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SBu . . . . . ....... . ... ..... . . . ................................. . . ..... ... . ....... ............... . .................................... ..................................... Author: Warfreak Version: 0.1 Date Started: 28/09/10 NOTE: This Guide will Contain Spoilers. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! REMEMBER, IF YOU LIKE THIS GUIDE, RECOMMEND IT TO OTHER USERS USING THE LINK ABOVE! *('@')~~~~~~Watch In Awe, Watch In Awe, Aeria Gloris, Aeria Gloris~~~~~~('@')* Use Ctrl+F to quickly navigate this guide. Table of Contents �1 Introduction [1.01] Introduction [1.02] Version History �2 Civ V [2.01] Game Intro �3 The 18 Civilizations [3.01] Arabia [3.02] Aztecs [3.03] China [3.04] Egypt [3.05] England [3.06] France [3.07] Germany [3.08] Greece [3.09] India [3.10] Iroquois [3.11] Japan [3.12] Ottoman [3.13] Persia [3.14] Rome [3.15] Russia [3.16] Siam [3.17] Songhai [3.18] United States [A] Contact Information [B] Credits [C] Webmaster Information [D] Copyright Notice *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Now, Let the Guide Begin~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* [1.01] Introduction If you stand back enough, you will be able to recognise the V as the same V behind the name of the game. Anyway this is my guide, number 63 actually, and I will probably support all the Civ 5 games, so future expansion packs, just like my coverage on Civ 4. Basically, this game is a lot different, so first things first, cover the differences. First off, I know there is going to be a lot of copy pasta from the Civilopedia from the game, however, given how clunky I find it now, and how it is more annoying to use, it will be put here, and besides, you might want to get some context on why some leaders are so, well, out there. And for anyone curious to my game edition, it's the lovely Special Edition or the Collectors edition. Who can resist metal figurines of archers and a metallic death robot? *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* [1.02] Version History Version 0.0 [29/9/10] Template done, started on the guide proper. Version 0.1 [4/10/10] Guide is way too big for starters, might have to remove history, but Chapter 2 and 3 are done. *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* [2.01] Game Intro There are many differences between this game and Civ 4. As someone who has played pretty much every single Civ game since Colonization and Civilization, which were released all that long time ago on DOS, there has been a lot of differences, but let us start small. - Hex Tiles - Yes, the square tiles are gone, the diagonal tiles are in the dustcans of history, they are replaced with hex tiles, and although it might be a bit of a shock, they look horribly nice. They are very well done, and old civ players really wouldn't notice too much of a difference. - Cities can Bombard and Defend - Yes, that is right, cities can now bombard enemies that come within 2 tiles of the city. That means, get too close, and watch the city rain projectiles on you. Therefore, there cannot be a rush early in the game, because they can just attack enemies that decide to get too close. This makes them very strategic as well in terms of placement, they can be used as offensive weapons as well, and they are very useful overlooking a chokepoint or bottleneck. - Leadership Traits - The way each leader is arranged is different. There are 18 civilisations, and each have a single leader. There are no more dual leaders, which is a bit of a shame, but that makes thing a little more tolerable. Each civilisation has a specific power, the Americans have the Manifest Destiny, whereas the Chinese will have the Art of War, something that is related to each of them. Each civilisation will have 2 unique features that are specific to them, besides their power. They will either have 1 unique building and 1 unique unit, or they will hav 2 unique units. For example, the Americans will have the Minuteman and the B17 as their unique units, whilst the Chinese will have the Chu-No-Ku as their unique unit and the Paper Maker as their unique building. - Religion - What was introduced in Civ 4, the concept of religion, has been removed. This was done mainly because it wasn't very effectively implemented, but it has been removed. - Civics - Yes, Civics have pretty much been redone completely. This means that you don't get to choose a government system when it is time to do so, however, you will be picking civics or rather, social policies. This is where you accumulate culture points from your cities, and from here, you will be able to pick new policies from that. This is talked about heavily in the manual, and I'll jibber a bit more about it later. - Technology - Whilst the tech tree is still there, ready to be pruned, tech trading has been changed. No longer can you just trade technology back and forth like some sort of commodity, rather, technology is traded in the form of agreements, where you and another party will basically create a research pact, and that, although costing money, will lead to a joint venuture to create new tech. And the biggest change is, no more Leonard Nemoy. - Stacks - No more stacks. Stacks of units are now gone, banished, erased. No more can you send a stack of 50000 armoured units into a city and watch them pulverise the enemy defences. One hex tile can only hold a civilian unit, such as a settler or worker, and a military unit, such as a warrior or catapult, no more. Of course, you can move past them, but you cannot now have stacks. That concludes most of the major changes, now we will go into depth about the smaller changes and the overall scope of the game. *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* [3.01] Arabia Leader - Harun al-Rashid Unique Unit 1 - Camel Archers, replaces Knights Unique Unit 2 - None Unique Building - Bazaar, replaces Markets Civilization Power TRADE CARAVANS - +2 Gold per Trade Route ~ History "The Muslim Empire of the Caliphate - also known as the Islamic Empire or the Arab kingdom - came into existence after the Prophet Mohammed's death in 632 AD, created by Mohammed's disciples as a continuation of the political authority he established. During its long existence the Caliphate would grow to enormous size and power, dominating Spain, North Africa, the Middle East, Anatolia, the Balkans and Persia, ruling an empire that at least rivaled that of the Romans at the height of their power. The Arab Empire began in Medina, on the Arabian Peninsula, in what is now known as Saudi Arabia. The interior is generally inhospitable desert - barren, sandy and hot with summer temperatures reaching as high as 130 degrees F. Medina and Mecca occupy the more fertile coastal regions along the Red Sea. The Umayyads were a merchant family based in Mecca. They had converted to Islam in 627, becoming prominent supporters of Mohammed and his successors. The early Umayyad caliphs were based in Damascus, Syria, and the Syrian army formed the backbone of the Arab military forces. The Umayyads expanded Arabian power east, building outposts and sending expeditions into Central Asia and northwestern India. In addition the Umayyads launched the invasion of North Africa. In the 7th century they constructed a Mediterranean fleet with which they launched a series of unsuccessful raids against Christian Constantinople. The Umayyad Caliphate reached its zenith under the reign of Abd al-Malik (reigned 685-705). In the west, Abd's armies overran much of Spain, while in the east the Caliphate invaded Sind in India and conquered Bukhara, Samarkand, Khwarezm, and many more places too hard to spell. al-Malik also oversaw a reorganization of the Caliphate's bureaucracy, economy, and the institution of a post service. During his reign the arts flourished, particularly architecture. The empire suffered a decline after Abd al-Malik's death. A series of mediocre caliphs combined with economic troubles and military reverses in the east and west fueled tribal rivalries within the Caliphate, and in 750 the Umayyads were defeated and overthrown at the Battle of the Great Zab River. The Umayyads were defeated by the Abbasids, another powerful family. The first Abbasid Caliph, Abu al-Abbas, was a ruthless leader who upon achieving power immediately set about exterminating anyone else who might have a legitimate claim upon the throne. He was successful, as the Abbasids would remain in power for another three centuries. Not without a certain grim panache, he gave himself the name as-Saffah, which translates as "the bloodletter." The Abbasids shifted the capital of the Caliphate to Baghdad. This reflected its concentration on events in the east - Persia, India, Central Asia - and subsequent de-emphasis on North Africa and the Mediterranean. The Abbasids were more overtly religious than the Umayyads, and under them the Caliphate more closely followed Islamic law. Harun al-Rashid (reigned 786-809) was the fifth Abbasid caliph. He ruled Arabia at the height of its wealth and power. In his early years Harun led military expeditions against the Byzantine Empire; his successes earned him the nickname al-Rashid, "the one following the correct path." While Rashid did have to put down a number of internal revolts, the empire was mostly at peace during his reign, and the Caliphate grew monumentally, spectacularly wealthy. For more details on Harun al-Rashid, see his Civilopedia entry. The Arab empire of the medieval period was far more advanced than contemporary Europeans; Harun al-Rashid's Baghdad may have held a million people at the same time that Charlemagne's Aachen was a "capital" of ten thousand. Centers of learning attracted scholars from across the Muslim world to great cities such as Baghdad, Damascus, and Cordoba. The Arabs of this period made many advances in medicine, astronomy, mathematics, and other areas, as well as translating many of the classics of the Ancient Greeks into Arabic, thereby saving them from destruction. During the period of the Crusades, Christian Europe began a sustained assault against the Arabic world. The greatest of Muslim generals from this period was Salah al-Din, better known as Saladin, who successfully defeated the Third Crusade and recaptured Jerusalem for the Arabs. As the Middle Ages ended, however, the Empire began to fragment under increasing pressure from both external and internal forces. The sheer size of the Empire made centralized government nearly impossible, and the caliphs were forced to put down numerous insurrections by rebellious local leaders. The debate over the rightful heirs to Mohammed's leadership continued to fester. In the west the Europeans wrested control of Spain from the caliphate, while in the east the Ottomans began their inexorable expansion into the heart of the Arabian Empire. In 1258 a Mongol army under Hulagu Khan captured Baghdad and executed Caliph al-Musta'sim, bringing the Arabian Empire to an abrupt end. For most of the past five centuries, much of the Arab world has been ruled by foreigners; first by the Ottoman Turks, then by the Western colonial powers. Since the onset of de-colonization in the 1950s, traditional Arab values have been modified through the combined pressures of urbanization, industrialization, and Western influence. However, the ancient tenets of Islam are still followed by millions of faithful across the globe. Although now divided between dozens of different countries, the lands once part of the greater Arabian Empire owe much to their ancient common ancestor." The Arabians are a fun race to play with, you can always mimic the current Middle East conflict, however, their power is very useful for a large empire. An extra 2 gold per trade route, with an empire of 40 cities connected to the capital will lead to an extra 80 gold per turn, in addition to the usual benefits that trading brings into the civilisation. The Bazaar is a nice building, it replaces the market. It does the same job as the market, with the 25% extra gold as well as the specialist slot, but the unique thing is that an additional luxury resource for each resource near the city. So 1 wine turns into 2, 2 into 4, and so forth. The unique unit is the Camel Archer, a unique mounted unit which allows for movement after attack, as well as a powerful ranged and melee attack for units within the Medieval Era, which is when you get access to this unit. However, like all mounted units, pikemen and spearmen are their worst nightmare. Harun al-Rashid ~ History "Harun al-Rashid (which translates roughly as "Aaron the Rightly Guided") was the fifth Abbasid Caliph, ruling the Arabian Empire from 786 to 809 AD. During his reign the Caliphate stretched from Spain in the west to Anatolia in the north to India in the east, and it was the largest and most powerful political entity in the world. Harun was an able ruler, and his reign was a time of scientific and cultural advancement and prosperity for his subjects. The son of the third Caliph and al-Khayzuran, a Yemeni slave girl, Harun came to power following the death of his brother, Abu Abdullah Musa ibn Mahdi al-Hadi. Al-Hadi died of a stomach ailment under somewhat suspicious circumstances, and some believed that his mother had al-Hadi poisoned because she had much stronger influence with her younger son, Harun. True or not, al-Khayzuran was one of Harun's chief advisors until her death in 789. At the start of Harun's reign, the Caliphate's capitol was in Baghdad, a new city founded by an earlier Caliph. The city was a center of arts, science and religion, with many beautiful buildings. There Harun founded the "House of Wisdom," a library and research facility which collected and translated scientific writings from Persian, Indian, Greek, and Roman texts. Under Harun Baghdad would blossom, becoming perhaps the largest and richest city in the world. Later Harun would move his government to the strategically important city of ar-Raqqah, but Baghdad would remain a great city of arts, science and commerce for centuries to come (the city would be conquered and sacked by the Mongols in 1258). A somewhat fantastic description of Harun may be found in "The Thousand and One Nights," in which the Caliph is described as living in a sumptuous palace flowing with gold, silver, and jewels. Although exaggerated, there is a strong element of truth to the tale. During Harun's reign huge amounts of wealth poured into the Empire, and a goodly portion of it made it to the Caliph's coffers. According to ancient historians, Harun's wife insisted that all utensils and plates at her table be made of gold and festooned with jewels. Politically, Harun attempted to maintain cordial relations with the European powers. He had direct diplomatic relations with Charlemagne, and in these pre-Crusade years Europeans had free access to Jerusalem and the Holy Lands. He also had diplomatic relations with the Imperial Court in China. However, his relations were somewhat less friendly with the Byzantines. Under his father, Harun had led an army through Turkey to the gates of Constantinople, capitol of the Byzantine Empire. After negotiation with the Empress Irene, Harun agreed to spare the city in return for an annual tribute of 70,000 gold coins. When Irene was