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Description

Italy
Florence was still expanding it's sphere of influence, in 1431 Siena was defeated, exiling the pro-Milan Seignior and effectively annexing the Duchy.
Perugia, ostensibly subject to the Papal States, was seized the same year. The official banker of the Papacy, Cosimo de Medici, was exiled from Florence by the Strozzi faction in 1432 but returned two years later with forces loyal to him, ousting the Strozzi and making himself Seignior or ruler of the Republic. Despite his connections he retained Perugia.
Naples was inherited by Rene of Anjou in 1435; he now held lands in France, Italy and the northern Balkans. Closely related was Alfonso V of Aragon who contested his accession and set about building an alliance to press his claims.
In alliance with Venice [to counter Naples' Genoese allies] and later, Hunyadi of Buda, Alfonso V isolated Naples, preventing reinforcements arriving so that after his successful siege of Naples in 1441, he was able to have himself crowned King of Naples.
The last act of the war against Genoa saw Venice annexe the seigniory of Ravenna, an ally of Genoa and theoretically a vassal of the Pope.

The Balkans
In 1437 a peasant army gathered at Bobâlna in Saxe-Sylvania, the revolt spread to Cluj. Grievances included the discrimination in favour of Saxon émigrés. Although the revolt was short lived, Cluj was re-conquered the next year, it resulted in the Unio Nationum pact and the dropping of Saxe- from the name of the country.

Buda, ruled by John Hunyadi, gained strength from his alliances with Aragon and Venice. Now only distantly related to the Dukes of Austria, Hunyadi still inherited lands on the death of the old Duke in 1434 [as did Zagreb].
This alliance enabled him to lay siege to Belgrade after defeating the Angevin armies outside its walls. The city was heavily damaged by the attacker’s use of artillery which was the main factor in the capture of the City.
Skanderbeg, who had served with the Angevin army at Belgrade, deserted and returned to his native Albania.
Fresh from the defeat of the Angevin army in spring 1435, Skanderbeg led a revolt against Angevin rule that spread through most of Albania.
After much hard fighting, in 1440 the Lezhe Alliance of Albanian principalities was established with Skanderbeg proclaimed it's commander. In the next year Skanderbeg defeated the Angevin army at Torvoll to ensure Albanian independence.
The final battle of the War of Neapolitan Succession was fought near Sarajevo in 1443. A combined Bosnian-Serb-Buda army met and defeated a 35,000 man army in detail.
The Peace of Szeged ended the war in the Balkans, establishing Bosnia and Albania as independent and ceding all but their Croatian lands. In the later peace signed by Aragon the Crown of Provence was separated from that of Croatia.

In Vlachia, Alexander I Aldea usurped the throne in 1433, with assistance from his namesake, Alexander I of Molavia. This led to a civil war where, after 1435, with support from John Hunyadi of Buda, Stephen II defeated the usurper and his Molavian allies. His rule was short lived, upon his death in 1437 Vladislav II seized the throne with support again from Buda.
In 1445 Hunyadi invaded Trans-Drava and defeated a 40.000 strong army, annexing the country and linking Buda with his conquests in Belgrade. Spoils from this venture enabled him to purchase the Hospitaler lands to his east.

Byzantium
Byzantium waged war on Achaea from 1432, with the surrender of Chalandritsa in 1435 the conquest was completed. Byzantine superiority at sea meant they could by-pass Corinth to invade Athens which surrendered in 1444.

Despite their successes in the Morea, Byzantium could make no headway with their attempts to take Thessalonica but did vassalize neighbouring Slav provinces. This was probably due to their forces being committed mainly towards Bulgaria. This one time ally had tried to re-conquer the lands to their south, their total defeat by Byzantium was a drawn out affair that left Byzantium too weak to make progress against Thessalonica or to incorporate Bulgaria in the Empire. Byzantium had to be content with the vassalization of Bulgaria.

Description

Italy
Florence was still expanding it's sphere of influence, in 1431 Siena was defeated, exiling the pro-Milan Seignior and effectively annexing the Duchy.
Perugia, ostensibly subject to the Papal States, was seized the same year. The official banker of the Papacy, Cosimo de Medici, was exiled from Florence by the Strozzi faction in 1432 but returned two years later with forces loyal to him, ousting the Strozzi and making himself Seignior or ruler of the Republic. Despite his connections he retained Perugia.
Naples was inherited by Rene of Anjou in 1435; he now held lands in France, Italy and the northern Balkans. Closely related was Alfonso V of Aragon who contested his accession and set about building an alliance to press his claims.
In alliance with Venice [to counter Naples' Genoese allies] and later, Hunyadi of Buda, Alfonso V isolated Naples, preventing reinforcements arriving so that after his successful siege of Naples in 1441, he was able to have himself crowned King of Naples.
The last act of the war against Genoa saw Venice annexe the seigniory of Ravenna, an ally of Genoa and theoretically a vassal of the Pope.

The Balkans
In 1437 a peasant army gathered at Bobâlna in Saxe-Sylvania, the revolt spread to Cluj. Grievances included the discrimination in favour of Saxon émigrés. Although the revolt was short lived, Cluj was re-conquered the next year, it resulted in the Unio Nationum pact and the dropping of Saxe- from the name of the country.

Buda, ruled by John Hunyadi, gained strength from his alliances with Aragon and Venice. Now only distantly related to the Dukes of Austria, Hunyadi still inherited lands on the death of the old Duke in 1434 [as did Zagreb].
This alliance enabled him to lay siege to Belgrade after defeating the Angevin armies outside its walls. The city was heavily damaged by the attacker’s use of artillery which was the main factor in the capture of the City.
Skanderbeg, who had served with the Angevin army at Belgrade, deserted and returned to his native Albania.
Fresh from the defeat of the Angevin army in spring 1435, Skanderbeg led a revolt against Angevin rule that spread through most of Albania.
After much hard fighting, in 1440 the Lezhe Alliance of Albanian principalities was established with Skanderbeg proclaimed it's commander. In the next year Skanderbeg defeated the Angevin army at Torvoll to ensure Albanian independence.
The final battle of the War of Neapolitan Succession was fought near Sarajevo in 1443. A combined Bosnian-Serb-Buda army met and defeated a 35,000 man army in detail.
The Peace of Szeged ended the war in the Balkans, establishing Bosnia and Albania as independent and ceding all but their Croatian lands. In the later peace signed by Aragon the Crown of Provence was separated from that of Croatia.

In Vlachia, Alexander I Aldea usurped the throne in 1433, with assistance from his namesake, Alexander I of Molavia. This led to a civil war where, after 1435, with support from John Hunyadi of Buda, Stephen II defeated the usurper and his Molavian allies. His rule was short lived, upon his death in 1437 Vladislav II seized the throne with support again from Buda.
In 1445 Hunyadi invaded Trans-Drava and defeated a 40.000 strong army, annexing the country and linking Buda with his conquests in Belgrade. Spoils from this venture enabled him to purchase the Hospitaler lands to his east.

Byzantium
Byzantium waged war on Achaea from 1432, with the surrender of Chalandritsa in 1435 the conquest was completed. Byzantine superiority at sea meant they could by-pass Corinth to invade Athens which surrendered in 1444.

Despite their successes in the Morea, Byzantium could make no headway with their attempts to take Thessalonica but did vassalize neighbouring Slav provinces. This was probably due to their forces being committed mainly towards Bulgaria. This one time ally had tried to re-conquer the lands to their south, their total defeat by Byzantium was a drawn out affair that left Byzantium too weak to make progress against Thessalonica or to incorporate Bulgaria in the Empire. Byzantium had to be content with the vassalization of Bulgaria.