My findings are the same, the diplomatic 'AI'... isn't. My relative power right off the bat in my campaign was strong, and it grew quickly and stayed there. I had one long-time ally (Venice) backstab me at the dumbest time. I had just finished up a period of wiping out the Turks and Egyptians, and my borders and lands were all quiet and secure, and I was at war with noone. out of the blue, they send a full stack against one of my northern greek peninsula castles (the largest one, a fortress) which was heavily garrisoned. You can guess what happened to them. Kind of amusing, because I've maintained perfect relations with the Pope (I am the Byz), have a number of catholic allies, maintained a reliable standing, etc. Venice went from supreme power to whatever the next level down was and reputation to "Extremely unreliable". Hurf Durf.