deposed and the Byzantines reneged on the agreement in 806, Harun led another army north and once again forced the Byzantines to capitulate. Harun became ill and died in 808 while on his way to deal with a revolt in Iran. He was succeeded by his son, al-Amin. His passing marked the beginning of the slow decline of the Arabian Empire, after his death pieces of it were carved away by external enemies and internal revolt. Although the Empire would continue to exist for some centuries, it would never again reach the brilliant heights it had under Harun al-Rashid. Although there were wars and internal trouble, most of Rashid's reign was peaceful and prosperous. The Caliphate enjoyed economic and industrial growth, plus an explosion in trade. Harun was a lover of music and poetry, and he gave lavish gifts to artists in his court. Although not necessarily a great leader, Rashid did rule the Arabian Empire competently at the very height of its power and wealth." Harun is an interesting enemy to face. With this guide, along with a nice history about them, for those who can't be bothered using the Civilopedia, which is a lot more confronting to use, I will give you their actual approaches to the game, as how they will, as the AI, will fight you in the game. As a future note, if you don't want to read the history, just skip past the second chunk of history for the Leader, and you'll get to the analysis of the AI Leader. All scales are out of 10, the closer to 10 they are, the more likely they are going to use that type of approach to whatever the scale is on. Leader Scales Victory Competitiveness - 4/10 Wonder Competitiveness - 7/10 City State Competitiveness - 4/10 Boldness - 3/10 Harun is very competitive in terms of building wonders, he is one of the mostly likely leaders to compete in terms of building Wonders, so if you want those Hanging Gardens in your city, you will really want to build them quick, Harun will also want them, the race is on. He is interesting in the city states, as well as aiming for victory conditions, but not as much as some other leaders. And he isn't the type to go demanding what he wants or tries to get his way. Diplomacy Scales War - 3/10 Hostile - 5/10 Deceptive - 7/10 Guarded - 7/10 Afraid - 5/10 Friendly - 6/10 Neutral - 5/10 Harun is more likely to use deception and be guarded, he is likely to play all nice, and offer you some trade agreements, such as a research pact to remove your gold reserves, or be guarded, not giving anything away. He is friendly somewhat, if the price is right. He is least likely to go to war to get what he wants, which is nice. No one likes war, unless you start to piss me off. City State Scales Ignore Others - 3/10 Friendly - 6/10 Protective - 7/10 Conquest - 4/10 Harun will be more willing to build up a strong alliance with the city states, and offer to protect them, so that if you were to declare war on the city state, they will declare war on you, and then there will be some real issues. He will, on occasion, take their lands for his own personal gain though. Ground Military Scales Offensive - 4/10 Defensive - 6/10 City Defence - 6/10 Military Training - 5/10 Reconnaissance - 5/10 Ranged - 7/10 Mounted - 6/10 When you are going to face his army, Harun will be playing the defensive side. He is more likely to used ranged units, such as archers and his camel archers, which will be harder to counter with melee units, and will be using a fair amount of mounted units. He will scout out your area though, and he will be training his troops through buildings such as barracks. When you decide to advance, make sure you bring enough to smash his defences. Naval Scales Naval - 4/10 Naval Reconnaissance - 4/10 Naval Growth - 4/10 Naval Tile Improvement - 4/10 Harun isn't a powerful naval user, he is more likely to just use the seas to transport his forces, not to use them to bombard your cities, which is nice if you have a fair amount of coastal cities. Air Scale Air Power - 3/10 When it comes for the time for air power to dominate, Harun won't be using his air units to his advantage. He won't be sending helicopter gunships to rain on your parade, or bombers to blow up your city. Something nice to know at least. Growth Scales Expansion - 5/10 Growth - 5/10 Tile Improvement - 6/10 Infrastructure - 5/10 Production - 5/10 Gold - 8/10 Science - 7/10 Culture - 6/10 Harun will concentrate mainly on gold production, apt given that his special power is to do with gold, but he will focus on science and culture as well, which makes him fast to research new technology as well as adopting new social policy. In terms of improvements, he will build them, but he will build them to improve gold first, and gold foremost. Civilisation Scales Happiness - 7/10 Great People - 6/10 Wonder - 6/10 Diplomacy - 5/10 Spaceship - 8/10 Despite his inability to use air power well, he will nearly always go for the spaceship victory, building and completing the Apollo project, which is very handy when you are facing him, he will be less likely to kill you than to build up his little spaceship, which drains his production from units to kill you with. *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* [3.02] Aztecs Leader - Montezuma Unique Unit 1 - Jaguar Warrior, replaces Warrior Unique Unit 2 - None Unique Building - Floating Gardens, replaces Watermill Civilization Power SACRIFICIAL CAPTIVES - Gain Culture for each enemy unit killed ~ History "The Aztecs were a Native American civilization that occupied central Mexico for roughly one hundred years in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Aztecs ruled a mighty empire and possessed a rich culture, producing some of the most impressive pre-Colombian architecture in North America. Today the Aztecs are best remembered for the bloodiness of their religious practices and rapidity with which they collapsed in the face of external assault. The Aztec Empire was located in the "Mesa Central" or central plateau in the heart of modern Mexico (Mexico City is built atop the ruins of the Aztec capital city of Tenochitlan.) The Valley of Mexico is dominated by a number of conjoined lakes: Zumpango, Xaltocan, Texcoco, Xochimilco, and Chalco. The area features abundant rainfall and a temperate climate, and the land is incredibly fertile. The origin of the Aztec people is uncertain, but their origin stories suggest they were a tribe of hunter-gatherers on the northern Mexican plateau before they migrated down to Meso-America in the 12th century. The word "Aztec" comes from "Aztlan" ("White Land"), an allusion to northern Mexico. The Aztecs reached central Mexico sometime around 1250; what happened to them before that period is mostly speculation and myth. At the time of the Aztecs' arrival, the population of central Mexico was divided between hundreds of small tribes or city-states, the most important of which were the Azcapotzalco and the Culhuacan. During the early period the Aztecs were vassals of the Azcapotzalco, who in 1325 gave them permission to settle on a small island in Lake Texcoco, where they founded their capital city, Tenochtitlan. The Aztecs remained subject to the Azcapotzalcos for around 100 years. By the fifteenth century, the Azcapotzalcos had become a strong regional power. In 1427 the Azcapotzalco leader, Maxtla, had the Aztec leader Chimalpopca assassinated and laid siege to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. To defeat the Azcapotzalcos, Chimalpopca's successor Itzcoatl allied with two other powerful city-states, Texcoco and Tlacopan. The allies successfully raised the siege of Tenochtitlan and shortly thereafter conquered the Azcapotzalcos themselves. Over the next century the "Triple Alliance" would come to control all of central Mexico, eventually extending its power across the entirety of the country, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Tenochtitlan would become the dominant member in the alliance, making the Aztecs de facto rulers of a vast continental empire. In 1440, Montezuma I succeeded his uncle Itzcoatl to become ruler of the Aztecs. During his reign Montezuma solidified the Triple Alliance. He extended the Alliance's control to the Gulf coast, subjugating the Totonac and the Huastic people. He also led successful campaigns against other neighbors, including the Mixtecs, Cotaxtla, and Orizaba. (It's important not to confuse Montezuma I with his unfortunate and incompetent namesake, Montezuma II, about whom see below). Montezuma I died in 1469. For more details on Montezuma I, see his Civilopedia entry. While Montezuma I held the throne, his half-brother Tlacaelel was engaged in reforming the Aztec state. He literally rewrote the Aztec religion, according to some sources ordering the burning of hundreds of texts because of historical inaccuracies. Under Tlacaelel, the Aztec religion stated that the Aztecs were chosen people, destined to be above all others. Tlacaelel also emphasized the importance of militarism and ritual sacrifice in the Aztec religion, a change which would have far-reaching and devastating effects upon the Aztecs and the region as a whole. Tlacaelel oversaw the creation of many temples and religious buildings, including the Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlan, dedicated to the Aztec god of war Huitzilopochtli. Politically, Tlacaelel was one of the architects of the Triple Alliance. He is said to have ordered the burning of conquered people's histories to ensure that his people's worldview was dominant. He also strengthened the Aztec nobility and priesthood at the expense of the peasants. Tlacaelel died in 1487, probably much to the relief of Central American historians everywhere. At the height of its power, the Aztec Empire dominated an area of nearly 200,000 square miles (slightly under a third the size of modern Mexico), with some five to six million subjects. Somewhat like the Mongols, the Aztecs left the subject tribes to their own devices as long as the requisite tribute was paid. The Aztecs were great traders, and Aztec merchants happily did business with allies and enemies alike. Lacking a monetary system, trade was based upon the barter system. Possessing no draft animals or wheeled vehicles, the Aztecs constructed a vast road network designed for foot travel. In addition to merchants, these roads were in constant use by soldiers and military couriers, making them safe enough for women to travel on alone. The Aztec religion as revised by Tlacaelel believed that a steady stream of sacrifice was required to keep the universe operating properly. Sacrifice was required to keep the rain falling, the crops growing, the sun rising, and so forth. Sins were expiated by sacrifice. The Aztecs sacrificed animals, wealth, food, their own blood - and human beings. The Aztecs claimed that they sacrificed over 80,000 prisoners to reconsecrate the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, though many historians believe this to be a massive exaggeration, with 5,000 or fewer being the most that would be logistically possible given the size of the sacrificial table. Even if the smaller number is closer to the truth, that's still quite a lot of blood and beating hearts to deal with. The Aztec religion placed a premium upon the sacrifice of enemy warriors captured in battle, which became something of a problem once the Empire had conquered pretty much everybody within reach. This led to a form of ritualized combat known as the "Flower Wars," under which two sides would meet at a prescribed time and place for the specific purpose of battling to acquire prisoners. Once the battle was over, each side would take their prisoners back to their cities for religious sacrifice. In 1502 the ninth emperor Montezuma II (1502-1520) succeeded his uncle Ahuitzotl as the ruler of an empire that had reached its greatest extent, stretching from what is now northern Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua. The Aztec empire was still expanding, and its society still evolving, when its progress was halted in 1519 by the appearance of Spanish adventurers on the Gulf Coast. In February of 1519, Hernan Cortes led an expedition into Central America, leading a force of 500 men, 13 horses and a small number of cannon. In mid-August he marched on Tenochtitlan after burning his ships to discourage retreat. Along the way he gathered many Native American allies eager to assist in the downfall of the hated Aztecs. According to Spanish records, Cortes was greatly assisted in his conquest by Aztec religious traditions that said that the God Quetzalcoatl would return as a white man from across the water. The Aztecs were not certain if Cortes was Quetzalcoatl, which made them reluctant to fight him. Cortes' godhood was further confirmed by his command of horses, dogs, firearms and cannon which the Aztecs had never seen, and which at first naturally terrified them. By the time Cortes reached Tenochtitlan, he had a huge following of native allies. Montezuma II welcomed the Spaniards into the city peacefully, whereupon Cortes made him prisoner. Through Montezuma Cortes ordered the Aztecs to provide the Spanish with huge amounts of treasure. Eventually, the Aztecs stoned Montezuma to death and drove the Spanish out of their capital, but Cortes got reinforcements and returned, laying siege to the city. In 1521 the city fell and was razed, and in August the last ruler of the Aztecs was captured. The Empire was vanquished, destroyed by ambitious foreigners with advanced weapons who took advantage of the native majority's hatred for their Aztec overlords. Unfortunately for the natives, the Spanish were not especially nicer to their subject people and it would be some time before they would once again be free from oppression and once again have some control over their own destinies." