Byzantine Domination Victory in 1166AD
Score: 56731
Strategy was a bit different this time and it paid off handsomely.
Took Tarsus and Damascus straight away with starting Swordsman (after promoting on a barb swordsman along the way). Then razed Antioch and Edessa, captured Jerusalem, captured Medinah and finally Meccah.
Recruited the first mercenary horse unit I could and sent it directly to make contact with Mercurios. He immediately wanted to vassalise (just before I captured Medinah) so I actually liberated Medinah to Makuria. My super-promoted Swordsman then headed for Soba and Aksum, eventually joining up with my mercenary horseman and liberating these cities to Makuria too. A combination of gifting settlers to Makuria and settling key city locations myself and then liberating them meant that my vassal eventually had a huge empire down south.
I let barbarian peasants capture Kallipolis and Amastraia at some stage with the first 100 years. My culture eventually flipped both of these poor cities, which I then disbanded.
Ankyra had the Holy Lance (I think it started in Antioch), built Heroic Epic and much later rushed a Medical University. Antioch must have built over 50% of my army overall. Sevastaia built defenders and Kaisareia built settlers. Smyrna built non-islamic wonders and Damascus built all of the islamic ones (except House of Wisdom, which was in Tarsus). Constantinople had Royal Mint and Smyrna had Royal Archives.
Espionage was on Abbassids from the outset, eventually stole Education from them when Orthodoxy spread to one of their cities in Jazira. Researched Long-Distance Trade initially at between 10% and 30% science. First GP was a Saint (bulbed Religious Philosophy). Makuria researched Botany for me while I researched Crucible Steel. Traded for Mosaic Art and then learnt Religious Unity for Minaret of Jam. Then beelined Selective Breeding, which I learnt just before 1000AD. From this point, all cities with decent production built Cataphracts until the Sultante of Rum spawn in about 1070AD.
Refused the flip to Sultanate of Rum and then smashed their initial stack and then their follow up stack. Jerusalem declared independence just before KoJ spawn. Sent a stack of Cataphracts down to wait for them. Waited 3 turns after the KoJ spawn, which was enough time for them to have taken Gaza from the Fatimids. Then crushed them in one turn by taking Jerusalem and liberating Gaza back to Fatimids. This subsequently caused Fatimids to become Solid, which they remained for the rest of the game. MY plan was for this to mean no pesky Ayyubids, but in the end I managed to win Domination before the Ayyubid spawn date.
Georgia and Armenia voluntarily vassalised after the Seljuk spawn. Once I had teched as far as Heavy Lancers, I started to expand again. Firstly through Jazira and Mesopotamia, then Seljuk lands. Seljuks capitulated and I liberated their cities back to them. Khwarezmids were next target, and also capitulated. Abbasids respawned at about this point, which was quite painful. Heavy Lancers made mincemeat of their 4x Marksmen in each city though. Final conquests were Ghorids (capitulated) and finally Ghaznavids, who capitulated on what was to be the final turn of my game. I was beating up on Yemen but didn't finish the job at the end.
