Maybe there's a war between the Safavids and Mamluks that results in the Levant being made independent? Could be an interesting player, the Mamluks to their West, the Romans (some random Turkish states) up North, and the big bad Persians in the East.
Varna Crusade Victorious: The Second Coming of the Conquest Armies.
- Thread starter Putnam
- Start date
Oh, 100% they're going to do WAY better in this timeline than IOTL. For example, they're going to hold onto Mesopotamia for MUCH longer than OTL.
They're just not going to push much if at all into Anatolia or the Levant. The Romans won't allow that to happen. It's "Never Again" territory for them.
The Mamluks will also survive much longer than IOTL, without the Ottoman conquests in the early 16th century, but that was only a temporary stay of execution...
Last edited:
On that note, even IOTL, the Mamluks were kept around as the local aristocracy by the Ottomans until Muhammad Ali (not the boxer) purged them in the 19th Century. And speaking of the Mamluks, IOTL, they kept around a puppet Abbasid Caliphate until the Ottomans conquered them.
1500 AD Part III - Reunion, Recovery, and Looking Toward the Future
Damn, I'm potentially going to rustle some jimmies real good with this one...
The Anatolian Crusade - Aftermath and Settlement
In during the Anatolian Crusade the Court was, naturally, in full crisis mode. In their eyes it was entirely possible that upon the successful conclusion of the war the Crusaders would simply stay put and build a new Crusader Kingdom in Anatolia. Sure they hadn't done that in the Balkans, but nothing prevented them from doing so here. The Romans had not forgotten the centuries of humiliation that had led to this very moment and they were fearful that the Crusaders, recognizing Roman weakness, would simply take the land for themselves.
So in anticipation of such a betrayal the Romans would occupy the most important cities nearest the Marmara coast, focusing in on the crossing points of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus while also occupying Nicomedia and Nicaea, as the two most important cities in Northwestern Anatolia. However these efforts were largely futile and the Romans knew it. Sure, the situation in the Balkans had improved a little bit in the three years it took to occupy the whole of Western Anatolia, but it still wasn't great and nowhere near enough to resist the Crusaders if they chose to turn hostile. If the Crusaders turned their Holy Wrath towards the Romans' the paltry attempts at fortifying the Anatolian coast would barely slow them down by maybe a week or two. Maybe a month if they were lucky. Indeed, those fortification efforts would actually do nothing but enrage the Crusaders still further, leading perhaps to another Venetian led sack of the City.
Thankfully for the Romans, they needn't have worried. King Władysław III was still very much in charge of the Crusade and he had no intention of betraying the Romans and forming such a kingdom. The logic that applied to the Balkans very much applied in Anatolia as well. As dilapidated as Constantinople was it was still a crucial administrative and trade hub and attempting to rule in the land of the Romans without its support or the support of the locals was a fool's errand and would only lead to the heathens ruling it instead, as was nearly the case a mere few short years ago.
And, as Władysław wrote in his journal (which survives to this day in the Warsaw Museum), the Balkan Crusade was a far closer affair than anyone knew. He knew how close that spear came to piercing his heart during his charge at Varna and with his death the whole Crusade would've unraveled. In his heart he knew his God spared him to save Europe and the Christian Empire from the heathens that threatened it. He also knew that had he turned to greed during the Crusade the Lord would have abolished his mercy and smote him where he stood and gave Europe to the heathens. That was the true reasons for his generosity to the Palaiologoi.
So no, Władysław would hand over the entirety of Western Anatolia to the Romans and not turn away from the path he was placed upon by the Lord.
For the Romans however, this God-given generosity was a mixed blessing that had the potential to ruin everything...
The Church Reunited
While the war that would decide the fate of Europe and the Near East was being fought, another was being fought to bring unity back to the Lord's Church in the Italian city of Ferrara. The fight to reunite the churches of East and West was a hard fought one going back centuries by the middle of the 15th century and by then raised a great deal of passions in church circles on both sides. These passions made all the worse by the events of the shameful 4th Crusade in 1204 and the Massacre of the Latins in 1182.
