[quote=Monkeypants]
Thanks Dinh AaronMk, I appreciate the input. Especially referencing Kazakhstan,I'll shrink it down a bit but with all the nations so far apart, I'd venture to guess that nations actual influence over territory is far more vast. if that makes sense.
[/quote]

I'd suspect culturally at least in that case. And marriage I think is one of the more common ways for kingdoms like this in such a setting to have influence over another. After all, if you're the king of somewhere and your wife is the queen of another place, you do effectively have a personal union.