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ITXPfHltRg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnRrTEFZs60 2 Videos that any self-respecting Civ Fan must watch, who hasn't had one-more- turn-itis? No one, that who. Anyway, the Aztecs are a funny bunch, they are especially strong in terms of war, given their special power. They have the best in terms of early starts, they will get the Jaguar Warriot, which is superior to the normal warrior, and they will get the Floating Gardens, which gives 15% more food and 2 extra food for each worked lake tile as long as the city is located next to a river or lake. Montezuma ~ History "A mighty warrior and leader, Montezuma I helped propel the Aztec nation to greatness and glory. He should not be confused with his unfortunate grandson Montezuma II, who watched helplessly as his empire was dismantled by Spanish Conquistadors. Montezuma (whose name means "he frowns like a lord") came from a royal family. His father Huitzilihuitl was the second Aztec "tlatoani" or emperor, and his mother, Miahuaxihuitl, was the daughter of the ruler of the city of Cuauhnahuac. Following his father's death, Montezuma's uncle Itzcoatl was elected. Montezuma's older brother Tlacaelel was one of Itzcoatl's closest advisors, while Montezuma served as a general in the Aztec army. Following Itzcoatl's death in 1440, Montezuma was elected emperor. Tlacaelel did not seem at all unhappy about being bypassed (perhaps he thought he'd live longer if he didn't get the crown), and by all accounts he served his brother faithfully. Montezuma's coronation was a huge ceremony involving the sacrifice of many prisoners. Despite the opulence of his political title, it appears that Montezuma himself lived modestly, in a simple palace with "just a few wives." When not engaged in religious duties or matters of state, he spent much of his time in consultation with his friends and advisors. During his reign Montezuma and his brother Tlacaelel worked to improve the Aztec city Tenochtitlan. Among other improvements they constructed an aqueduct system which brought a good deal of fresh water into the city. Of course as Tenochtitlan grew, in addition to fresh water it required ever greater amounts of food to sustain its hungry population. Since Central America lacked draft animals, every single morsel of food had to be transported to the city on somebody's back. Montezuma's government employed state inspectors to ensure that every piece of arable land within walking distance was planted and maintained. He also ordered the construction of a dike system to alleviate flooding and to provide more farmland. Montezuma and his brother also constructed many temples in and around the city, including a new temple to Huitzilopochtli, the god of battle. The temple of Huitzilopochtli was consecrated in 1455 with the sacrifice of a large number of Huaxtec prisoners of war. Probably at the urging of his brother, Tlacaelel, Montezuma instituted Sumptuary Laws which codified and reinforced the already-stratified Aztec class system. A person's station in life determined what he or she could wear and how he or she could speak. The poor were not allowed to wear cotton cloth, sandals or any clothing that extended below the knee. Only the nobility could live in homes of greater than one story. Crimes were punished by slavery, the lowest of all classes, or by being sacrificed. During Montezuma's rule, his brother Tlacaelel worked on reforming the Aztec religion. He rewrote the Aztec religious texts, ordering the destruction of many others which did not agree with his interpretations of the Aztec history and religion. Under Tlacaelel the Aztec religion became more militaristic, demanding ever more sacrifices of captured enemy soldiers. The need for prisoners for sacrifice would over time become one of the driving forces behind Aztec foreign policy. As ruler Montezuma sought to strengthen the "Triple Alliance" between the Central Mexican city-states of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan. He also expanded the Aztec empire by conquering Panuco, the Totonacs, Coatzocoalcos and the Chalca. Some theorize that he conquered the tribes for their tribute, hoping to ensure a continuous food supply for Tenochtitlan, which despite his best efforts continued to suffer from periodic famine. Another theory is that he did so to feed the Aztec religion's every-chronic need for prisoners of war to sacrifice. Yet another theory is that he did it because that's what Aztec Emperors did - conquer stuff. The answer is likely to be something of a combination of all three theories. Montezuma died in 1469. He was succeeded by his 19-year-old cousin, Axayacatl, who would be the father of Montezuma I's namesake, the unfortunate Montezuma II who would lose everything to Spain. Generally, Montezuma was a successful ruler. He expanded his empire, personally led his armies to victory, and worked hard to improve the lot of his people. He certainly was a bloody man, personally sacrificing thousands of prisoners to his thirsty gods. But his religion said such barbarity was necessary - blood was required to ensure that the sun would rise, the crops would grow, and the Aztec nation would continue to prosper. Could he have cut back on the ritualized murder? Possibly. But the thought might never have occurred to him - or anybody else in the area at the time. It's useful to remember that the more "enlightened" people of Europe were busily burning heretics alive at roughly the same time. And while that doesn't in any way make Montezuma's actions any better, at least it puts them in some kind of context." Montezuma is very aggressive, and when you watch that video, you will figure that he expands and conquers all those who get in his path. So if you are near him in terms of civilization, you might want to build up some defences and have units around him 24/7, just to make sure he doesn't pull off anything sneaky on you. Leader Scales Victory Competitiveness - 6/10 Wonder Competitiveness - 2/10 City State Competitiveness - 5/10 Boldness - 8/10 Montezuma isn't going to compete with you on Wonders, but he will compete for the favours from the City States, but what really does set him out is his boldness. He will demand what he wants, if he doesn't get it, he will get very pissed, and will be, as you will see later, declare war on you. Diplomacy Scales War - 7/10 Hostile - 6/10 Deceptive - 7/10 Guarded - 5/10 Afraid - 7/10 Friendly - 4/10 Neutral - 5/10 Montezuma is one that deals with strength. When he meets you, he is more likely to declare war on you, and be willing to deceive you and then declare war, rather than to be friends with you and be involved in a group hug. However, build up an army strong enough to match him stride for stride, or declare war on him with a superior force, and he will back down. It is either put up or shut up with Montezuma. City State Scales Ignore Others - 5/10 Friendly - 5/10 Protective - 3/10 Conquest - 7/10 Montezuma isn't there to be friendly towards the city states, he is there to conquer them. He is one of the most likely leaders to attack the city states and take them over. He will ignore what others are doing towards the city states, which will tend to get him into more wars than necessary, but that is his culture, no to respect others. Beside, he only sees the city state as a small city with a few military units, not looking at the protector with a few hundred riflemen on their borders. Ground Military Scales Offensive - 8/10 Defensive - 3/10 City Defence - 4/10 Military Training - 6/10 Reconnaissance - 6/10 Ranged - 5/10 Mounted - 5/10 Montezuma will focus on his ground units a lot. He will focus on the offensive units, anything that can be used to attack, he will use it. He will scout out your lands, and then send in units, including siege units, to march on your lands. However, the lack of defence will help you significantly, you will be able to easily take over his lands once you defeat his standing army. Naval Scales Naval - 3/10 Naval Reconnaissance - 3/10 Naval Growth - 4/10 Naval Tile Improvement - 4/10 Montezuma will, by large, neglect his naval units significantly. He will be more likely to use them as a support role at most, but more likely, the extent of his naval prowess will be to ship units across the sea to set your cities on fire. Air Scale Air Power - 4/10 Air power isn't something that is on Montezuma's mind, he isn't there to use air units as an offensive strategy, rather, as best, support. And that's a good thing, bombers aren't the best thing you want to face when they decide to rain death on your cities. Growth Scales Expansion - 8/10 Growth - 5/10 Tile Improvement - 5/10 Infrastructure - 5/10 Production - 5/10 Gold - 5/10 Science - 4/10 Culture - 5/10 The only thing that stands out, above average, is that Montezuma expands and he will expand aggressively. This is why he is one of the most hated enemy leaders to face, he will expand and declare war to gain land, and he does not build an economy to match that expansion. It is nice to note that he isn't that tech inclined though, so whilst you will be using riflemen, he will still be stuck using Jaguar Warriors. Civilisation Scales Happiness - 6/10 Great People - 5/10 Wonder - 6/10 Diplomacy - 5/10 Spaceship - 7/10 For someone who doesn't like to tech up, he will go for the spaceship victory, more often than not, although it will take him a fairly long time to get there. This is quite good, although his armies marchingn into your land isn't that good. *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* [3.03] China Leader - Wu Zetian Unique Unit 1 - Chu-Ko-Nu, replaces Crossbowman Unique Unit 2 - None Unique Building - Paper Maker, replaces Library Civilization Power ART OF WAR - Great General effective and spawn rate increased ~ History "Summarizing the rich history of China in several paragraphs is a daunting task indeed. China is a civilization spanning some six thousand years and comprising a large fraction of humanity. There is evidence of man's prehistoric ancestors living in China some two million years ago, and modern man has lived in the area for at least 18,000 years, possibly much longer. Geographically, China can be divided into three main areas: the mountainous highlands of the west, the rugged south, and the eastern lowlands bordering the Yellow and East China Seas. Bisected by a number of major rivers, the incredibly fertile lowlands have been the center of power in China, and whoever controls that area controls Western Asia. The Xia Dynasty is the earliest known centralized political entity in China. While the specific dates of the dynasty remain open to debate, many reputable scholars agree that the Xia existed from around 2000 BC to 1600 BC. The Xia did not control all of China; their power was largely centered in northern China, the area which would eventually become known as Manchuria. The Xia were eventually overtaken by the Shang, who lasted from around the 18th to the 12th century BC. The Shang were in turn ousted by the Zhou, who held power until around the 9th century BC. From the 9th century to the 2nd China suffered through the unending agony of near-constant civil war during the so-called Spring and Autumn period, which in turn was followed by the Warring States period. Eventually, in the second century BC, the Qin Dynasty conquered its rivals and established the first truly unified Chinese state. Their successors, the Han, introduced the office of the Emperor, the single leader who would rule all of China. Over the succeeding centuries China would be ruled by the Tang and the Song dynasties. In 1271 AD the country would be conquered by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who would begin his own dynasty, known as the Yuan. A century later, the Yuan would be overthrown and the Ming dynasty would gain power, lasting until the 16th century AD. The Qing replaced the Ming, ruling until 1912 AD, when the Republic of China was established. The Republic lasted some fifty years, until it was overtaken by the People's Republic of China in 1949. As of this writing, the People's Republic remains China's current ruler. A creative and innovative people, China has given the world some of the most important inventions in history, including paper, gunpowder, the compass, and movable type. (This section is mandatory whenever Chinese history is discussed, in case you were wondering. It's a law.) Throughout much of its history China has remained an insular and isolated civilization, largely ignoring - and ignored by - the rest of the world. This was not difficult, as for many centuries China long held a distinct technological and military edge over any and all external foes. And any threats it could not defeat militarily (such as the Mongols, who conquered China in 1271), it simply absorbed into its own dominant culture. This changed during the 18th and 19th centuries. By this period, the European powers and Japan had achieved a significant technological advantage over the Chinese. This edge, combined with vastly superior naval forces, better armaments, superior communications and advanced military tactics, allowed the foreign powers to dominate much of the rich Chinese coastal cities, where they could engage in extremely profitable business (including the infamous opium trade). The weak and corrupt Chinese central government was unable to oust the hated foreigners, who remained until most were driven out by the Japanese during and following World War II. Emerging triumphant over the Nationalists shortly after World War II, the Communist government spent the subsequent fifty years consolidating power, modernizing infrastructure, and improving the lives and education of its vast population, a process which included a number of massive missteps, including the idiotic "Cultural Revolution" which did its best to destroy China's intellectuals. In the past 40 years China has emerged as a major world power, an economic behemoth which will soon dwarf all other economies including the once unstoppable United States. China is not without its difficulties, however. Much of its energy is expended simply supporting its huge and growing population base. Pollution is becoming a major problem as more and more factories are built, and more and more automobiles are clogging the bigger cities. Tibet - which depending upon your point of view is either a captive nation or an integral part of China - remains an open wound and major political distraction for China. None of these are insurmountable, though, and China stands poised to dominate the 21st century." The Middle Kingdom, China is a powerful nation to play. With the Paper Maker, you will get a nice boost to your gold reserves, since it does give you some gold per turn as well. The Chu-Ku-No is a very nice unit, it has the ability to attack TWICE and as a ranged unit, it will be effective in removing the biggest threat, the Longswordsmen, at a distance before they have a chance to strike. The Art of War will allow you to get Great General quicker, and this is useful for 2 reasons, the ability to build Citadels, and more importantly, the source of a new Golden Age. Wu Zetian ~ History "Like most civilizations, China has been male-dominated throughout much of its history. Until very recently, women were afforded few rights, and direct power was all but totally denied to them. For a woman to attain the rank of Emperor, to become the most powerful person in China, was almost unheard of. Only one person in the entirety of Chinese history was able to do so. That person was Wu Zetian, one of the most remarkable rulers - female or male - the world has ever seen. A shockingly beautiful child, at the age of 13 (in approx. 