Changing to Kuzarite does make it easier, but it is a lot harder if you stay radhanite. I honestly tried to get the hook on the Khan but never managed, and I didn’t manage to secure useful alliances due the cultural / religious malus. If I were to try a do-over I might try a diplomatic alliance and hope the AI helps me siege a few feudal provinces to the south before they get rolled into someone bigger, but when I did my run they all received buffs to castle level and I couldn’t manage a quick siege. Also my khan was getting seriously hammered and it wasn’t long before the empire broke up. It was a mess.
Glad it worked out well for you!
