Basileious has already brought about feudal law too, so you can more easily manage how your titles and lands are handed down. The nation starts at war with a much smaller foe, but it has about 4,000 troops, is entirely Orthodox, and almost entirely Greek. It doesn’t get much easier than the Byzantine Empire. Byzantine Empire – Basileus Basileios, Byzantine Empire That doesn’t mean it can’t also do raids or conquering by sea, but it has some more immediate places to bring into its fold. Whereas Sweden primarily relies on the seas to get around, Novgorod has a lot of smaller to mid-size duchies and counties around which it can conquer one by one. Novgorod is a nearly landlocked version of Sweden which has more neighbors to conquer early on. If you want to go conquer and raid any region in the world, you can do so! Novgorod – Jarl Rurik of Holmgardr
We recommend Sweden primarily because the Nordic nations are very strong in these early years and they don’t need any kind of claim to war for territory outside of their empire. While Sweden starts off splintered, it’s not too hard to gain the title of King before Bjorn Ironside kicks the bucket.