Well, I'm not sure if it was our dark lord and saviour, or the decadence caused by being on the wrong side of a successful crusade and a failing jihad, but the mighty Abbasid empire which stretched from one side of the map to the other...
Has exploded. Leaving me, the mighty HBE as the largest empire in the game at this point in time.
I think that this guy has done a lot for it though, the best ruler of the game so far, he's 74 and still kicking. He's outlasted his wife, his first heir and the Abbasid empire.
So I think that someone made a pact there....
Now I just need to keep my empire from going the way of the Abbasids...