There were also doctrinal differences between East and West, however, these would largely be ignored at the Council of Ferrara in favor of political expediency, with one member of the council stating afterward, "if our ancestors could ignore our differences before the Great Schism, then surely we can ignore them afterward as well!" None of the doctrinal differences would be approved or condemned at the council (despite a number of council members attempting to push for it).
Instead, the 1454 Council of Ferrara focused on political matters. For example, all the major participants of the Fourth Crusade would have their memories damned, including Enrico Dandolo (this made the Venetians on the council mighty miffed, but they held their tongue, or more like had it held by others). Also, all property stolen during the Sack of Constantinople was to be returned (not all of it would be, some of it was lost to time after all, but a number of high profile pieces would be returned, making it a fairly important symbolic gesture). Also, as compensation for the wealth stolen during the sack the Empire would receive yearly payments of 100,000 ducats, directly from the Pope's own coffers, the logic being, the Crusaders were agents of the Church and by extension the Papacy, thus the Pope was personally responsible for the actions committed by the Fourth Crusaders. Officially, this was compensation for the sack, unofficially this was a bit of quid pro quo designed to bolster the the strength of the Empire in their weakest moment and it certainly would do that. Strangely, the yearly payments wouldn't end until well over a century after the Council of Ferrara... very strange indeed. The money to pay this would come from a special tith collected by the Papacy throughout Europe.
The Council would then would damn the memory of Andronikos Komnenos for starting the 1182 Massacre of the Latins and there would be some compensation from the East to the Papacy (to then be paid out to the descendents of the victims), but the amount is a pitinence compared to the vast sums being sent eastward. It was mostly a symbolic gesture, but at least the families would have some closure. And for the mass arest of the Venetians during Manuel Komnenos's reign, Manuel himself would not be damned (it would've been unfathomly unpopular in the East to damn the memory of the Emperor who reigned during the last time the Empire was a Superpower), but the act itself was damned. This was a concession to the Venetians, and again, mostly a symbolic gesture considering how the Venetians was handsomely compensated by the vast wealth gained at the Empire's expense over the last century and a half.
In addition, the Pope would order the Knights Hospitaller to return the Island of Rhodes and surrounding islands occupied by the order and in return they would receive a series of fortifications ranging the length of the new frontier in Anatolia so they may defend their fellow Christians from Turkish raids. The fortifications were severely delapidated and in desperate need of repair, which would be done out of their own pocket (their compensation to the Empire for taking Rhodes in 1310), they would also pay taxes in the form of a portion of the slaves and other loot gained from defeating Turkish raids (or maybe making small raids of their own into Turkish lands when no one's looking). They would have to pay for their own upkeep when not officially on campaign with the Emperor, but when on such campaign the Emperor would be the one to pay. The Knightly order would also receive a Headquarters in Constantinople and for all this the Emperor would pay for a hospital in Constantinople out of pocket for the Knights to operate out of. Two more Langues would also be formed, one for the Balkans and one for Anatolia and the Emperor would appoint the Prior for both Langues. This would give the Empire a fair bit of influence within the order moving forward.
The Council would also predictably acknowledge Papal Primacy, however, due to the inclusion of clear spheres of control for the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and the Pope of Rome, the primacy ended up be far more... cerimonial than it was officially meant to be. It also wouldn't survive the Council of Nicaea at the end of the 16th century.
The 1454 Council of Ferrara had intended to restore unity to the Church and in some ways it would accomplish this. Following this council Rome and Constantinople would gradually become the closest they'd been in centuries...
However, the Council would also plant the seed for the Reformation in the 16th century, destroying any semblance of western unity forever.
