Simon de Provence the Seneschal has stationed himself at the Palace of Antiochus, in the Imperial Quarter. He has an impressive military force of well over 500 knights. As his key role to the Emperor and the location of his headquarters in the vicinity of the Great Palace, my assessment is that this force is essential to keeping an elite security in the overall district and should not be freed to any military cavalcades but remain in the city as part of Simon's duties to the crown.
The Fleming Godfrey of Leuven is an interesting case, whilst he only has a handful of men-under-arms and he has stationed himself in a modest building, the quality of his person is such that I deem him a potential security risk. He is camped in the southwest of the city not far from the harbour or the walls.
As for location, Ricco Di Monte has taken residence in the old palace grounds of Mangana which is now mainly a religious complex yet there are good foundations to restore a military housing and the library may still be intact. He is merely a stone's throw from the Great Palace and the Mangana lies in between two of the four great parallel streets that run from the Augustaion forum. Any attempt to rally military troops to assault the palace would be highly effective if launched from this site. It is my opinion that Di Monte's military resources be specifically limited. There are no less than seven large churches surrounding his station, that I think is noteworthy from a security perspective.
Philippe d'Alençon has taken residence in an annex of the Great Palace. This seems a natural choice for the Chancellor of the City. I like his military force, they are a good balanced unit of crossbowmen, infantry and heavy cavalry that I would -like the Seneschal's forces prefer to be maintained by duty as a permanent palace guard.
Halfway between the Imperial Quarter and my police barracks, Cristoforo Soranzo has placed himself. The Church has some defensive potential but currently the Italian's force is meagre yet is more than adequate as a garrison and will be able to hold out independently in the case of any riots or reprisals. On a matter of principle he has been most stubborn in accepting outside interference in the handling of security in his locale. Make of that what you will.
Lastly the Sicilian Simon di Napoli has taken residence in the Blacharnae palace district. The Sicilian's forces are meagre and expounded by the fact that materiel destruction is at a minimum this quarter is both compact and of rich infrastructure. Moreover, there are more gates per kilometre in this part of the city than in the rest of the city combined, the palace quarters and supporting buildings are no doubt of integral utility to the future of this city. Therefore it is my recommendation that the control, development and occupation of this part of the city be reviewed in light of military and economical interests. During my interview with the Sicilian he informed me that he had no interest in developing that part of the city nor seemed to be in any way aware of the potential of Blacharnae as a whole.
I apologise that I was not able to make a more thorough report of the city, notably the Galata and harbour quarters are woefully amiss, something I hope to remedy after my men have recuperated. We have been on constant patrol since the assault, and I request new men in order to maintain manpower in shifts.
Athelstan Desdechardo of the English Company, Constable of the City
The Haute Coure of the Latin Empire
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Originally Posted by Adamat
