The Counties of Odessa and Tripoli, the Principality of Antioch, and the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Forged out of the blood soaked first crusade, these 11th-teens stayed stumbled onto the world

stage during an era of immense change.

These tiny outposts of Latin chrysendum were cut off from their homeland by the vast

Mediterranean, and it was this distance that gave them their name.

What lies beyond the sea?

For nearly 200 years, the Uttarmer states fought to survive in a world of crusades and

jihads, of holy orders, assassins, and mom-lux, claiming squatters rights to erstwhile

Seljuk Fatimid and Byzantine provinces.

Join us at History of the Uttarmer, as we explore the tale of those kingdoms beyond the sea.

Hello everyone and welcome to the History of Byzantium, episode 242, Manoeil's Follies.

First time, we spent an entire episode in the Balkans, watching as Manoeil reduced the

region to submission.

He got involved in the Hungarian succession, groomed his own candidate, and installed

him on the throne.

He also humbled the Serbs, occupied Sermium, and brought the cities of Dalmatia back into

the Imperial fold.

An impressive series of achievements, though I raised a note of concern that these gains

were largely temporary and used up a decade of the Emperor's time that could have been

better spent in Anatolia.

Well, that's not all Manoeil was doing during that decade.

In today's episode, we look further afield across the same time period.

...