Roman Consolidation and Recovery
In this period the Romans would have the first extended period of true peace, at least in the Balkans, for the first time since the death of Manuel I Komnenos in 1180, a period of war and general chaos stretching 271 years. During this time the Empire would move to consolidate its hold over the Balkans by dealing with the various minor states, like the Tocco ruled Epirus, to transform the Balkans into a truly Roman land once more and deal with the last of the Latin states in the region.
From there the Empire would make repeated minor raids into Turkish Anatolia, making off with loads of slaves and material wealth that they would use to repopulate and develop the Balkans, chiefly in her Bulgarian lands in order to dilute Bulgarian nationalism. Over the coming generations these Turkish slaves would assimilate into the greater Roman culture and religion, helping to secure the Balkans for future generations of Romans. Also, as the Balkans became properly repopulated again, the Empire increasing traded Turkish slaves for Christian settlers from Hungary, Poland and Lithuania. These Christian settlers would be settled in Anatolia under the proviso that they serve in the military there.
As the Knights Hospitaller became properly established in Anatolia and the Imperial Army recovered its strength, the raids into Turkish lands became more and more ambitious. For example, one raid into Northern Anatolia in 1466 would see the death of the second to last Ottoman "Sultan" with an unknown name and in 1475 the Empire penetrated deep into Turkish Anatolia and sacked Iconium (properly avenging Myriokephalon, where Iconium was the ultimate target) and killed the Karamanid Sultan of "Rum".
The political organization of Anatolia would involve a series of seven military districts that roughly correspond to the old Anatolian themes. All of them would be governed by members of the Palaiologos family. The system would be similar to the old Exarchate System from the 7th Century, established by Emperor Maurice, a mix of military and civil authority. Any taxes collected in one of these military districts would be kept and spent in the district. As the Empire recovers in Anatolia these districts would transistion back to civilian rule, a process that wouldn't be complete in Western Anatolia until 1555.
By 1500 the Imperial Army numbered roughly 30,000 men of reasonable quality with a small but capable navy, more than capable of supporting the supply line from Greece to Italy if need be...
The Balkan Crusade and the Rise of the Kantakouzenoi
While, as a result of the Balkan Crusade it mostly allowed for the total reset on land distribution, since the old landed magnates were pushed off their land, and it generally did see the restoration of the Freeholder class that began to decline during the Komnenoi period, that doesn't mean noble families didn't find ways to take advantage of the crusade's success to gain land and the biggest winner by far was the Kantakouzenoi who gained vast amounts of land and huge influence over local government in Central Greece.
This left Constantinople in a bind, they were naturally concerned over the power of the Kantakouzenoi and were considering what to do about them. The Kantakouzenoi were well aware of this and they were looking for a more secure power base for their family... Then the French invaded the Kingdom of Naples in 1497 offering that solution to their problems, albeit a risky one. If they lost this gambit they lost everything.
The Kantakouzenoi patriarch, Alexios Kantakouzenos, sent letters to Emperor Basil III, the Pope, and the local South Italian nobility still holding out against the French in the south of the country. He contacted the Emperor to ask for his logistical support for his invasion in return for giving up his lands in within the Empire. He contacted the Pope and the Local Nobility to offer his assistance in defeating the French, leaving out his desire to be king if he succeeded.
All three were quite receptive to Alexios's entreaties.
The Emperor because win or lose he resolves a major threat to his family's continued rule. And if on the off chance Alexios actually won, it meant the Empire could reenter the Italian game with some serious influence. The Pope was open to it because it meant helping to get rid of the French from the South of Italy. The Pope was actually initially supportive of the French in Italy... then they invaded Southern Italy, threatening to encircle the Papal States and dominating the Pope (definitely not good). Meanwhile if the Kantakouzenoi could at least defeat the French that would at least resolve the immediate problem, but if the Kantakouzenoi won, it wouldn't be all that bad. It would mean having a connection to Constantinople without it being to... direct. While also having a counterweight to the Empire. If the Empire became too uppity it wouldn't be too hard to convince the Kantakouzenoi that having one of their own on the throne wouldn't be such a bad idea...
