Originally Posted by
_Tartaros_
vh/vh is the difficulty i normally play with. if you keep the enemies in constant attacks and decimate there halfstacks, they won´t be a challange with 2-3 fullstacks later. i always try to keep my borders clean of small pocket armies and attack when they are unprepared - they will do the same.
so restarting may be a good idea - just don´t invest in your fleet and after 25 turns naxos, pelepones + rhodes are invaded by chandax - giving them a good start.
about the eastern border, there´s not much untill lategame turcoman invasions and maybe a hostile abasid caliphat. the paulicans are meant as something to do in the east, but historically they wehre gone at this point.