Milan (Principia Moderni IV Map Game)

The Duchy of Milan (Latin: Ducatus Mediolani; Italian: Ducado di Milan) is a medium-sized northern Italian member of the Holy Roman Empire, based out of Milan. The Duchy was founded in 1395 and is currently ruled by the House Visconti.

Insubria as a general term

History
Milan and the duchy centered around it have a rich history as an important center of northern Italian politics, culture, and power. Its history spans from about 400 BC as a Celtic settlement to the modern day in its current form as a Holy Roman duchy.

Ancient Times
The Celtic tribe of Insubres was the first documented population to settle around what would come to be known as Insubria and at Milan. The Romans conquered the settlement in 222 BC and named it Mediolanum. After the fall of Rome, Diocletian declared Mediolanum as the capital of the Western Roman Empire in 286 AD. It was here that, in 313 Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, granting religious freedom to all Christians, making Milan an important site for Christendom.

Next came a period of instability as Milan was besieged by the Visigoths (402), ravaged by the Huns (452), conquered by the Ostrogoths (539) and then the Lombards (569). The Lombards, a Germanic people, ruled over the city of Milan until its leaders surrendered to Frankish ruler Charlemagne in 774. Charlemagne had himself declared "King of the Lombards" and crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy, which has since been used to crown the King of Italy.

Early Middle Ages
Milan and the surrounding region, known alternatively as Insubria or Lombardy, became a part of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1150 the Republic of Milan was founded around the comune. The leader of the Republic was known as the podestà, and exercised unilateral authority between regular election periods, which maintained a check on his power.

In 1167, the Republic of Milan was at the forefront of the Lombard League, an effort to reduce the control of the Hohenstaufen Holy Roman Emperors over the Kingdom of Italy. With the backing of the Papacy, a number of important northern Italian city-states rebelled against Frederick I Barbarossa, gaining greater autonomy. The Lombard League was resurrected in 1197 against Henry VI, and for a third time against Frederick II from 1226 to 1250 with its final dissolution.

During the period of the Lombard League, the comune of Milan had been led by the Della Torre family. In 1277, podestà Napoleone Della Torre was challenged by Archbishop of Milan Ottone Visconti for dominance of the city at the Battle of Desio, which he handily won. From that battle onwards, the Visconti family dominated Milanese government.

Following the reign of the Hohenstaufens as Holy Roman Emperors and subsequent acension of the Visconti to local power, Milan gained favor among most of the suceeding Holy Roman Emperors and became the most important city in the Kingdom of Italy (which excluded Venice). In 1395, Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then-Imperial Vicar of Milan, bought a diploma from Emperor Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia, creating the Duchy of Milan, which included 26 towns between the Venice and Savoy.

Late Middle Ages
Duke Gian Galeazzo Visconti was not content to simply remain in the towns originally granted by his diploma, but instead set his sights on the unification of all of northern Italy.

1400 -

In the Duchy of Milan, the bloodthirsty campaigns of Gian Galeazzo continue. From his winter acampment in Siena, the Duke and his condottiero forces move forward to seize control of the convulsing, failing state of Perugia in early January ((same as in OTL)). Next, Visconti moves north and conquers Montefeltro. From there, Gian Galeazzo sends an envoy to Rome to seek an audience with the Pope. With the audience granted, the Duke pledges his continued allegiance to the Roman pope Bonfiace IX. Visconti then marches his forces back to Milan, where he plans his next moves. In the meanwhile, he orders an embargo on all Florentine goods and threatens war with Modena should they not comply with the boycott (MODS). Furthermore, the Duke begins to create a system of federalism with the prominent Italian city-states retaining a semblance of internal republican control within the overarching Duchy.
 * In Pisa,
 * In Siena,
 * In Lucca,

Perugia is forced to yield to Gian Galeazzo, Jacopo del Verme as a condottiero, consolidating power in Pisa, Siena, Lucca

Government
Ruled by a Duke of the House Visconti
 * Stephano (1287-1327) = Valentina Doria (m. 1318)
 * Matteo II (1319-1355) = Egidiola di Filippino (m. 1342)
 * Galeazzo II (1320-1378) = Bianca of Savoy (m. 1350)
 * Gian Galeazzo (1351-Present) = Isabelle of Valois (m. 1360); Caterina Visconti (m. 1380)
 * Gian Galeazzo (1366-1376)
 * Azzone (1368-1381)
 * Valentina (1371-Present) = Louis, Duke of Orleans (m. 1389)
 * Carlo (1373-1374)
 * Unnamed Daughter (1385)
 * Gian Maria (1388-Present) = Margherita degli Albizzi (m. 1405)
 * Filippo Maria (1392-Present) =B= Caterina Mocenigo
 * Violante (1354-1386) = Lionel of Antwerp (m. 1368); Secondotto Palaeologus (m. 1377); Ludovico Visconti (m. 1381)
 * Bernabò Visconti (1323-1385) = Beatrice Regina della Scala (m. 1350)

Pisa
 * Families: Casamatti, Orlandi, Ripafratti, Visconti, Verchionesi, Gusmani, Duodi

Economy
Milan is noted for its relatively advanced economy and trading rivalries, both of which are common in its region of northern Italy. Agriculture forms the basis of the rural economy, with rice, cereals, forage, flax, and sugar beets commonly grown in the countryside. Furthermore, mulberries are commonly cultivated for use in sericulture.

Within the cities and villages, industry is beginning to take root. Armor manufacturing, which is necessary for the extensive state of warfare that dominates feudal Europe, is a major industry in Milan and throughout the Duchy's larger cities. The textiles industry is also popular among the Milanese. Both silk manufacturing and the wool trade make Milan the ideal location for textiles production.

Artisans and jewelry-makers are another form of the cottage industry common in the Duchy. Finally, there is a wide sector of the economy which functions off of the patronage of the Visconti family, which commissions grand works of art and architecture on a regular basis to compete with other rival states.

Foreign Relations
Positive Neutral Negative
 * Papal States -
 * Genoa -
 * Venice -
 * Florence -