The local nobility supported the move because... what exactly did they have to lose? If nothing changed they would lose the war and be ruled by the French!
So it was with this that in December of 1499 the Kantakouzenoi loaded up 3000 men and sailed them to Otranto where they would begin fortifying their position and sending out feelers to the local noblity to get them to officially join him.
And thus begun, the South Italian Wars have...
The Anatolian Crusade - Aftermath and Settlement
In during the Anatolian Crusade the Court was, naturally, in full crisis mode. In their eyes it was entirely possible that upon the successful conclusion of the war the Crusaders would simply stay put and build a new Crusader Kingdom in Anatolia. Sure they hadn't done that in the Balkans, but nothing prevented them from doing so here. The Romans had not forgotten the centuries of humiliation that had led to this very moment and they were fearful that the Crusaders, recognizing Roman weakness, would simply take the land for themselves.
So in anticipation of such a betrayal the Romans would occupy the most important cities nearest the Marmara coast, focusing in on the crossing points of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus while also occupying Nicomedia and Nicaea, as the two most important cities in Northwestern Anatolia. However these efforts were largely futile and the Romans knew it. Sure, the situation in the Balkans had improved a little bit in the three years it took to occupy the whole of Western Anatolia, but it still wasn't great and nowhere near enough to resist the Crusaders if they chose to turn hostile. If the Crusaders turned their Holy Wrath towards the Romans' the paltry attempts at fortifying the Anatolian coast would barely slow them down by maybe a week or two. Maybe a month if they were lucky. Indeed, those fortification efforts would actually do nothing but enrage the Crusaders still further, leading perhaps to another Venetian led sack of the City.
Thankfully for the Romans, they needn't have worried. King Władysław III was still very much in charge of the Crusade and he had no intention of betraying the Romans and forming such a kingdom. The logic that applied to the Balkans very much applied in Anatolia as well. As dilapidated as Constantinople was it was still a crucial administrative and trade hub and attempting to rule in the land of the Romans without its support or the support of the locals was a fool's errand and would only lead to the heathens ruling it instead, as was nearly the case a mere few short years ago.
And, as Władysław wrote in his journal (which survives to this day in the Warsaw Museum), the Balkan Crusade was a far closer affair than anyone knew. He knew how close that spear came to piercing his heart during his charge at Varna and with his death the whole Crusade would've unraveled. In his heart he knew his God spared him to save Europe and the Christian Empire from the heathens that threatened it. He also knew that had he turned to greed during the Crusade the Lord would have abolished his mercy and smote him where he stood and gave Europe to the heathens. That was the true reasons for his generosity to the Palaiologoi.
So no, Władysław would hand over the entirety of Western Anatolia to the Romans and not turn away from the path he was placed upon by the Lord.
For the Romans however, this God-given generosity was a mixed blessing that had the potential to ruin everything...
The Church Reunited
While the war that would decide the fate of Europe and the Near East was being fought, another was being fought to bring unity back to the Lord's Church in the Italian city of Ferrara. The fight to reunite the churches of East and West was a hard fought one going back centuries by the middle of the 15th century and by then raised a great deal of passions in church circles on both sides. These passions made all the worse by the events of the shameful 4th Crusade in 1204 and the Massacre of the Latins in 1182.
There were also doctrinal differences between East and West, however, these would largely be ignored at the Council of Ferrara in favor of political expediency, with one member of the council stating afterward, "if our ancestors could ignore our differences before the Great Schism, then surely we can ignore them afterward as well!" None of the doctrinal differences would be approved or condemned at the council (despite a number of council members attempting to push for it).