639 AD) Wu became a concubine of Emperor Taizong. She did not have any children with the Emperor, and at his death in 649 she left the palace to become a Buddhist nun, as was common for childless concubines at the time. That should have been the end of her story. However, Fate was to give her another chance at glory. Like much of Chinese politics of the day, this gets extremely complicated. Empress Wang, the wife of the current Emperor Gaozong (son of the late Emperor Taizon), was afraid that Gaozong was becoming too infatuated with Consort Xiao. This was indeed a matter of some concern, as consorts had in the past been known to supplant empresses, who were often killed as a result. To divert her husband's attentions from Consort Xiao, the Empress had Wu - who was still young and beautiful - returned to the palace and reinstated as Consort. This tactic was a complete success - too complete, in fact, for in a few years she had supplanted both Consort Xiao and Empress Wang in Emperor Gaozong's affections. Both ladies were killed, and she attained the rank of Empress. Some historians believe that she killed her own infant daughter and framed the Empress for the murder. While this is not proven, subsequent events have suggested that such an act was well within her scope. As Empress Consort, Wu moved quickly to consolidate her power. Forging alliances with certain powerful officials, she had those who opposed her demoted, exiled, or killed. She was an able advisor to the Emperor, and he delegated more authority to her as time passed. By 660 AD, the Emperor began to suffer from a debilitating illness (which some said was caused from slow poisoning by Wu), and he passed much of the day-to-day management of the Empire to Wu, who was then about thirty-five years old. Wu showed herself to be an able administrator, with sharp wit and extensive knowledge of history and literature. She also showed a remarkable ability to seek out and destroy those who plotted against her as well as those who might someday pose a threat. When Emperor Gaozong died in 683, she was inarguably the most powerful person in China. Following Gaozong's death, Wu's son Zhongzong became Emperor. He immediately began displaying troubling signs of independence, including appointing officials to important posts without consulting with his mother. This threatened to undermine Wu's power base, and she took decisive action. Zhongzong was deposed and exiled, and Wu's youngest son, Ruizong, became Emperor. Taking no chances this time, however, Wu kept the new Emperor in virtual isolation. Having no doubt learned from the unhappy example of his older brother, the titular Emperor kept very quiet and did nothing to offend the Dowager Empress. In 690 AD, Wu took the throne herself, her son Ruizong reduced in title to Crown Prince. This caused a certain amount of displeasure among traditionalists, which Wu handled in her usually efficient and brutal manner. She expanded the powers of the secret police, who answered directly to her, and hundreds were exiled, imprisoned or murdered. She held this post for some 15 years, until, at the age of 80 and seriously ill, she was deposed. She died later the same year. As a leader, Wu was considered to be an able administrator and shrewd judge of character. She promoted and supported able men, and in return she received their firm loyalty. Generals appointed by her conquered Korea, adding that wealthy land to the Empire. She was quick to destroy any she saw as a threat, and the early years of her reign as Emperor were bloody and repressive, even by Chinese standards. As she grew more secure in her throne, however, she reined in the secret police, and even her enemies grudgingly praised her for her competence and decisiveness. In short, her rule was benevolent to those who were no challenge to her, and lethal to those who were. All in all, Wu Zetian remains one of the most fascinating rulers in history, and well worth further study." Leader Scales Victory Competitiveness - 3/10 Wonder Competitiveness - 5/10 City State Competitiveness - 7/10 Boldness - 7/10 The Dowager Empress isn't there to win ultimately, she is there to make your life as miserable as possible. She will strongly compete to take and corrupt the City States, as well as making relatively bold moves. She is someone you want as an ally, not as an enemy, because she isn't a big threat as an enemy. Diplomacy Scales War - 4/10 Hostile - 6/10 Deceptive - 7/10 Guarded - 7/10 Afraid - 5/10 Friendly - 7/10 Neutral - 5/10 Wu Zetian is about as likely to hate you as she is to love you. She is either friendly towards you in the game, or she is going to threaten you with her armies. She is willing to use deception to get her way, such as decoy agreements to drain your gold and resources, and is willing to defend her lands. City State Scales Ignore Others - 4/10 Friendly - 6/10 Protective - 7/10 Conquest - 5/10 Wu Zetian is quite protective of the City States, she will be friends with them and then protect them, so declaring war on them will lead to you declaring war on her. However, that doesn't exclude her from conquering the city states, she just prefers to make them her pawns, rather than to send her troops needlessly against them. Ground Military Scales Offensive - 5/10 Defensive - 7/10 City Defence - 5/10 Military Training - 4/10 Reconnaissance - 4/10 Ranged - 7/10 Mounted - 5/10 Given that the unique unit is a ranged unit, you can gather that Ranged Units are going to be a big hit with Empress Wu. She is more than willing to use ranged units, so you are going to have to quickly take them out with your mounted cavalry units or attain first strike. She is also quite likely to play real defensive, so don't be surprised to see walls all around her cities with garrison within them. Naval Scales Naval - 5/10 Naval Reconnaissance - 4/10 Naval Growth - 5/10 Naval Tile Improvement - 5/10 Empress Wu isn't afraid to use naval units, which isn't a bad sign, but you don't have to worry about her to use a navy as a real threat, to her, a navy under her control will be there to support naval invasions or bombardments, but it isn't her main strike weapon. Air Scale Air Power - 3/10 Empress Wu won't really use air units as much as other nations would, she is more likely to use a ground force to blow something up, rather than a nice shiny stealth bomber. Growth Scales Expansion - 4/10 Growth - 8/10 Tile Improvement - 4/10 Infrastructure - 5/10 Production - 5/10 Gold - 5/10 Science - 8/10 Culture - 6/10 The Chinese are really big on growing nice big cities, so you can expect them to concentrate most of their effects around resource tiles related to food production. They are likely to have big cities, and that means big production and gold production. Also, they are very quick to tech up, given their unique building, and will adopt social policies quickly as well, so you might want to keep an eye out for them. Civilisation Scales Happiness - 6/10 Great People - 6/10 Wonder - 6/10 Diplomacy - 3/10 Spaceship - 8/10 As you can see, Wu Zetian isn't really interested in a diplomatic victory, the UN? Screw the United Nations, more like Useless Notion! Anyway, they are most likely to develop a space program and shoot of into the stars, and given their quick growth and tech growth, that is a pretty credible threat, so if a space victory is an option, you might want to keep an eye on them, and declare war if you want to stop them from winning. *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* [3.04] Egypt Leader - Ramesses the Great Unique Unit 1 - War Chariot, replaces Chariot Archer Unique Unit 2 - None Unique Building - Burial Tomb, replaces Temple Civilization Power MONUMENT BUILDERS - Wonders are constructed 20% Faster ~ History "Few civilizations have left such an indelible mark on history as that of Egypt. Living astride the mighty Nile River for some 5,000 years, Egypt is one of the oldest surviving civilizations on the planet. Among many other firsts, Egypt is credited with the invention of writing around 3000 BC. Using sophisticated mathematics, Egyptian scholars plotted the movement of the planets with great precision. And of course, the Egyptians were the ancient world's greatest architects, creating monuments and temples that still awe and inspire us today. Egypt is a riparian (river-based) civilization lying alongside the Nile, which, at some 4000 miles in length, is the longest river on the planet. Egypt occupies the northern section of this river in a narrow but extremely fertile corridor running through otherwise harsh desert terrain of the North African Sahara desert. While the physical area of Egypt extended a great distance to the east and west, the vast majority of that terrain is empty useless desert, and through its history almost all Egyptians have lived within walking distance of the river. Until the implementation of damming projects in the 20th century, the Nile flooded its banks in the summer of every year. Egyptian farmers relied on these floods to bring water and fresh nutrients to their fields, and a dry year could easily spell famine and disaster to the population. The Nile also provided a good deal of protein to the Egyptians, who were adept fishermen and who early on mastered the construction and handling of small watercraft. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the north of Egypt. A mild and generous sea, the Mediterranean encourages exploration and trade between all civilizations who live on its borders. The first settlers of the Nile valley are thought to have arrived around 7000 BC, driven to the river as climate change turned the surrounding once-fertile lands to desert. By 5000 BC crops were being raised in local settlements along the river, and as agriculture improved the settlements grew in size and power. Luxury items such as mortuary pottery, copper ornaments, beads, and cosmetics begin to be seen in burial sites from that period, suggesting a significant growth in wealth and leisure in the culture. Increased wealth also allowed for the creation and maintenance of military forces which could be used to conquer other nearby cultures. By approximately 3000 BC much of Egypt was unified. The first king mentioned in the historical records is Menes, who founded the capital Memphis, is credited with many irrigation works. His "First Dynasty" would last for some two centuries. The First and Second and Dynasties are known collectively as the "Early Dynastic Period" and last from approximately 3100 BC to 2600 BC. During this period Egypt extended its control south along the Nile and east and west along the coast of the Mediterranean. This period spans the years from approximately 2600 BC to 2100 BC. The Old Kingdom period is best known for the large number of pyramids constructed as tombs for pharaohs. Egyptian vessels traveled the Mediterranean and Red Seas, trading for items such as food, spices and Lebanese cedar, as well as luxuries like myrrh (a type of incense), ebony, and gold. The Old Kingdom ended when a severe drought caused the collapse of the central government, already weakened by corruption and civil war. The Old Kingdom Period is followed by the First Intermediate Period, then the Middle Kingdom Period, the Second Intermediate Period, the New Kingdom Period, the Third Intermediate Period, then the Late Period. During these periods (lasting from 2100 BC to perhaps 600 BC) the Egyptian government would rise and fall several times, and periods of strife and internal conflict would be followed by periods of great peace and prosperity. External foes would invade when Egypt was weakened, and the pharaohs would extend their empire when Egypt was strong. In 525 BC Egypt was captured by Persia, who would control the country until it was taken by Alexander the Great in 332 BC as he systematically dismantled the Persian Empire. After Alexander's death the Greeks established the Ptolmeic Dynasty. The able Ptolemies ruled in an unbroken line until the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC. Her suicide marked the end of Pharaonic rule and the beginning of Egypt's centuries as a Roman and Byzantine province. Although swept by the Islamic tide in 642 AD, Egypt was to remain under foreign occupation - Arabic, Ottoman, French, and British - until after World War I, when she finally gained her independence from a British administration weary of overseas conflict. From 1922 through 1952, Egypt appeared to be one of the world's most successful constitutional monarchies. But it was ripe for revolution; the military coup of July 1952 led by Gamal Nasser, ironically, finally made Egypt an island of stability in a turbulent Middle East. Egypt's mastery of monumental architecture is virtually unmatched in history. The Egyptians were also great sculptors, creating many quite beautiful statues of their pharaohs and gods. They also made beautiful and delicate works of gold, jewels and other precious metals, many of which have been discovered in tombs and vaults. Actually, much of Egyptian culture and arts seems to have been dedicated to death, entombment and the afterlife (or perhaps art on those subjects was most likely to have been entombed and thus has survived better than non-death-related artwork). Religion was extremely important to Egyptian society. The religion has an incredibly rich pantheon of gods, and a detailed and complex creation mythos. The pharaoh was both a man and a god, and he was responsible for interceding with the gods on his subjects' behalf. The priests also served as the society's civil servants. (If the Egyptians ever heard of the concept of separation of church and state, they wanted nothing to do with it.) The Egyptians believed in an afterlife for those judged worthy, and they believed in sorcery and magic. Many historians believe that the Egyptians saw the pyramids as pathways to the realm of the gods for those buried inside. Clearly, it is impossible to do justice to a 5000-year-old civilization in the space of these short paragraphs. At her height Egypt was a mighty, continent-spanning empire, whose scientific and cultural advancements brought incalculable benefits to humanity. And its greatest works, the pyramids, can still astonish the modern viewer, much as they did to those who saw them 4,000 years ago." Egypt is very useful to play if you are to build Wonders. 