THE BYZANTINES — EARLY

1. Opening moves
The Byzantines need to attack Turkey and then Egypt in a variation of katank’s patented “Ransom the Sultan” blitz for Turkey.

There is also the isolated province of Naples to consider. The best defense there is an attack.

Gather all available forces and attack Rum. This is the richest, most developed province for Turkey. Without it, the Turks are hurting. Keep pounding the Turks with your Byzantine infantry, Trebizond archers and Kataphracts.

After you have taken Syria, go on a “ransom blitz” against Egypt. Methods vary depending on difficulty and number of troops, but the idea is to take and hold Syria, Tripoli and Palestine before the Egyptian sultan leaves Antioch. Then seize Antioch and ransom the sultan.

Other chances to grab the sultan and extort ransom will arise. In one game, I ransomed the sultan three times for a total of about $28K.

Meanwhile, back in Italy …

Take the whole Naples garrison and invade Sicily on the first turn.

At worst, you will set the Sicilians back for years, inflict heavy casualties and be able to ransom back your Byzantine infantry. Rebuild the unit in Constantinople and send it to the real war in the Middle East.
At best, you will storm the keep, conquer Sicily, build a swordsmith there to rebuild your Byzantine infantry and triumphantly retake Naples.

Finally, do not forget the Balkans. Horse archers from Greece and Slav warriors from Bulgaria can take Serbia easily. Just get to it when you can afford it and before the Hungarians do. Use the horse archers to destroy as many of the rebel peasants and spears as possible before engaging with other troops.

Congratulations; you are now the proud owner of an empire stretching from Egypt to south Italy. Time to tech up, build a dominant navy and get ready for the Crusades that will come your way. So much for Christian solidarity.

One final note on the opening moves; the island provinces of Crete, Rhodes and Cyprus are a lot of trouble, but work to keep them. They can make good shipbuilding centers. Their loyalty will improve once they have a ship link to some other port in the Byzantine Empire.

2. Units and buildings.
Byzantine infantry from Constantinople, Trebizond archers from Trebizond and Kataprhacts from maturing heirs make all the army you will need for the opening blitz. Some Slav warriors for garrison duties and as governors plus some horse archers for killing rebels are supplementary.

People love Kataphracts, Pronoiai Allagion and Varangian Guards, but those high-powered units can wait. First get your trade routes established and your coasts covered with fleets, develop your farming economy, and build up good armies in your big border provinces: Greece, Bulgaria and Egypt. Byzantine lancers and cavalry in support of Byzantine infantry and Trebizond archers will handle anything in the Early Era. Get yourself squared away, and then you can afford those top-flight units and have the time to develop them.


EDITED: to include the summery compiled by Doug-Thompson