Instead, the 1454 Council of Ferrara focused on political matters. For example, all the major participants of the Fourth Crusade would have their memories damned, including Enrico Dandolo (this made the Venetians on the council mighty miffed, but they held their tongue, or more like had it held by others). Also, all property stolen during the Sack of Constantinople was to be returned (not all of it would be, some of it was lost to time after all, but a number of high profile pieces would be returned, making it a fairly important symbolic gesture). Also, as compensation for the wealth stolen during the sack the Empire would receive yearly payments of 100,000 ducats, directly from the Pope's own coffers, the logic being, the Crusaders were agents of the Church and by extension the Papacy, thus the Pope was personally responsible for the actions committed by the Fourth Crusaders. Officially, this was compensation for the sack, unofficially this was a bit of quid pro quo designed to bolster the the strength of the Empire in their weakest moment and it certainly would do that. Strangely, the yearly payments wouldn't end until well over a century after the Council of Ferrara... very strange indeed. The money to pay this would come from a special tith collected by the Papacy throughout Europe.
The Council would then would damn the memory of Andronikos Komnenos for starting the 1182 Massacre of the Latins and there would be some compensation from the East to the Papacy (to then be paid out to the descendents of the victims), but the amount is a pitinence compared to the vast sums being sent eastward. It was mostly a symbolic gesture, but at least the families would have some closure. And for the mass arest of the Venetians during Manuel Komnenos's reign, Manuel himself would not be damned (it would've been unfathomly unpopular in the East to damn the memory of the Emperor who reigned during the last time the Empire was a Superpower), but the act itself was damned. This was a concession to the Venetians, and again, mostly a symbolic gesture considering how the Venetians was handsomely compensated by the vast wealth gained at the Empire's expense over the last century and a half.
In addition, the Pope would order the Knights Hospitaller to return the Island of Rhodes and surrounding islands occupied by the order and in return they would receive a series of fortifications ranging the length of the new frontier in Anatolia so they may defend their fellow Christians from Turkish raids. The fortifications were severely delapidated and in desperate need of repair, which would be done out of their own pocket (their compensation to the Empire for taking Rhodes in 1310), they would also pay taxes in the form of a portion of the slaves and other loot gained from defeating Turkish raids (or maybe making small raids of their own into Turkish lands when no one's looking). They would have to pay for their own upkeep when not officially on campaign with the Emperor, but when on such campaign the Emperor would be the one to pay. The Knightly order would also receive a Headquarters in Constantinople and for all this the Emperor would pay for a hospital in Constantinople out of pocket for the Knights to operate out of. Two more Langues would also be formed, one for the Balkans and one for Anatolia and the Emperor would appoint the Prior for both Langues. This would give the Empire a fair bit of influence within the order moving forward.
The Council would also predictably acknowledge Papal Primacy, however, due to the inclusion of clear spheres of control for the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and the Pope of Rome, the primacy ended up be far more... cerimonial than it was officially meant to be. It also wouldn't survive the Council of Nicaea at the end of the 16th century.
The 1454 Council of Ferrara had intended to restore unity to the Church and in some ways it would accomplish this. Following this council Rome and Constantinople would gradually become the closest they'd been in centuries...
However, the Council would also plant the seed for the Reformation in the 16th century, destroying any semblance of western unity forever.
Roman Consolidation and Recovery
In this period the Romans would have the first extended period of true peace, at least in the Balkans, for the first time since the death of Manuel I Komnenos in 1180, a period of war and general chaos stretching 271 years. During this time the Empire would move to consolidate its hold over the Balkans by dealing with the various minor states, like the Tocco ruled Epirus, to transform the Balkans into a truly Roman land once more and deal with the last of the Latin states in the region.
From there the Empire would make repeated minor raids into Turkish Anatolia, making off with loads of slaves and material wealth that they would use to repopulate and develop the Balkans, chiefly in her Bulgarian lands in order to dilute Bulgarian nationalism. Over the coming generations these Turkish slaves would assimilate into the greater Roman culture and religion, helping to secure the Balkans for future generations of Romans. Also, as the Balkans became properly repopulated again, the Empire increasing traded Turkish slaves for Christian settlers from Hungary, Poland and Lithuania. These Christian settlers would be settled in Anatolia under the proviso that they serve in the military there.