20% off the actual production cost of wonders is useful, and couple that with the effects of marble and one of the social policies, and you will be building the wonders like they were normal buildings. The War Chariot is nice, it doesn't require you to have access to horses to build, and there is improved movement. But the best is the Burial Tomb, besides improving culture like a normal temple, it will give 2 Happiness as well, and trust me, that gets VERY USEFUL later in the game. But this comes at the cost of double pillage gold for the enemy when they capture the city. Ramesses the Great ~ History "Ramesses II is considered to be Egypt's greatest and most powerful pharaoh. Taking the throne in his twenties, Ramesses ruled Egypt for more than 60 years. Ramesses is remembered as a great military leader as well as for the extensive construction programs he instituted. He is also remembered for building a new capital city, Pi-Ramesses. Some historians believe that Ramesses is the pharaoh in the biblical story of Moses. Egypt having recently emerged from a period of declining power and prestige, Ramesses' father, Seti I, spent a good deal of time subduing rebellious provinces in Asia. The Hittites, based in Asia Minor, were extending their power southward, and the two great civilizations were engaged in a protracted struggle for control of Syria and Palestine. The young Ramesses accompanied his father on some of these campaigns; by the age of 10 he was given the rank of captain - though this was almost certainly ceremonial, it does suggest that his military training began at an extremely young age. Ramesses assumed the throne in his early twenties, following his father's death. Four years after becoming pharaoh, Ramesses led an army north to retake the rebellious provinces that his father had been unable to conquer. The campaign was apparently successful, and the army advanced as far as Beirut. In the following year Ramesses attacked the Hittite stronghold at Kadesh. The Battle of Kadesh is one of the few battles from that period of which we have records. Believing the citadel to be abandoned, Ramesses approached incautiously and was ambushed by a large Hittite chariot force hiding beyond the fort. Although Ramesses achieved a marginal victory in that battle, his army was so weakened that he had to retreat to Egypt, leaving the fort in Hittite hands. Ramesses continued to battle the Hittites for some twelve more years, attaining tactical victories, but unable to hold the contested land for any time. In addition to his wars with the Hittites, Ramesses campaigned in Nubia and Libya, extending his rule to the west and south. However these were of much less importance as these enemies posed little threat to the survival of Egypt. Eventually realizing that further combat was pointless, in the twenty-first year of his reign, Ramesses agreed to a peace treaty with the Hittites. This is the earliest known peace treaty in recorded history. Interestingly, the treaty was written in two versions: the Egyptian version states that the Hittites sued for peace while the Hittite version states that it was the Egyptians who requested an end to hostilities. This treaty appears to have stabilized the borders between the two great powers, and no further combat between Egypt and the Hittites occurred during Ramesses' reign. Early in his reign Ramesses moved his capital from Thebes north to a city in the Nile Delta, which he renamed "Pi-Ramesses ." The new location was near to his ancestral home, but more importantly it was far closer to the troublesome Northern provinces and the dangerous Hittite border. In a few short years the once-sleepy village was transformed into a major governmental center as well as an arms manufactory. The city was graced with a beautiful palace and many temples, as well as numerous statues and other ornaments. Pi-Ramesses was abandoned long after Ramesses' reign. For many centuries the site was lost, but archeologists have recently discovered ruins that they believe belong to the ancient city. During his reign Ramesses constructed many public works across Egypt. Many of these were temples and monuments, but he also constructed storehouses, government buildings, water works, and so forth. Evidently a tireless self-promoter, Ramesses covered Egypt with statues and carvings of himself, often recarving those of previous pharaohs with his name and image. (Ramesses ordered his masons to deeply engrave his image in the stone so that future pharaohs would have trouble doing the same to him.) Many historians believe that Pi-Ramesses is the city "Raamses" mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible, one of the "Treasure Cities" constructed by the Israelites during their Egyptian Captivity. Some believe that Ramesses is in fact the pharaoh of the Biblical story of the Exodus, the ruler who Moses forced to free his people. However, this is open to debate (particularly since Ramesses II lived a very long life and emphatically did not drown in the Red Sea). Ramesses died at the age of 90. He was buried in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings, but he was later moved to a secret location. His body was discovered in the late 19th century and is now on display in the Cairo Museum. It is difficult to guess whether the pharaoh would be outraged by the desecration or if he would enjoy the publicity. Ramesses II ruled Egypt as pharaoh for approximately 66 years, the second longest reign in Egyptian history. He stabilized his empire's borders and concluded a highly successful peace treaty with its most important rival, the Hittites. He clearly cared for his people's welfare and spent much treasure on massive public works. He is regarded by later Egyptians as the greatest pharaoh in history, a conclusion it is difficult to dispute." Leader Scales Victory Competitiveness - 4/10 Wonder Competitiveness - 9/10 City State Competitiveness - 5/10 Boldness - 5/10 As you can gather from Ramesses' power, you can tell he will be a VERY STRONG competitor to build Wonders. If you want to build wonders, you will want to build them quickly, otherwise, Ramesses will be there to build them before you even get a chance to do so. He is an average player in terms of city states and being bold, but again, build Wonders quickly, they contribute to score, and although Ramesses will not want to win that much, if it comes down to score, you might be in some sort of trouble. Diplomacy Scales War - 3/10 Hostile - 7/10 Deceptive - 6/10 Guarded - 7/10 Afraid - 6/10 Friendly - 5/10 Neutral - 5/10 Ramesses will not really want to declare war, but he will get to the point where his sabre-rattling will really piss you off. When I was playing as China, his constant threats that I was a puny empire annoyed me so much that his was suing for peace after I took his capital city and had riflemen look at his spearmen. He will be hostile to you, and he will be defensive, and he will also be very scared of you, move troops to the border and he will take notice of you. And it won't be pretty. City State Scales Ignore Others - 5/10 Friendly - 5/10 Protective - 7/10 Conquest - 5/10 Ramesses isn't there to take over city states, he is quite opportunitistic, if it is in his way, he probably would take the city, but he is more likely to protect City States, and as such, entering war with a City State will probably drag him along as well. Ground Military Scales Offensive - 4/10 Defensive - 6/10 City Defence - 6/10 Military Training - 3/10 Reconnaissance - 5/10 Ranged - 6/10 Mounted - 6/10 Ramesses is likely to use all sorts of units, so expect a good mix of ranged, melee and mounted units attacking your lands. However, the good news is that his army will be lacking in training, he will lack promotions on his units, and this will be interesting, battlefield-tested veterans against green recruits is murder in any situation. Naval Scales Naval - 5/10 Naval Reconnaissance - 3/10 Naval Growth - 5/10 Naval Tile Improvement - 5/10 Another leader who doesn't use their navy as they should, it is really there to support and sometimes as an offensive armed force, but what is interesting is that Ramesses will not really use naval units to scout, but will use them to attack you, which is interesting. Air Scale Air Power - 4/10 Really, Ramesses may use aerial units, but won't really use them exclusively as their only military force, realistically, his army will be quite balanced, a nice even mix between ground, naval and aviation units. Growth Scales Expansion - 5/10 Growth - 6/10 Tile Improvement - 7/10 Infrastructure - 5/10 Production - 7/10 Gold - 6/10 Science - 5/10 Culture - 7/10 As you will expect from a man who likes to build Wonders, he will concentrate heavily on production, and you can expect him to build mines and lumber mills where he can. This will also lead to a lot of tile improvement, so get your pillage axes ready. And as a byproduct of his Wonder production, you can expect big growth in culture from Ramesses. Civilisation Scales Happiness - 6/10 Great People - 6/10 Wonder - 8/10 Diplomacy - 5/10 Spaceship - 8/10 Ramesses is quite interested in building wonders to advance his score to victory. This makes him quite dangerous if you cannot win outright, in particular, on huge maps where you can't possible conquer the entire planet quickly. *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* [3.05] England Leader - Queen Elizabeth I Unique Unit 1 - Longbowman, replaces Crossbowman Unique Unit 2 - Ship of the Line, replaces Frigate Unique Building - None Civilization Power SUN NEVER SETS - All Naval units capable of Ocean travel get 2 extra Movement Points ~ History "England is located on Great Britain, a "green and pleasant" island off of the western coast of Europe. It is the largest member of the political entity known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Historically a seafaring people, for much of the past 500 years the English have used their incomparable navy to project their power into Europe and across the globe. England occupies the greater part of the island of Great Britain (along with the Welsh to the west and the Scots to the north). At some 80,000 square miles in size, Great Britain is slightly larger than the state of Kansas in the USA. Until approximately 6000 BC a land bridge connected Great Britain to Europe; since that time the two have been separated by the English Channel, which is some 20 miles wide at its narrowest point. England is endowed with rolling hills and plentiful natural resources, including coal and (at one time) extensive forests. Benefitting from warm water brought to its shores by Atlantic Ocean currents, England enjoys plentiful rainfall and relatively mild winters. The first detailed written description of England comes from the Romans, who under Julius Caesar invaded Great Britain in 55 BC. Caesar found an island of perhaps one million Celtic people divided into various warring tribes and possessing an Iron Age level of technology. Caesar led two expeditions to the island in total, and though he fought several successful battles, unrest in Gaul drew him off the island before he could solidify his conquests. The Romans returned to Great Britain 90 years later - and this time they came in force. In 43 AD four legions (some 20,000 soldiers) under Aulus Plautius landed somewhere on the southern or south-eastern coast (the exact location is unknown) and made their way inland. After a number of stiff battles they crushed the local opposition, establishing a provincial capital at Camulodunum (Colchester). Over the next fifty years the Romans extended their borders west, conquering Wales despite fierce resistance, and north as far as the river Tyne. In 122 AD construction was begun on Hadrian's Wall, a fortification designed to protect Roman Britain from the fierce Picts (proto-Scots) in the northern highlands. The Romans remained in power in Great Britain for another three centuries, until approximately 410 AD. They had a profound effect upon the natives during their occupation, introducing important advances in agriculture, technology, architecture, and letters. As the Roman military presence retreated from Britain and Western Europe - under pressure from invading Germanic tribes such as the Vandals - local warlords appeared to fill the power vacuum. But none were strong enough to hold off the ever-increasing attacks on the island by the Picts, the Irish, and other barbarian invaders. According to legend, King Vortigern invited the Germanic Saxons into Britain to fight the Picts, but in 442 AD the Saxons turned on their hosts and conquered much of the lowlands. The Saxons remained in power for roughly fifty years until they were driven out largely thanks to the skilful use of cavalry by the surviving British. In the mid sixth century a fresh wave of Germanic invaders, the Anglo-Saxons, reappeared, and they all but annihilated the original inhabitants, driving the remnants of the population west into Cornwall and Wales. The Anglo-Saxons would remain in power for several centuries, a period which saw the conversion of the population to Christianity, and a great increase in scholarship on the island, largely centered on the new Christian monasteries. It is during this period that the inhabitants of south-east Great Britain began to consider themselves "English." By the ninth century England (and Scotland and Ireland, not to mention much of Europe) was under continuous assault from Scandinavian raiders known as the Vikings. The Vikings captured cities and towns along the North Sea, and by the middle of the century they controlled almost half of Great Britain, including London. In 877 Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, was able to stop their advance into Southern England, and over the next 50 years he and his heirs fought relentlessly to retake all of the Danish conquests. Athelstan, Alfred's grandson, was the first man to rule all of England in 927. However, the Danes were not finished with England, and another wave of raids began in 980. Worn down by 20 years of continuous fighting, in 1013 the English surrendered and accepted Sweyn of Denmark as their king. Sweyn was succeeded by Canute, who ruled until 1035. The Danes and the English coexisted fairly peacefully for the next 30 years until 1066, when England was once again subject to invasion. On September 27, 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, launched a major invasion against England, leading 6000 knights and foot soldiers across the English Channel. After defeating the English army and killing the English King Harold at the Battle of Hastings, William marched on London. By December of 1066 most of the English nobility had sworn allegiance to William, and he was crowned at Westminster Abbey on Christmas. Under Norman rule the country's historical ties with Scandinavia were largely severed and England came into much closer contact with Europe. Lots of history occurred in England over the next 400 years. There were bitter power struggles, revolts, civil wars, as well as wars in Europe, Scotland and elsewhere. There were several Crusades, a number of plagues and famines, and there were many kings named Richard and Henry, some of whom appeared to be quite mad. Unfortunately, space and time constraints require us to move rapidly to the 16th century, and the rise of Elizabeth. Queen Elizabeth I was one of the most remarkable rulers in English history. The daughter of King Henry VIII, Elizabeth took the throne in a period of great social and religious upheaval in England (and across Europe). Intelligent, beautiful, and with a great deal of courage, Elizabeth inherited a country that was virtually bankrupt, on the brink of religious civil war, and under threat of conquest by its much stronger neighbor, Spain. During her reign Elizabeth I united the country, confounded Spain's attempts at conquest, and ushered in one of the great golden ages of arts and literature in human history. She also oversaw a major expansion of the English navy, which would dominate the world's seas for centuries. Elizabeth I died childless, and the English throne passed to James, the Stuart King of Scotland, who became James I of England. Charles I, James's successor, was overthrown by Parliament after the English Civil War (1641-1645). The crown was reinstated in 1660, but much weaker, serving "at the will of Parliament." In 1707, the "Acts of Union" united the kingdoms of Scotland with that of England and Wales. The English and Scottish Parliaments were merged, and England ceased to exist as a political entity. However, England was the largest, wealthiest and most powerful part of the United Kingdom, so much so that many still use the terms England and the United Kingdom interchangeably, much to the annoyance of the Welsh and Scots (and later, the Northern Irish). In 1800 the United Kingdom attempted to unite with Ireland, becoming the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland." Many of the largely Roman Catholic Irish were bitterly opposed to the union, leading to a terrible insurgency that lasted for over a century. In 1922 the southern portion of Ireland was granted its independence, and the UK was once again renamed, this time