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I have a very rough idea for a TL, and would like to hear your ideas about it. Actually, I think I might need some support.
I want to cover essentially the 12th century, plus some decades around. ;-)

The main steps are the following:

- PoD is shortly before Manzikert (1071).
- pre-Manzikert: some changes inside the Byzantine Empire, to consolidate imperial power and continuity.
- as in OTL: Turks win a major battle (*Manzikert) and invade Anatolia.
Cry for help to the rest of the Christian world, formation of the crusade philosophy,
the Byzantine Emperor is scared by the crusaders and tries to ensure their loyalty; e.g. by an oath of fealty.
The crusaders form several "colonial" Latin Christian states along the Mediterranean coast
Armenia-Cilcia is founded
- IN CONTRAST TO OTL, the crusaders stay solidaric with Eastern Christianity:
Constaninople is never focussed in hostile way, Orthodox Christians are respected as citizens in the crusaders' states
- "in excange", Constantinople embraces the idea of crusading, of a war of Christianity agaist Paganism.
Internal regulations confirm that the situation inside the B.E. stays stable in spite of Western merchants as well as soldiers
- the crusader states receive a more stable political structure.
The Templars get their own territory (like a "March" for the Kingdom of Jerusalem),
but may entertain castles inside the kingdom IF COLLECTIVELY TAKING THE DUTIES OF A CROWN VASALL.
Moreover, the Catholic-Orthodox convergence makes immigration from Byzantine Anatolia to Jerusalem or Damaskus possible (which will not appeal to the most successful folks, but perhaps they can fight and populate the area)
- in effect, the Byzantine Empire remains a great power, avoids splitting up, and regains a little strip of inner Anatolia.
on the other hand, the Muslim realms are now hostile all together by definition, and diplomacy with them is unreliable
- the crusader states flourish (in a military sense of the word, at least) and expand slightly beyond their OTL borders.
The Kingdom of Jerusalem causes a lot of trouble for the rulers of Egypt.


- AT THE SAME TIME but somewhere else, the reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula makes similar progresses than in OTL
- Due to the general situation, the Iberian Crusaders get in their high spirits,
and put all their eggs in one basket.
Which means that the decisive Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa is sought earlier than IOTL (1212).
- However, the battle goes terribly wrong.
The Christian army is almost annihilated, maybe the kings die in action.
- Consequently, the Almohads have a peninsula before them without a major Christian army in it, and with some of its kingdoms guideless.
They overrun Iberia within less than two years, leaving only a small Christian region in the Northwest, which I like to call Porto-Leon.
- While crusading is still endorsed by the church, and Iberia is considered more compelling a claim of Christinity than, say, Egypt, the Pyrenees are a border with which many European rules tacitly accept
- However, the Almohads do not stop there for long.
In the right moment, when significant numbers of warriors have left for Outremer, the Almohads strike North and coquer the County of Tououse, which before had gained autonomy from France (a bit more than IOTL).
- Europe is shocked ...


Your thoughts ?
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