As the Knights Hospitaller became properly established in Anatolia and the Imperial Army recovered its strength, the raids into Turkish lands became more and more ambitious. For example, one raid into Northern Anatolia in 1466 would see the death of the second to last Ottoman "Sultan" with an unknown name and in 1475 the Empire penetrated deep into Turkish Anatolia and sacked Iconium (properly avenging Myriokephalon, where Iconium was the ultimate target) and killed the Karamanid Sultan of "Rum".
The political organization of Anatolia would involve a series of seven military districts that roughly correspond to the old Anatolian themes. All of them would be governed by members of the Palaiologos family. The system would be similar to the old Exarchate System from the 7th Century, established by Emperor Maurice, a mix of military and civil authority. Any taxes collected in one of these military districts would be kept and spent in the district. As the Empire recovers in Anatolia these districts would transistion back to civilian rule, a process that wouldn't be complete in Western Anatolia until 1555.
By 1500 the Imperial Army numbered roughly 30,000 men of reasonable quality with a small but capable navy, more than capable of supporting the supply line from Greece to Italy if need be...
The Balkan Crusade and the Rise of the Kantakouzenoi
While, as a result of the Balkan Crusade it mostly allowed for the total reset on land distribution, since the old landed magnates were pushed off their land, and it generally did see the restoration of the Freeholder class that began to decline during the Komnenoi period, that doesn't mean noble families didn't find ways to take advantage of the crusade's success to gain land and the biggest winner by far was the Kantakouzenoi who gained vast amounts of land and huge influence over local government in Central Greece.
This left Constantinople in a bind, they were naturally concerned over the power of the Kantakouzenoi and were considering what to do about them. The Kantakouzenoi were well aware of this and they were looking for a more secure power base for their family... Then the French invaded the Kingdom of Naples in 1497 offering that solution to their problems, albeit a risky one. If they lost this gambit they lost everything.
The Kantakouzenoi patriarch, Alexios Kantakouzenos, sent letters to Emperor Basil III, the Pope, and the local South Italian nobility still holding out against the French in the south of the country. He contacted the Emperor to ask for his logistical support for his invasion in return for giving up his lands in within the Empire. He contacted the Pope and the Local Nobility to offer his assistance in defeating the French, leaving out his desire to be king if he succeeded.
All three were quite receptive to Alexios's entreaties.
The Emperor because win or lose he resolves a major threat to his family's continued rule. And if on the off chance Alexios actually won, it meant the Empire could reenter the Italian game with some serious influence. The Pope was open to it because it meant helping to get rid of the French from the South of Italy. The Pope was actually initially supportive of the French in Italy... then they invaded Southern Italy, threatening to encircle the Papal States and dominating the Pope (definitely not good). Meanwhile if the Kantakouzenoi could at least defeat the French that would at least resolve the immediate problem, but if the Kantakouzenoi won, it wouldn't be all that bad. It would mean having a connection to Constantinople without it being to... direct. While also having a counterweight to the Empire. If the Empire became too uppity it wouldn't be too hard to convince the Kantakouzenoi that having one of their own on the throne wouldn't be such a bad idea...
The local nobility supported the move because... what exactly did they have to lose? If nothing changed they would lose the war and be ruled by the French!
So it was with this that in December of 1499 the Kantakouzenoi loaded up 3000 men and sailed them to Otranto where they would begin fortifying their position and sending out feelers to the local noblity to get them to officially join him.
And thus begun, the South Italian Wars have...
Last edited:
Well, the last part was a surprise. And on that note, how are the Komnenos Emperors and Autocrats of the East doing rn?
I take it this Council was done to try and reconcile the Russians with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, as there was indeed a Moscow-Constantinople split during this period IOTL:
15th–16th century Moscow–Constantinople schism - Wikipedia
It's cute how you think that would happen...
Well, as of 1500, they still exist (look at the map), but uh, don't get too attached. They were able to gain some land during the Anatolian Crusade though.
