The expansion of the Latin Christendom took many forms and involved many peoples. The advance of the Normans and the predominantly Frankish crusades were the most remarkable of its early manifestations, but other Christian powers were expanding their interests immediately beyond Byzantium's Balkan frontier. Venice, as we have seen, was extending her political and commercial nexus, initially by allying with Alexius to thwart the Normans. However, the establishment of Latin outposts in the east, surrounded on all sides by hostile neighbours and connected with the ‘civilized’ world only by sea, offered many opportunities for a resourceful maritime power. A second people, whom we have already met, also emerged at this time somewhat transformed. In the period between their settlement of the Carpathian basin and the advent of the First Crusade, the nomadic Magyars had moved a significant way towards establishing a more, although not entirely, sedentary Christian kingdom. The kingdom is known to English speakers as Hungary, and we will henceforth call the Magyars Hungarians. Both Venetians and Hungarians had an interest in extending their authority to Dalmatia: the former to establish control over the northern Adriatic, dominating both coasts; the latter to gain access to the sea, and thus to establish political and commercial links with the rest of the Mediterranean world. The Hungarians also saw opportunities for expansion into Sirmium and the Slavic lands beyond, encroaching further into Byzantium's Balkan frontier.