Subjugation of the French and Greeks
With the hated French now divided, Pandolfo wasted no time in taking their dispersed lands. His campaign of 1208-1209 saw the defeat of the duchy of Bourgogne, resulting in the annexation of Chalons, as well as the Burgundian vassals in southern Italy - Lecce, Cosenza, and Messina. Immediately thereafter, in the campaign of mid-1209 the duke of Orleans was defeated, forcing him to cede Foggia and Taranto, thus finalizing Pandolfo's hold on southern Italy.
Meanwhile, in early 1209 the Emir of Edessa had taken Constantinople itself, forcing the eastern Emperor to relocate to Thessalonica. Seeing the opportunity, Pandolfo embarked upon a crusade to free Constantinople. His troops sailed from Ragusa, and in early 1210 approached Thrace. The Greeks, eager to throw off heathen yoke, soon opened the gates of the city, and in May the Italian army entered Constantinople, for the third time in 150 years. This time however, they were here to stay, and soon Thrace was retaken and made part of the Italian kingdom, over the objections of the powerless Emperor in Thessalonica. Indeed, it seemed the Greeks preferred to live under the proven Italian power rather than the weak Roman Empire; in July, most Greeks had converted to the Latin rite, and two years later they fully took on Italian customs and culture.
Meanwhile, Humphrey of England, an old ally of Pandolfo, had become very insufferable, demanding more lands in France and generally behaving in a mad, un-Christian way. Deciding that the English king had to be put in his place, Pandolfo advised his great-uncle, the Pope, to excommunicate him. When this was done, the English vassals rebelled immediately. By November 1210, the kingdom of England was but an empty memory, its vassals having become fully independent after the capture of London by the duke of Norfolk.
Pandolfo, meanwhile, continued to expand his borders by annexing small neighboring domains and giving them to loyal vassals. Geneve was taken in 1210, Auvergne, Steiermark, Perigord, Armagnac, and Bearn in 1211, Montpellier and Carcassonne in 1212. In 1213, Pandolfo led an army to liberate the ducal lands of Croatia, which had been overrun by pagans several years before.
In Italy itself, however, resistance continued to Pandolfo's strict rule. The heresy of Dolcino, whose followers advocated poverty of the Church and even murdered wealthy priests and stole their property, spread like wildfire across northern Italy, finding many adherents in Genoa and Bologna. Even in Venice, the capital, many learned scholars studied the Bible critically, trying to adapt it to the contemporary world. To combat this, Pandolfo sponsored the Inquisition, which reached its peak in 1213. Many heretics were burned at the stake, but the heresies seemed unquenchable.
In 1214, Pandolfo began another war against the Roman Empire. This time, he claimed the duchies of Slavonia in the west and Antioch in the east, as parts of the kingdoms of Croatia and Jerusalem respectively. Pandolfo himself began to overrun Slavonia, while marshal Lazzarino von Nordgau sailed to Thessalonica, taking it in September. The same month the duke of Slavonia surrendered, and Pandolfo was proclaimed King of Croatia.
Another army sailed to Syria, advancing north along the coast, taking Tortosa in late 1214, and Antiocheia and Alexandretta in early 1215. Faced with no choice, Emperor Ioannes Kabakes was forced to recognize Pandolfo's rights to Thrace and his other conquests.
Sad news greeted Pandolfo, however. His eldest son and heir Silvano, known for his hedonistic parties, had overeaten and died from indigestion after one such party. Pandolfo's young grandson Ausilio now became the kingdom's heir. It seemed that the fate of the Canossa kings was to outlive all their sons, though Pandolfo's youngest, king Alberto of Arabia, was still alive.
The Third Crusade (1216-1217)
In early 1216, at the request of his great-uncle the Pope, Pandolfo embarked on a new crusade. This time he invaded Tunisia, ruled by the Zirid dynasty. The Zirids also ruled large areas of northern Iberia, and could call upon reserves, which made fighting them troublesome. Pandolfo had to maneuver cleverly to prevent the Berbers from sneaking behind his back. The crusade had barely started when in April, Pope Alexander III, Ruggiero di Canossa, died of old age. The Cardinals, influenced by Pandolfo, elected his vassal, archbishop Finan of Libya, as Pope Urban III. Urban, however, was not a particularly zealous man, nor did he show great interest in the ongoing crusade, and some thought that the Cardinals elected him as a subtle snub at Pandolfo.
Nonetheless, Pandolfo remained firmly in control of the new Pope, and continued the crusade. The Zirid city of Kairwan changed hands several times, finally ending up taken by Pandolfo; the king then advanced to Mahdia, and in June 1217 entered Tunis. In October, the Zirids were fully driven out of Tunisia, and Pandolfo did not pursue war against them in Iberia. Soon after the subjugation of Tunis, the city saw an influx of Italian immigrants, particularly those who disliked Pandolfo's religious stringency, and the city became fully Italian. In February 1218, Pandolfo was crowned King of Tunisia by the Pope.
Late Reign of Pandolfo
In 1218, the two knightly orders in the Holy Land, the Hospitaliers and the Templars, had a falling out. The reason for it was unclear; it may have been encouraged by the Pope, or spurred by the Pope's death and election of Serafino, archbishop of Cairo, as Pope Lucius III. Either way, the Hospitaliers occupied and annexed the Templar city of Jaffa. Pandolfo traveled to the Holy Land to resolve the dispute. Jaffa was retaken from the Hospitaliers and soon the Templars were reestablished in Hebron.
During this war it became known that the feud was encouraged by the Greek prince of Cyprus. Pandolfo, wishing to punish the underhanded prince, invaded Cyprus in early 1219. Overrunning the island easily, Pandolfo expelled the Greek elite and gave Cyprus as a duchy to Artemio, son of his granddaughter Carola and marshal Lazzarino von Nordgau.
This campaign to the Holy Land would be the last journey of Pandolfo. Now in his early sixties, the old king remained in Venice, watching his grandchildren grow and come into their own, all around the Mediterranean. Mellowing out somewhat, he presided over the opening of the University of Venice in summer 1221; its first students began their studies already that fall, Pandolfo's grandchildren among them. That same year his grandson Salvatore, the King of Egypt, fell in battle, fighting bravely against the Turks; he was succeeded by his young son Azzo.
In March 1224, Pandolfo's wife and lifelong companion Eustachie died of old age, and two days later, old marshal Lazzarino von Nordgau also died, leaving several sons. With his closest friends dead, Pandolfo was left alone, spending his days in his palace chambers remembering the days of glory and adventure from his younger years. He barely noticed the outside world, the spread of heresies even into Constantinople, and the intense debates in the universities and churches of Italy. On September 24th, 1225, the old king, surrounded by more memories than friends, finally passed away. By his will, his lands were again divided, His eldest grandson Ausilio became King of Italy and Jerusalem, while his younger grandsons Pellegrino and Bruto were given the crowns of Tunisia and Croatia.
Western Europe in 1225
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Canossa genealogy updated to death of Pandolfo.
Interestingly, I just noticed that the Canossa Pope (Ruggiero/Alexander III) reigned in almost the same years (1197-1216) as historical
Pope Innocent III.
