Once the first crusade has been declared you can start carving out an empire in the Middle East too. I'd avoid North Africa beyond Tunis because of the distances involved and the relative poverty of those provinces. Your nobles will probably ask you to take Durazzo, which I used as a base to take all of Greece and ultimately Constantinople (warning: this will test your military and financial skills to the limit!), before heading north to take the Venetians' lands. If you are skilled enough to hold it against inevitable Milanese attacks, Florence can prove lucrative too. This will give you a circle of early-game trade and an extra unit-training base. Make the two island castles into cities for trade purposes, but keep Tunis as a castle. Early Expansion: I strongly recommend taking Corsica, Sardinia and Tunis ASAP.Into the 75th turn of my Sicily campaign (my first long campaign), so here are a few pointers:
