I managed to go from being a single county Zunist to the Persian Emperor a handful of generations. I think it was three, maybe one or two more than that... some odd successions in there.
Also made the world angry, since Jihads were unlocked toward the end of the 9th Century, followed a few years later by the availability of Pagan great holy wars. Crusades unlocked early-10th Century, and the first one was for the Jewish Holy Roman Empire. A feat, I feel, since I don’t have secret sects turned on.
I was a publicly Sunni Abbasid vassal for a bit (holy shit Iqta government seems really OP) while secretly being Zunist, before a claimant revolt replaced them, followed by an independence revolt, and then another that I started. I also had the spawn of Satan event happen to me, again with a girl in a Muslim government. Game doesn’t want to let me see it succeed
also got the Chinese to knacker the rest of the empire-formerly-known-as-Abbasid, just for gits and shiggles.
I got claims on the remaining Zunist holy sites to reform, then JIHAD! But it was just the Shiites, who could barely muster 3k guys between them, and where also in the other side of Africa. Free 11k holy order troops though, so I holy warred my way to Persia and a massive threat level, of which I have not got rid.
There was also that time my 77-year old character got 100 prestige for fighting his way out of a sticky situation in the battlefield.
On my way to dealing with the Sunnis in India so I can get Rajastan, then I might try to turn Brittania Afghan Zunist.
Worried about when the Mongols turn up (Seljuks first I think) ‘cause they’re not very nice, but I have a few hundred years of expansion to go yet. We shall see how it goes though.