becoming "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland." Queen Elizabeth's reign saw the first British colony established on the New World, while the powerful British navy protected the growing British interests across the world. England's earliest colonial interests lay in the Caribbean and North America, but over time they expanded into Asia and the South Pacific as well. As British power grew in India, all European competition was driven out, and the English East India Company came to rule the subcontinent in everything but name. In the late 18th century Britain lost control of much of North America to the Thirteen Colonies (later, the United States of America) in a long and difficult revolution. While this was a great blow to British prestige, the Empire continued to expand unabated, and by the early 20th century the British Empire was the largest and most powerful in history, encompassing one quarter of the Earth's landmass and human population. For much of its history, the UK has sought to keep anyone from becoming a dominant power in Europe, and to keep anyone from developing a navy to rival that of the UK's. During Elizabeth's reign Spain was the biggest threat, and the UK sought to bankrupt Spain by intercepting the Spanish treasure fleets from the New World and to support insurgencies taking place in Spanish possessions. In the 17th century the UK fought a series of wars against the Netherlands when Dutch ships threatened British naval primacy. In the 19th century the UK faced off against the mighty French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte. The French had an incomparable army and perhaps the greatest general in human history, while the UK had its navy and the wealth from its worldwide empire. The titanic struggle lasted some 12 years, but eventually Napoleon was defeated and the UK emerged victorious. The 20th century of course saw the UK pitted against Germany (and allies) in two terrible conflagrations, World Wars I and II. These wars would test the British to the limits of human endurance, and though the UK would be on the victorious side, the cost in wealth and human lives would leave the nation exhausted and virtually bankrupt, bereft of much of its once-great empire." As you can gather, England is best on maps with a significant amount of water on them. Maps such as archipelago are best for them because of the significant advantage 2 movement points has. On maps with large swathes of land, such as Terra or Continents, then it is really to use the navy as a support role, whereas you should be using it as a mighty force in it's own right. The first of the nations with 2 units, the Longbowman is an improvement over the Crossbowman in that it gets +1 to it's range, making it attack from 3 tiles, which is also outside the city's bombardment range. The Ship of the Line is an advancement on the Frigate as it gets extra vision and extra attack power. Queen Elizabeth I ~ History "Elizabeth I was a remarkable woman living in a remarkable age. Beautiful, brilliant, and as tough as nails, she survived and indeed thrived, ruling in an era when most women were little more than chattel. Born to King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, who her father had executed for failing to give him a male heir, Elizabeth's early life was filled with danger. Growing up an unwanted daughter of a insane father who was destroying England's ties to the Catholic Church and engaging in civil war so that he could legally marry another woman (several other women, as it turned out), Elizabeth had to use all of her wits to survive. Elizabeth received an excellent education at the hands of various tutors, including the great scholars of the day. She was an outstanding student, and could speak five languages fluently. When King Henry VIII died, the throne passed to his young son, Edward. At fifteen Elizabeth was implicated in a plot to overthrow him. She came close to being executed, surviving only because she was able to convince her skeptical interrogators that she knew nothing of the plot. When King Edward died in 1553, Elizabeth's older sister Mary assumed the throne. An ardent Catholic, Mary was quite unpopular with a number of Protestant noblemen, who attempted unsuccessfully to overthrow her in 1554. Once again Elizabeth was implicated, but once again she talked her way out of execution. Queen Mary died in 1558, and at last Elizabeth became Queen. Elizabeth was an extraordinary ruler. She established the Protestant Church as the official Church of England. However, she attempted to stem the persecution of Catholics in the country - at least as much as was possible when the Catholic nobility were actively plotting her demise. She also restored the debased currency of England, a step crucially necessary to restore the nation's flagging finances. Elizabeth used all of the tools available to her to achieve her goals. She carefully crafted an image for herself as the "Virgin Queen," greatly increasing her popular support. She received countless offers of marriage from nobility and indeed from kings across Europe. But she accepted none of them, instead using her unmarried state to control her friends and foes alike; if one faction got too strong, she could drive them back into line by suggesting that she was considering marrying someone from an opposing faction. Elizabeth was a great patron of the arts, particularly music and literature. She made England a center of culture, where great artists like William Shakespeare flourished. During her reign the first English playhouse was built, followed shortly by others including Shakespeare's Globe. And in 1574 weekday performances were made legal. An admirer of poetry, Elizabeth wrote a number of noteworthy poems herself. Militarily, Catholic Spain was England's greatest threat. Spain was the great continental power of the day, and its leader, King Philip, had upon more than one occasion expressed the intent of invading England. In 1588 he tried, building a huge armada to conquer the upstart nation. Elizabeth quickly organized the country's navy to fend off the fleet, and by a combination of superior tactics, ship design, and some foul weather at just the right moment, they defeated the Spanish foe. England was not to be seriously threatened with invasion for about 400 years. During Elizabeth's reign England, France, Spain and the Dutch all set up colonies in the New World. Elizabeth employed a large number of privateers to attack foreign ships and colonies, as did most other nations. Spain and its New World wealth remained the privateers' favorite targets. Overall, with the exception of her lucky triumph over the Spanish Armada, Elizabeth was not a successful war leader. She oversaw various half-baked military incursions into Ireland, France and the Netherlands, none of which redounded to her credit. Elizabeth died in 1603, having ruled 45 years. Although in her later years military and economic reversals had dimmed her luster to the point that many in England were relieved that she finally passed on, history acknowledges that she left her country in a much better state than when she came to power. Her great skills were an unerring survival instinct and flair for self-promotion, personal charisma, and toughness matching that of the strongest rulers in history. No better words can serve to describe her than her own: "I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king." Leader Scales Victory Competitiveness - 5/10 Wonder Competitiveness - 5/10 City State Competitiveness - 8/10 Boldness - 4/10 Queen Liz is extremely competitive, she is evenly matched to go for gold as well as construct nice big wonders, but she is most competitive to go for the City States, she will want them under her control, one way or another. The good thing is, she isn't really big on threats, which is nice if you are scared by her. Diplomacy Scales War - 5/10 Hostile - 7/10 Deceptive - 6/10 Guarded - 7/10 Afraid - 5/10 Friendly - 4/10 Neutral - 5/10 She isn't going to be one of the friendly leaders, she is more likely to go to war with you than to be friends. Given the historical context, it is quite understandable, her foreign policy was to be defensive, and not really attack. The reason for such a high hostility score is simple, back in her era, pretty much the whole of Europe was against her, given that Catholicism was strong in nations such as France and Spain. City State Scales Ignore Others - 5/10 Friendly - 5/10 Protective - 7/10 Conquest - 6/10 Liz is about as likely to be protective of the city states as she is going to conquer them. That does leave you in a bit of a bind, to protect them, you need to defend against her, whilst if you want to attack them, you need to attack her. And given how competitive she is to gain the furvor of the the city states, this is a credible threat. Ground Military Scales Offensive - 3/10 Defensive - 6/10 City Defence - 6/10 Military Training - 5/10 Reconnaissance - 6/10 Ranged - 8/10 Mounted - 3/10 Given that one of their unique units is a ranged unit, it is understandable that Liz will want units to blow you up from range, including archers and later on, artillery units. She is far more likely to use her units to bolster her defences, rather than attack, something that the history makes rather clear when your read it. Naval Scales Naval - 8/10 Naval Reconnaissance - 8/10 Naval Growth - 7/10 Naval Tile Improvement - 7/10 This scale makes her the first real standout from the other leaders already talked about. Whereas other leaders will use their navy as a support/escort role, Good Queen Bess will be using her navy a lot, she will use them to attack your coastal cities, blockade them, and set you up for a ground invasion. In this sense, her Navy is her Army, whereas many leaders will use their Army to do the talking, she will use the Navy to do the talking. Air Scale Air Power - 5/10 Nothing really stands out here, Elizabeth isn't really likely to use air power to it's fullest, such as stealth bombers dropping payloads out of the sky, but she is willing to use them in conjunction with her powerful navy, and given the deadly mix of Carriers and Aircraft, along with her powerful units to scoff out Submarines, she is quite deadly if you let her develop some naval force. Growth Scales Expansion - 6/10 Growth - 4/10 Tile Improvement - 6/10 Infrastructure - 5/10 Production - 6/10 Gold - 8/10 Science - 6/10 Culture - 6/10 If you want to take out a leader with a large stash of Gold, Elizabeth is one of the prime targets, she is likely to have a ton of cash on her. However, given her good defensive capabilities, she isn't going to let you have the gold without a fight, and hope that her cities aren't all around the coast where her Navy will give you a powerful run for your money. Civilisation Scales Happiness - 5/10 Great People - 6/10 Wonder - 5/10 Diplomacy - 6/10 Spaceship - 6/10 Her civilization overall won't be too unbalanced, she will go for any victory really, she doesn't stand out here, but she is willing to use military force to get her way, something that is reflected above, but not here. *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* [3.06] France Leader - Napoleon Bonaparte Unique Unit 1 - French Foreign Legion, replaces Infantry Unique Unit 2 - Musketeer, replaces Musketman Unique Building - None Civilization Power ANCIENT REGIME - All Citys get 2 Culture Points per turn until Steam Power ~ History "Located in Western Europe, bordering six (or seven, depending upon how you count them) European countries and with coasts on the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel, and the Mediterranean, France has long been one of the great political, military and cultural powers of the Western world. France is a country of plains and green forests with ancient mountain ranges on its south-east and west borders. A beautiful, fertile land, France is blessed with some of the best wine-growing climate and terrain in the world. Located in a temperate zone and bordered on the south by the warm Mediterranean, the French climate is generally kindly and conducive to agriculture. The gentle waters of the Mediterranean facilitated exploration and settlement of the coast of southern France. Greece founded the colony of Massilia (modern Marseille) as early as 600 BC, but the earliest written records of exploration of the country's interior comes hundreds of years later from the Romans, who began campaigning in "Transalpine Gaul" (Gaul across the Alps) in the first century BC. There the Romans encountered mostly Celtic people, plus a few surviving pre-Celtic Iberians and Ligurians. They also met many Germanic people emigrating into Gaul from points north and east. Roman control over Gaul was gradual but inexorable. In 121 BC Rome sent armies into Gaul to assist Massilia against encroaching Celts, and also to defend its overland route into Spain (where it had important possessions). This led Rome to claim a chunk of southern Gaul as a province, which survives today as the "Provence" region of France. In 58 BC Caesar launched a major campaign against the interior of Gaul. The war lasted some eight years, at the end of which Gaul was more or less securely a Roman possession. With the exception of a few notable but easily-crushed rebellions, Gaul remained fairly content as a Roman province for several centuries. The country thrived under Roman rule, and remnants of wealthy Roman-style villas can be found across the French countryside. As it was pacified Gaul became a springboard for further Roman expansion, both northwest across the Channel into Great Britain, and northeast into the barbarian Germanic lands. During the third and fourth centuries AD, as Roman power began to wane across Western Europe, Gaul came under increasing pressure from invaders from the north and east. Rome concentrated its power upon holding the Danube River and stopping barbarians from crossing into Italy, leaving Gaul under-defended. In the mid-third century Gaul suffered major incursions by the Germanic Alemanni and Franks, and the territory wasn't retaken by Rome until 274. As the countryside grew hostile and dangerous, the cities and towns fortified, a process which would continue through the Middle Ages. Christianity, which was introduced to Gaul around 250 AD, had taken root across the country by the end of the fourth century. In 395 AD, Rome was divided into an eastern and western half, and Western Rome all but abandoned Gaul as it tried desperately to protect Rome itself from barbarian invasion out of Austria and Germany. As a result, in 405-406 a large number of Germanic tribes crossed the Rhine into Gaul, carving out permanent homes for groups such as the Franks and Burgundians. The Visigoths drove far south, occupying land in Aquitaine. By 476 the Romans had been totally driven from power in Gaul by Germanic invaders. During the Middle Ages (400-1200 AD), France was divided into a number of smaller kingdoms ruled by the heirs of the various Germanic invaders. In the late 5th century King Clovis of the northern Franks unified most of the country (with the exception of some stubborn Visigoth holdouts in the south). Clovis was the first of the "Merovingian" kings to rule the unified country. He moved his capital to Paris, and