I take it this Council was done to try and reconcile the Russians with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, as there was indeed a Moscow-Constantinople split during this period IOTL:
15th–16th century Moscow–Constantinople schism - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
You're not prepared.
Best prepare thyne own anus!
WI’ll future chapters discuss the Trapezuntine Empire in further detail, then?
Honey, baby, you need to sit down for this...
There comes a time in every child's life when they must be confronted with the mortality of man and his constructs...
Great chapter, nice political dealings in getting the Union to work, the Empire got a good deal IMO. Interesting that Kantakouzenoi are invading Southern Italy, it'll nice to see the development of the Roman influenced Kingdom throughout the years. Hope we get a more in depth look at how things are out east in Anatolia with the Turkish collapse. Keep up the great work 👍👍👍
Thank you for the praise (I'm not too sure how to hand it...
).But I'm not very good at depth... But you can help fix that! I'm accepting submissions for additional writings to help flesh out the timeline!
Just look at the OP on the first page for details. If you have anymore questions, don't be afraid to ask! This really is my first time ever doing this!
Tho I wouldn't compare crusading in Balkans with creation of Crusader states in East:
a) the state Władysław ruled over (Hungary) tried to exert it's influence towards Balkans numerous times, he even had "king of Bulgaria and Rascia (Serbia)" as one of his regnal titles so why wouldn't he want to actually excert his sovereignty over them if he could? Most likely Serbia and Bulgaria would be governed like Croatia was - parts of Hungary with considerable autonomy, but overall joined to Hungarian crown.
b) the second state Władysław ruled over (Poland) had actually common ancestry (Balkans were at that time mostly inhabited by Slavs) with most of people Władysław would be ruling over and what's more important, according to Italian chronicler Kallimach, they still somewhat cared about it, because they recognized similarities in language and that common ancestry (p. 30 of that text - https://www.academia.edu/12967498/Świadomość_wspólnoty_słowiańskiej_w_pełnym_i_późnym_średniowieczu, there is written in Polish: "Kallimach, opisując zwycięską wyprawę antyturecką 1443 roku, upatrywał źródła jej sukcesów między innymi w tym, że Bułgarzy chętnie poddawali swoje miasta królowi Władysławowi ze względu na podobieństwo języków i wspólne z Polakami pochodzenie", in English: "Kallimach, while describing victorious anti-Turkish military operation of 1443, seemed to think that it's success was caused partially by Bulgarians eagerly surrendering their cities to king Władysław because of similarities between Polish and Bulgarian language and sharing ancestry with Poles"
c) Balkans border Hungary, crusader states in Levant didn't share border with any Christian country.
Also local Bulgarians during centuries of Ottoman rule erected crosses in place, where the battle was fought and Władysław was remembered as martyr by them.
The Council of Florence in 1439 resulted in a Papal Bull, endorsed by the representatives of the east, uniting the Patriarch of Constantinople, the Emperor, and the Metropolitan of Kyiv with Rome. While this agreement was more or less ignored by most Orthodox Christians (and explicitly rejected by some, including the Duke of Moscow, and Mark of Ephesus), the Roman ruling elite nominally recognized the spiritual leadership of the Roman Pontiff. With Wladyslaw saving the empire, the Papacy and the Patriarch will both regard the union as in effect--especially Isidore, who might take the opportunity to return to his nominal see in Kyiv, under Wladyslaw's rule.
Bull of Union with the Greeks - Wikipedia
A very interesting point, and it puts me in mind of Bohemia at the time--the importance of proto-nationalistic (or outright nationalistic) sentiments to the Hussite cause is at this point well-known, and they offered the Bohemian crown to Vytautas and Sigismund Korybut in the 1420s. Putting Wladyslaw or his son on the Bohemian throne is still an option too.
Probably after death of Vladislaus the Posthumous Jagiellons would take Bohemia without much problems.
But before it happens Władysław had to settle problems with Lithuania and I don't think he'll be able to achieve full victory there.