Byzantine Early Era Tips?

[LordKorloros]

This is my first time playing as the Byzantines, I'm doing the early era campaign and was wondering if anyone had any tips they could give me.

[Stath's]

Grab all the rebel provinces in Europe before Hungarians get them. Beat the Turks, but wait for a Hungarian attack. Leave a small but good garrison in Trapezous (Trebizond), say 6 units, which can withstand a siege.

And you can attack Cumans' 2 provinces relatively early, although that may cause a war that would drag you towards the north, sth i did not like.

Economy is great, don't be afraid to use those excellent, expensive units.

[CloacaMaXima]

Like the previous post said: capture Sofia, Scopia and Belgrade ASAP, otherwise the Hungarians will take them. You'll get a decent addition to your income and the Hungarians won't be so strong without them. Arta is also a rebel settlement to the south of Durazzo, so take it aswell. If you have MSC 6.0 submod compilation, Durazzo is held by Sicily, which is a bit tricky since you may easily end in war with them.

But you really want to keep your western front as secure as possible. Make an alliance with the Hungarians if possible and remember to maintain good relations with small gifts. Focus on the Turks, the cities there are lucrative and the Turks have strong economy to support their war against you. On the other hand, they have enemies on other fronts aswell (Crusaders, Fatimids, Khwarezmians, Cumans and possibly Kievan Rus) so allying with some of them could be a wise decision. Venice is a pain in the ass, they will most likely attack you on the western front, but they usually aren't very strong early on.

And indeed, your economy is good so don't hesitate to train alot of good quality troops Just remember that you won't be able to train new Varangian Guards, Siphonatores, Scholarioi or Spatharii tou Vasileios before 1200s, so use them carefully!

[Sir Walter]

Save elite units for decisive moment in battles as they can only be retrained from most of the unit remaining, and can't be trained anew until 1200. Ignore Venice and Sicily until you have to then send a stack to knock them out, they aren't nearly as problematic as the Hungarians or Turks. Grab Sofia and a couple of Anatolian settlements early so you can get AOR horse-archers.

[Sir Walter]

Edit: double-post

[Delvecchio1975]

1. move your elite units from Constantinople with an FM (i think the heir or the emperor is there too), reinforced with whatever you can miss from Nicaea, towards Sinope, you'll get there before the large Turkish army that will follow you there. If you wait out the siege, the city will fall without a fight. ferry that army towards the two cities bordering the Crimea, first the one on the west side, than the one on the east side. After that, with a bit of luck, you can still go for Kutaisi, the only one of these rebel cities that won't go down without a fight.
2. On the western side of the empire, prioritize Sofia, then Belgrade, then see if Zagreb is still available. Only after that go for Skopia and Arta, the AI is less interested in those.

**** as an alternative to this basic early strategy, put the Constantinople units on boats, pick up reinforcements from Nicaea, Cannakale, Korinth and Rhodos, and go for Damietta and Ghaza on the Fatimid coast - you can take them out fairly easy early on, but they become a huge pain very quick.

[Duck of Death]

**** as an alternative to this basic early strategy, put the Constantinople units on boats, pick up reinforcements from Nicaea, Cannakale, Korinth and Rhodos, and go for Damietta and Ghaza on the Fatimid coast - you can take them out fairly easy early on, but they become a huge pain very quick.

That's an interesting idea. Never tried early blizting the Egyptians as Romans before.
Wont you be conceeding alot of eastern territory to the Turks this way though?
Id hate to see them get to much of a foothold so close to Constantinople

[Delvecchio1975]

That's an interesting idea. Never tried early blitzing the Egyptians as Romans before.
Wont you be conceding a lot of eastern territory to the Turks this way though?
Id hate to see them get to much of a foothold so close to Constantinople

You have the castle halfway between Smyrna and Iconium to hold off the Turks. Early in the game they have no decent infantry to take any of your castles or even cities. Just leave a decent garrison in that castle and in Nicaea as well. Your finances should be decent enough to pay for that, while also keeping Trebizond. This way, after finishing the Egyptians (and raking in the cash) you can attack the Turks simultaneously from that castle (what IS the name of that **** again?), Nicosia, and Trebizond. They won't know where to defend first.

[Phil of Loreauville]

One other thing I find is to concentrate on growth. That is make growing cities and castles a priority. Your basic troops are pretty stout and can carry the fight for sometime. It's the bad boys you get with the advanced settlements that make the difference when everyone is ganging up on you.
And just add emphasize what others have said..... take Belgrade for the cash and Sophia for access to Magyar Cavalry. They can be game changers early. I always convert Rhodes to a city for financial reasons.
One thing else I find is helpful. I can't remember if the Romans have Caffa in SS. I know they do in Point Blank's RR/RC Mod. Well, from the start, turn it into a Castle, and grow it quickly because Kiev will be on you like a duck-on-a-junebug first chance they get. Don't let the alliance offer fool you. They will stab you first chance they get. If you can get Caffa going, it helps as a jumping off point in the Northeast.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Again, this is in RR/RC.
Sometime around 1200, you will get a big rebel revolt that involves Sophia, Adrainople and Scopia. Have enough troops in those settlements to hold off a full stack of rebels each.
That is followed almost immediately by a surprise attack by Venice on Constantinople. 2 full stacks of Venetians. If you're prepared, it won't be so bad.