he gained a degree of recognition from the Roman Emperor, which gave his rule legitimacy. When Clovis died in 511, the kingdom was divided between his four sons, who spent the next five decades fighting each other for the country. As a brother died, his land was apportioned among the surviving brothers. This continued until 558 when there was only one brother standing. The Merovingian kingdom remained united a whopping nine years, until that king died and the kingdom was once again apportioned between his sons. This cycle of conquest and division would continue for centuries, costing the lives of thousands every generation. As the eighth century opened, another strong Frankish family arose to challenge the Merovingians. Based in northern Austrasia, the Carolingians defeated their local neighbors and came to dominate northern France/Germany. At first they threw their support behind the Merovingians, but when King Theodoric IV died in 737, the Carolingian King Charles Martel was strong enough to assume direct power, leaving the throne empty. During his reign Charles was able to stop the Muslims' incursions into France and extend his power into Germany as well. Charles was followed by Pippin the Short, who, with the blessing of the Pope in Rome openly assumed the throne. Upon his death the kingdom was divided between his two sons, Carloman, who didn't last long, and Charlemagne, who did. Charlemagne's father died in 768, and his brother in 771, leaving him sole king of France. He pursued a policy of expansion into Germany and Muslim-held Spain, having more success against the Germans than he did against the emirs in Spain. He intervened in Italy on the side of the Pope, whose territories were under threat from the Lombards to the north. He conquered the Lombards and had himself crowned their king, and he created the Papal States, earning a good deal of gratitude from the Church. By the end of the eighth century Charlemagne was the undisputed power in Western Europe, ruling much of the territory which would become modern France, western Germany, the Benelux countries and northern Italy. In 800 AD Pope Leo III crowned him emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, making him the legal successor to the Caesars of the western Roman Empire. Following Charlemagne's death in 813, his son Louis the Pious inherited the throne. When he died Charlemagne's grandsons once again began fighting over the kingdom, and in 843, at the Treaty of Verdun, the Holy Roman Empire was divided into three sections along north-south lines. These were Francia Orientalis, the eastern territories, Francia Occidentalis, the western territories, and Francia Media, perilously wedged between them. Although smaller, Francia Occidentalis approximated the borders of modern France, and some scholars date the creation of the modern country to the Treaty of Verdun. The new kingdoms weren't especially stable, and the people of France endured another 300 years of incessant warfare and familial backbiting as the various kings and nobility struggled for dominance. Life wasn't made any easier by the arrival of the Vikings, who raided as far inland as Paris, often demanding a huge ransom before they would go away. They remained active through the ninth and tenth centuries, some settling permanently in Normandy. The rulers also had to deal with English monarchs who claimed territories in the west, including portions of Aquitaine, Brittany, and Lombardy. It took several centuries to push the Brits entirely off of the continent. As the new millennium approached, the Capetian family gained the French crown. They too spent much time fighting each other as well as the various nobility who challenged their reign. King Philip II, who reigned from 1180-1223, did much to strengthen the monarchy. When not off fighting at the Crusades with his friend Richard the Lionheart, Philip reorganized the government, modernized the French economy, and defeated the English, Flemish and Germans singly and in groups. King Louis IX (reigned 1226-1270), further consolidated the country. As the fourteenth century opened, France was the most powerful country on the continent. In 1328, Philip VI assumed the throne. Edward III, King of England, owned Aquitaine and also had a slender claim to the French throne, which he hadn't pressed at the time of Philip VI's succession. However, in 1337 Philip VI confiscated Aquitaine, and in response Edward III reinstated his claim, bringing France and England to war. The English pursued the war on the seas and by fomenting rebellion among France's Flemish subjects. In 1346 an English army won a famous battle at Crecy but were unable to follow this up with any further success and were forced to evacuate the continent more or less empty-handed. In 1347 the Black Death struck, killing huge numbers of people and delaying the war. Hard fighting broke out anew in the 1350's, during which the French king managed to get himself captured by the English, who demanded a huge ransom for his release. The French refused to pay, and the king died in captivity in London. The war continued to drag on until 1420, when the Treaty of Troyes declared the unification of the French and English crowns on the infant head of Henry VI, king of England and France. This did not sit well with everyone. The French nobleman Charles VIII had a fairly strong claim to the throne, and many French patriots preferred him to any English ruler. This included a strange young peasant woman named Joan of Arc. Within a few years Joan had led the French on to victory, driving the English back on all fronts. Charles was anointed king in 1429, and Joan was burned at the stake a year later. By the 16th century, there was a good deal of resentment against the Catholic Church across Europe, which was seen to be greedy and corrupt. In 1517 Martin Luther nailed up his "Ninty-Five Theses," condemning the excesses of the Church. Martin Luther's movement gained many followers in France, and by 1534 the king issued the first of a series of anti-Huguenot (Protestant) edicts. This did little to stop the spread of the movement. By 1562 the two sides were in open warfare, which continued on and off for decades. It ended in 1598, when the Edict of Nantes granted tolerance to the Huguenots. In the seventeenth century the power of the crown was enhanced, largely through the work of one man, Armand-Jean du Plessis, Cardinal and Duke of Richelieu. Richelieu was an extremely able minister and one of the most colorful characters in history. Brilliant, calculating, and ruthless, he worked ceaselessly to expand the king's power and prestige and to destroy his enemies. He also moved against the Huguenots, who retained their religious freedom but lost their military power. In 1643, the remarkable Louis XIV took the throne. Known as the "Sun King," Louis seduced and tamed the French monarchy, establishing the Palace of Versailles as the most opulent court the world had ever seen. Underneath the foppish trappings Louis was an ambitious ruler. During his reign he fought in three major wars and several minor conflicts. Louis would reign for an astonishing 72 years, dying in 1715. He still holds the record for the longest reign of a European monarch. The eighteenth century saw an increase in power and wealth of the nobility, the emergence of a French middle class, and the further destitution of the peasantry. Philosophically, the Enlightenment tended to undermine the belief in the traditional institutions such as the Church and the monarchy. In 1776 the American Revolution broke out, and the French saw a free people throw off an oppressive monarchy in favor of democracy and self-rule. This would further stoke unrest already building throughout the country. In 1789, close on the heels of the American Revolution, the French peasants and middle class revolted against the nobility and the king. The Revolution was a brutal, bloody affair, with the king and perhaps 50,000 other French citizens being executed by the newly-invented guillotine (a triumph of Enlightenment science). In the early phases of the Revolution the people marched on the Bastille, abolished the nobility, and forced the king to accept a constitutional monarchy. But the new Assembly degenerated into warring factions struggling for primacy and was unable to govern. Without government sanction the Paris Commune murdered some 1350 prisoners. In September 1792 a Constitutional Convention met and abolished the monarchy, declaring a republic. Austria and Prussia demanded the restitution of the king, threatening retaliation against the French population if they resisted. The revolutionary government saw this as evidence that the king was conspiring with the enemy; he was condemned to death and executed in January of 1793. Later in 1793 the "Committee for Public Safety" unleashed the "Reign of Terror," ensuring public safety by guillotining some 15,000-40,000 of the public, many without trial. Several local revolts broke out, primarily caused by peasant outrage at the treatment of the Catholic Church at the hands of the Revolutionaries, but these were crushed with great ferocity. In 1795 the new French constitution established an entirely new form for the French government. Executive power was held by "The Directory," a panel of five directors elected annually by the new bi-cameral legislature. However, the new form of government proved unmanageable, and in 1799 a man named Napoleon Bonaparte seized power. This extraordinary man was born in French-owned Corsica and trained in artillery in the French army. In 1799 he staged a coup d'etat, installing himself as First Consul, a position he pretty much invented. Within five years he crowned himself Emperor. For sixteen years he ruled France, taking a bankrupt, revolution-torn country and making it into the most powerful force in Europe. Time and again he fought and defeated every other country within reach, singly and in alliances against him, save one, England. Unable to create a navy that could stand up to the unmatched British Navy, he could not reach and destroy his most implacable foe. For fifteen years Napoleon marched and counter-marched triumphantly across Europe, until finally defeated by yet another coalition at Leipzig, and then a year later at Waterloo. After Napoleon's final defeat, the victorious countries instituted a constitutional monarchy in France, which lasted for some 40 years, until Napoleon's nephew, Louis Napoleon was elected president by popular vote in 1848, declaring himself king in 1852. He remained in power until 1870, when, goaded by Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck, he made an unfortunate decision to go to war against Prussia. The war was a humiliating disaster. The Prussians made brilliant use of their rail network to concentrate before the French were ready to fight, and on September 2, 1870, Napoleon and his entire army were captured. The war resulted in the overthrow of the monarchy once more, replaced by the Third Republic, the humiliating loss of Alsace-Lorraine to Prussia/Germany, and a burning desire for revenge which would serve France badly in the coming years. The First World War was caused by a huge failure of European diplomatic common sense and imagination, as countries formed a bewildering web of alliances and treaties, binding their fates together in ways that they barely comprehended. The war was initiated by a blatant land-grab of Serbia by Austria-Hungary, using as casus belli ("our excuse for shooting at the neighbor") the murder of an Arch Duke by a Serbian terrorist. The Arch Duke was killed on June 28, 1914, and by August Europeans were killing each other on three different continents. There were two sides in the conflict, the Central Powers, consisting of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria, facing off against the Triple Entente, of the United Kingdom, France, and Russia. On the Eastern Front the Germans struck quickly, destroying a completely outclassed Russian army and nearly driving them out of the war. On the Western Front, they drove deep into French territory before being stopped east of Paris by desperate defensive operations from France and the UK. For the next four years France was divided by a hellish 5000 foot-long line of trenches across the countryside, with men fighting and dying in the tens of thousands, and success being measured in advancing inches. The land was poisoned by thousands of corpses, exploded and unexploded ordnance, and chemical warfare. In 1917 the United States entered the war, and German morale began to collapse. By 1918 the German government fell and the new government signed an armistice. France had been bled white by the war, with two million dead (four percent of their entire population) and over four million wounded. The territory that had been at the front or behind enemy lines was a wasteland of festering corpses and cities and villages in ruin. Their fury at Germany resulted in a demand for huge reparations, both to help France rebuild and to punish the enemy. While this policy might have had short-term benefits, it had two major negative results: it embittered the German people, making them thirst for revenge, and it disgusted the Americans, making them less inclined to become involved in European messes in the future. The Second World War was a painful and humiliating disaster for France. As the Germans rebuilt their war machine after World War I, the French, who were desperately short of manpower following the Great War, constructed the Maginot Line, a rather magnificent line of fortresses, underground bunkers and trenches on the border facing Germany. If the German army had tried to punch through that line, it would have certainly suffered great losses of manpower, and more importantly, taken precious time. Unfortunately, for political reasons the French had not extended the Line to the sea, as it would have placed Belgium outside of the defenses, and for their part the Belgians refused to fortify their border with Germany for fear it would anger the Germans. Thus when the Germans decided to invade France they simply bypassed the Line and drove through Belgium. The French and British were never able to establish a stable defensive line against the crushing German blitzkrieg, and France was overrun in weeks, surrendering on June 22, 1940. On June 6, 1944, British, American and Free French troops landed at Normandy and began liberating France from German occupation. The German army retreated slowly, putting up a stubborn defense, but with Soviet troops closing in on German soil from the east, catastrophic troop losses on all fronts, the total loss of air superiority and an unending rain of Allied bombs on German factories and cities, defeat was inevitable. Paris was liberated on August 25, 1944, and Germany surrendered on May 7-8, 1945. The years following World War II saw France grudgingly divesting itself from its overseas possessions, fighting painful and ultimately futile wars in Vietnam and Algeria. At the same time it was rebuilding at home, creating a new and modern country out of the ashes of the Great Wars. It possesses a large immigrant population, including many Muslims, and it too is suffering through the difficulties caused by the