So I'm working on a TL that starts in 1130, but beyond Wikipedia articles (which are a bit hard to rely on or hard to formulate into a narrative whole), I don't have much information on some parts of Europe, or much about the Mongols, so I'd like help. The main focus of my TL will be on the Normans in Southern Italy, but I've already got good sources on them, so I only need info about them regarding their relations to a few European states present in this time period. Here are my non-Norman European and Mongol questions.
1. What were the Iberian kingdoms (Castille, Navarre, Portugal, Aragon, and any others I may have missed, plus Al-Andalus) doing around this time (1130s to 1200s)? I'm looking at the Wikipedia pages of the kings, but Wiki doesn't really give a good sense of the long-term goals of the Iberian nations.
2. I'm not going to butterfly the Mongol invasions away, but I want to have the Buddhists and Christians more prominent in at least one of the successor states. So my question is, where were most of the Mongol Buddhists and Christians located, and could they form a singular successor state?
3. If the Mongols must come crashing through the Middle East, is there any way to allow the
Khwarezmid Empire to survive, even as a vassal state?[/url]
4. What was the focus of the Zengids, specifically
Nur-ad Din? Also, if Nur ad-Din survives longer, is Saladin's rise butterflied away?
5. Regarding the Anarchy in England, could Stephen of Blois emerge as the uncontested ruler and create a dynasty (if his heir survives)? What French lands did he control?
6. By 1130, was the Kingdom of Jerusalem on life support, or could it revive itself with Crusader help?
7. One of my PoDs involve the Welfs holding onto control of the Holy Roman Empire; what differences did they have from the Hohenstaufens?
8. Is there any way to keep the Almohads and the Mamelukes from rising?
9. With an 1130 PoD, could the Fatimids or at least a similar Shia dynasty survive in Egypt/the Levant?
10. I'm at a lose for ideas for Central Europe and Eastern Europe in the 1130s-1200. All I know is that my central PoD will have the Normans avoiding attacking the Byzantines after 1130. Any ideas involving any of the powers around this area with a slightly stronger Byzantine state?
11. Is there any way for the Rurikids to completely lose power in Russia after the Mongol invasion, instead of simply becoming vassal states? Who could replace them in the aftermath?
I may have more questions and ideas, these are just the ones that have occurred to me so far. Thanks in advance for any responses.