laws of the feudal kingdoms and empires.
Reminds me of someone… and that beard…he could not have grown that himself unless he was a Greek monk upon a mountain…
With the della Gherardesca humiliated and the Visconti having the last laugh, Grand Prince Sinibaldo II felt encouraged like never before and decided to reclaim his personal birthright: his patrimonial lands of Aswan.
Caliph Bashir ‘the Magnificent’ had been defeated by the Sunni Coalition, in his attempt to wrestle Khorasan for the Shias. What is more, he was dealing with a revolt against his rule, as the recently conquered Persian Emirs had become exhausted from the occupation of foreign rulers. In that moment, the Grand Prince decided to make his move and strategize the forces of the Principality against the traditional archenemy of Pisa: the Shia Caliphate
The Caliphate was taken by surprise: immediately the Mamelukes were conscripted but they could do nothing against the Holy Orders under the banner of Pisa, who took revenge for the slaughter of the Shia Jihad for Jerusalem. At each battle, the Fatimids were defeated and the Caliph had no other choice… Aswan returned again under Pisan and more importantly Visconti domain.
The sacrilege was lifted, the place where Duke Sinibaldo of Aswan was buried was once again Pisan- Visconti. When he entered Aswan, all the memories of him fleeing and seeing behind the Fatimids torching to the ground the Italian quarters and every construct of the Pisans brought him tears… who could have known that the unlikely courtier in Doge Ausonio’s household would one day not only become Grand Prince but also restore the lost lands of Aswan?
5 years after the reconquest of Aswan
What could one write about the events before 9 October 1280? They were filled with petty demands, personal clashes but also with many marvelous inventions which would set Pisa ahead of time in military technology.
But none of these mattered as much, in comparison with a sealed scroll which bore the Papal Bull itself, requesting that Grand Prince Sinibaldo II Visconti appears before the College of Cardinals and the Pope himself….
