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The Byzantine Empire began the 11th century in a strong position – they had pushed the frontier east against the fragmented Muslim emirates, and completely destroyed the Bulgars in the Balkans. All that was to change in 1071, when they suffered a catastrophic defeat at the hands of the Seljuq Turks at the Battle of Manzikert. These nomadic conquerors had recently converted to Islam and had quickly established a sultan's ruling from Afghanistan to Palestine. Following Manzikert, they took almost all of Anatolia from the Byzantines. As the Byzantine emperor Alexios Komnenos struggled to contain the Seljuq advances, he appealed to the West for mercenaries. This request was seized upon by Pope Urban II, who possibly saw it as an opportunity to further his own goals. At the Council of Clermont in 1095, he called for a crusade to save the eastern churches and recover the Holy Land from the Muslims. The timing was fortuitously right, as the powerful Seljuq Empire had begun to fragment, the sultanate of Rûm in Anatolia (modern Asian Turkey) having departed from the great Seljuk Empire in 1077, and the local Syrian sites are in semi-practice. -independent and detached. The First Crusade eventually captured Jerusalem in 1099 and established a number of crusader states in Palestine and Syria. In doing so, they created bitter resentment between Muslims, Western Christians, and Byzantines that would lead to two centuries of conflict. The Great Crusades were to follow the first, as the Crusader claims fought for its existence against a succession of resurgent Islamic states: the Fatimids, Zangids, Ayyubids, and finally the Mamluks, who extinguished the last crusading stronghold of Acre in 1291. Emante Further east, a much greater threat to Islamic civilization was emerging. The few rapidly expanding Mongols had destroyed Khwarazmian Shahdom by 1231, the Christian kingdom of Georgia fell in 1239, and the Seljuqs were defeated and forced into vassaldom in 1243. By 1258 the assassins of Alamut, and the vestigial remains of the once Great Abbasic Caliphate was also conquered. Only the Mamluks of Egypt were able to finally bring the Mongol advance to an end, with their victory at Ain Jalut in 1260. The Balkans The Byzantine Empire remained strong until 1204, when Constantinople fell to the Fourth Crusade. After that, much of the old empire was taken over by the Western Crusaders and the Venetians, who had worked out the whole sordid enterprise. The Byzantines held in four fragments: the empires of Trebizond and Nicaea, and the despotates of Rhodes and Epirus. Eventually, the Empire of Nicaea retook Constantinople in 1261, but the power of the Byzantines had been broken for good and they were now just a minor state.20 More nations and factions covering Southeastern Europe and the Middle East from 1040 CE to 1270 CE. These include Arabs (Syria/Iraq), Armenians (Cillian), Bulgarians, Byzantines (main empire, also Nikaia, Epiros and Trebizond), Crusaders, Cypriots (Lusignan Kingdom), Dailami, Fatimid Egyptians, Georgians, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Rajput Indians , other Hindus, Muslims), Khwarazmians, Latin states in Greece, Mamluk Egyptians, Mongols (Ilkhanids), Pechenegs, Seljuq Turks, Serbs and Syrian States. Each of them has its own historically accurate banner. 35 more units (11 new, 24 new for medieval), allowing troops from all new factions to be accurately represented. More army lists allow for historically realistic armies for each of the above factions and their allies at different dates during the period, and bringing the total number of medieval army lists to 146. Additionally, armies can include contingents from historical allies. That's about a hundred thousand permutations. You'll never run out of new matchups to try. 8 more historical scenarios covering the key commitments of the period on an epic scale. These include Manzikert 1071, Dorylaeum 1097, Ascalon 1099, Sammio 1167, ARSUF 1191, La Forbie 1244, Homs 1281 and Kili 1299. 53 More historical matchups added to the quick battle mode, increasing the total to 150, playable from both sides. 4 More historically based campaigns that cover the era's great leaders and conflicts: Alexios Komnenos, The First Crusade, Manuel Komnenos, Saladin. The Sandbox campaign has expanded to include all new Army rosters, allowing you to lead any nation (and its historical allies) against any other nation (and its allies) – giving over twenty thousand permutations. Tempo Warp Custom Battles modules expanded to include all new army lists.

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