Sfax incident

The **Sfax incident** was a major incident between the Byzantine Empire, Polish Kingdom and Scottish Empire over the lands around Sfax, Tunisia, which were under Polish control at the time. Byzantium most likely blockaded the colony in an attempt to force Poland into leaving the region. While the blockade lasted less than a year, it had a major impact on later events. The incident is generally considered the first time Scotland and Byzantium were on opposing sides of a conflict, as well as the starting point of tensions that would eventually start the First Worlda War.

## Background

For over a century, the Byzantine and Scottish empires maintained a close relationship, as they frequently cooperated with each other in wars, and were allies. However, in the decades prior to the Sfax Incident, the Byzantines became more and more skeptical about the motives of Scottish rulers. This was mainly caused by their constant attempts to gain the favor of the Polish Kingdom, a much smaller and less significant state. The War of the Isles further complicated their relationship, as some suspected they sold supplies to English and Irish rebels. Although this is still unproven, it was considered likely back then. The Byzantines also disapproved at their treatment of some Native American tribes.

## Blockade of Sfax

### Start of blockade

The blockade against Sfax was started by the Byzantine Empire in early 122, citing supposed suspicious activity. The suspicious activity may have been due to Scotland, or unrelated to them. It also could have been a complete lie, with Byzantium instead wanting to fully seize control over Sfax. The blockade surprised both Scotland and Poland, as prior to this point, Byzantium had only complained about the Scottish-Polish relationship, and had not attempted to intervene in it.

### Scottish intervention against Byzantium

The Scottish quickly responded to the blockade, by attempting to resupply the Sfax colony of Poland with blockade runners. However, due to a lack of blockade runners as well as them being damaged while attempting to arrive, it was generally considered a failure. The Scottish began negotiating with Poland soon after, hoping to take back the land to end the blockade. With many Poles being in favor of Scotland, they managed to regain the colony. The Byzantines withdrew the blockade soon after, under pressure from Scotland. War with Scotland was generally seen as undesirable, and was avoided by doing this.

## End of Blockade and aftermath

Upon the end of the blockade on Sfax, the Scottish began to plan to merge their alliances with other nations together. The plan grew to include the independent alliance between Romania and Mali. This resulted in the formation of the largest military alliance in history, the United Legion. The alliance began threatening Byzantium, essentially cornering them. As the largest military alliance in history, it had the capability to completely destroy the Byzantine Empire if they made a wrong move. With the Byzantines feeling threatened, they began to further distrust Scotland and their allies, as it was percieved as a move against them. This eventually led to a secret alliance with the Colonials, and later total war with Scotland in the First Worlda War.