current painful clash of cultures between Islam and the West. French arts are flourishing as never before, and Paris - the "City of Lights" - is once again the cultural center of the world. France has become a leading member of the European Union, alongside its former enemy Germany. In historical terms this is an astonishing triumph of common sense and suggests a bright future for France, Europe, and the world." France has probably the longest of histories, but rightfully deserved, besides being surrender monkeys, thank you popular culture. Anyway, France is pretty powerful in terms of culture, an extra 2 culture per turn might not sound like a lot for a city until you have a large empire, and 2 culture a turn for 40 cities sounds like a fair amount. Enough to discount the 15% increase in policy costs after creating a city. France has 2 decent infantry units, the Musketeer, which replaces the Musketman, does more damage than the Musketman, and indeed makes it a viable alternative to a person using Longswordsmen, which will be outdated with the advent of rifling. Also, there is the French Foreign Legion, which will replace Infantry, which share identical firepower and combat effectiveness on the field, but the French Foreign Legion get a 20% boost to combat strength when they fight outside friendly territory. Napoleon Bonaparte ~ History "It is virtually impossible to overstate the military genius of Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon Bonaparte was born on the island of Corsica, where he entered a military academy at the age of ten. In school he displayed a great aptitude for mathematics, history, and geography, as well as a total indifference to literature and the humanities. At fourteen he was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant in an artillery regiment. When the French revolution broke out, Napoleon sided with the Revolutionaries and was appointed lieutenant-colonel of artillery, where he quickly made a name for himself as a successful commander. Early on Napoleon displayed both his military brilliance and his ability to navigate the perilous political landscape of Revolutionary France, where one false step could cost you your head - literally. By 1794 he was a brigadier-general, and by 1795 he was appointed command of the French Army of the Interior. He was 25 years of age. Over the next few years Napoleon led French armies to major victories over various continental foes, including the extremely powerful Austrians. Capitalizing on his success and his growing popularity with the citizens and the army, in 1800 he overthrew the government and appointed himself "First Consul." Five years later he would crown himself "Emperor and Consul for Life," displaying his fine contempt for the democratic roots of the Revolution that brought him to power. An exceptional administrator, Napoleon rapidly reorganized the government, repealed the more radical and violent laws of the Revolution, and reopened the churches, cementing his popularity with the people of France. However, France was still at war with most of Europe, and Napoleon once again took to the battlefields, where he won stunning victories against Austria, causing that country and England to make peace. England remained nervous of France's imperial intentions, and war resumed in 1803. Napoleon found himself facing a daunting alliance that included England, Austria, Russia and Sweden. Acting with amazing speed and cunning, Napoleon used his "interior lines" to concentrate his forces against the dispersed enemy. He rapidly marched across Europe, capturing the capital of Austria and then crushing the Russian forces at the battle of Austerlitz. Austria sued for peace once again. For several years Napoleon would defeat every foe that came against him. He crushed the Prussians, the Spanish, and the Austrians yet again. However, Russia and England remained undefeated. Eventually Napoleon decided that he would never be safe in Europe as long as Russia, aided by the perfidious English, was on his flank. With England secure behind the Channel and its superb navy, he had little choice but to attack Russia, the only foe in the alliance his armies could reach. In 1812 he led half a million men to attack Moscow. The Russian forces retreated before his advance, taking or burning anything that might be of use to the invaders, while in the rear Cossack raiders destroyed Napoleon's supply lines. Bonaparte did reach and capture Moscow, but once again the Russians had removed or burnt anything there that might feed his men, and he was forced to retreat, fighting the Russian troops and the even more deadly Russian winter mile after bitter mile. By the end of the campaign Napoleon had lost 96% of his army. Upon returning to Paris, Napoleon immediately recruited another army of 350,000, but his image of invulnerability was gone, and all Europe rose against him. Prussia, Russia and Austria allied against him, and England threw more troops into contested Spain. Though Napoleon was to again win famous victories, his enemies continued their relentless attacks. Eventually the allies drove their way into Paris, and Napoleon abdicated. For his trouble he was given rulership of the island of Elba, along with an income of six million francs, to be paid by France. Later he would return to France and try to regain power one last time, but he was finally and irrevocably defeated by an English and Prussian army at Waterloo in Belgium. This time he was confined for life at the island of Sainte-Helene, a thousand miles from the coast of Africa. He died there in 1821. Napoleon was one of the most brilliant generals of all time. He moved his troops with astounding rapidity, and he always knew exactly where to strike in order to cause the most damage. Domestically he turned out to be a decent, imaginative ruler and France flourished under his control (until his endless wars sapped her strength and will to fight). An Army general to his core, he never was able to create a navy able to seriously challenge England's dominance over the oceans. In the end, he just couldn't beat everybody." Leader Scales Victory Competitiveness - 8/10 Wonder Competitiveness - 6/10 City State Competitiveness - 7/10 Boldness - 8/10 Napoleon is a hard foe to face, simply because he is just very competitive, and is often overlooked by people and their blind hatred of Montezuma. He is willing to do whatever it takes to win, and that means competing in all arenas, and that is what makes him hard to face. He will build Wonders to dazzle the world, he will influence the City States, he will make threats against you should you annoy him. Diplomacy Scales War - 7/10 Hostile - 3/10 Deceptive - 7/10 Guarded - 6/10 Afraid - 2/10 Friendly - 6/10 Neutral - 5/10 Funnily enough, Napoleon is quite willing to work with you, when he first meets you, but he is most likely to declare war on you with the French forces behind him. He won't be afraid by your show of force, so you will just have to crush him utterly and burn his empire to the ground to show him who's boss. City State Scales Ignore Others - 4/10 Friendly - 6/10 Protective - 7/10 Conquest - 7/10 Napoleon is as likely as to protect a City State as he is to conquer it, he will not hesitate to use ones near you as buffer states between you and him, and he isn't worried about people crying when he captures a city state being protected by someone else. Ground Military Scales Offensive - 7/10 Defensive - 3/10 City Defence - 5/10 Military Training - 6/10 Reconnaissance - 5/10 Ranged - 6/10 Mounted - 5/10 Napoleon isn't that big a fan of Artillery as you would think, however, he is willing to go full out and be extremely aggressive. You can expect him to deploy a lot of frontline infantry, the melee type, such as spearmen early on in the game to riflemen and the French Foreign Legion later in the game if you let him live that long. His forces are going to be hard to defeat in battle less you have a technological advantage, and the only downside to his military abilities is that of defence and defending. Naval Scales Naval - 5/10 Naval Reconnaissance - 6/10 Naval Growth - 5/10 Naval Tile Improvement - 5/10 As you would expect, Napoleon isn't that interested in a Navy, at best, it will be used as a support role, or a self-defence force, he really isn't interested in using them to the fullest. This is expected though, he was outclassed by England during the Napoleonic Wars, and clearly, going to sea against the foes at the time was quite a foolish move. Air Scale Air Power - 5/10 Again, Napoleon is another leader that really doesn't use Air Power to the fullest capacity, he will use them at best, in support roles, such as bombarding your cities or just taking out close units, he won't be using them exclusively, he has men on the ground to wipe you out for that purpose. Growth Scales Expansion - 8/10 Growth - 5/10 Tile Improvement - 6/10 Infrastructure - 5/10 Production - 5/10 Gold - 4/10 Science - 7/10 Culture - 8/10 Surprisingly, Napoleon is a man of Science and Culture, not a surprise given his actual administration of France. He is willing to expand quickly, so if you have the units, you can easily take a few settlers and workers off him. He is quick to move up the technology tree, and very quick to adopt social policy, in my Marathon game, I have reduced Napoleon to 3 cities, and he has already fully completed 2 policy trees, the best anyone has gotten to. Civilisation Scales Happiness - 4/10 Great People - 5/10 Wonder - 4/10 Diplomacy - 4/10 Spaceship - 7/10 It seems that the AI loves to have a spaceship victory, probably because that is the easiest way to do it without bloodshed. It isn't that interested in keeping his people that happy, well, that's a given, seeing that most people were in the Army when he was in charge, so there were no one to be unhappy at all. *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* [3.07] Germany Leader - Otto von Bismarck Unique Unit 1 - Landsknecht, replaces Pikeman Unique Unit 2 - Panzer, replaces Tank Unique Building - None Civilization Power FUROR TEUTONICUS - When destroying a Barbarian Encampment, 50% chance to gain 25 Gold and a Barbarian Unit. ~ History "While various "Germanic" peoples have occupied northern-central Europe for thousands of years, the modern political entity known as "Germany" is extremely young, created almost singlehandedly by the brilliant Prussian politician Otto von Bismarck some 140 years ago. During its brief existence Germany has had a profound effect - for good and for bad - on human history. Germany encompasses a variety of terrains, from snow-covered mountains in the south to rolling hills in the west to the flatlands of the east. It is crossed by several major rivers which provide water for crops and transport for goods. Its hills and mountains are rich with natural resources and its plains are fertile. Germany has a temperate climate and abundant rainfall, ideal for European-style agriculture. For centuries northern-central Europe has been occupied by Germanic people, roughly defined as people who speak Germanic languages (rather than say the Romantic languages of Italy, France and Spain). Evidence suggests that Germanic tribes lived in northern Germany as far back as the Bronze Age. It appears that during this period Southern Germany was originally populated by peoples of Celtic origin; they were however eventually "Germanized" as the Germanic tribes' influence spread south. The first historical information on the Germanic tribes comes to us from about 50 BC, when the Roman general Julius Caesar encountered and fought various tribes while conquering the province of Gaul (an area roughly encompassing modern France). Caesar established the eastern border of Gaul at the Rhine River, beyond which most of the "barbaric" German tribes lived. The Romans and Germanic people maintained an uneasy peace (punctuated by various raids and border skirmishes) for some forty years until approximately 10 BC, when the Roman armies invaded Germanic territory from two directions, crossing the Rhine to the west and the Danube to the east. This proved to be a catastrophic miscalculation: the barbarians were astonishingly tough opponents and a number of Roman legions were destroyed. The humiliated Romans retreated to the previous borders of the Danube and the Rhine, no further incursions were attempted for several centuries, and the two sides coexisted more or less peacefully until 350 AD. During that period there was a good deal of commerce between the Romans and the Germans, with the Germans trading raw material in exchange for Roman manufactured and luxury goods. Over time the Germans learned pottery and advanced agricultural techniques from the Romans, and they even began using Roman money. As the fourth century progressed, the Germanic tribes began to come under increased pressure from "Hunnish" tribes migrating into Germanic territory from further east. This pushed the Germanic people into Roman territory. Over the next fifty-odd years parts of Rome were overrun by the Visigoths, Suebi and Vandals. The city of Rome itself was sacked several times, and several Roman emperors died fighting the invaders. The Romans eventually came to terms with some of the invaders, granting them territory and some measure of protection from the advancing Huns. With the death of Attila in 435 the Hun Empire collapsed, and the Germanic tribes no longer needed Rome's protection. A number of tribes declared their independence from Rome, and within a short period a Visigoth kingdom was established in southwest Gaul, a Burgundian kingdom was declared in southeast Gaul, a Frankish kingdom was established in the north, and the Lombard kingdom was created on the Danube - and the Western Roman Empire ceased to exist. Once established in north-western Gaul, the "Franks" (the Germanic peoples in Roman Gaul) began to expand eastward across the Rhine and back into non-Romanized Germanic territory, where the non-Romanized Germanic tribes remained as stubbornly independent as ever. The subjugation of the tribes spanned three centuries of war, conquest, rebellion, treachery, punishment, and more war. Religion was one of the great impediments to peace: the Franks had become Christian and they sought to spread the gospel into the barbarian lands. The Germanic tribes were pagans and did not want to abandon their religion. Christianity would emerge victorious, eventually, but it was a long and difficult (and often bloody) process. The Franks themselves were not a unified monolithic entity: they spent as much time fighting themselves as they did battling external foes. The earliest line of rulers, the Merovingians, remained in power until the middle of the seventh century, when they were overthrown by the Carolingians, a rival faction from the north. The Carolingians were blessed with a series of extremely able kings who, allied with the Catholic Church, extended Frankish power across much of central Europe. The greatest of the Carolingians, Charlemagne (742-814) was a brilliant military leader and a canny politician. He continued his father's and grandfather's subjugation of the Germanic tribes, and he extended his empire into southern France and then Italy. In exchange for protecting Rome from the Saracens and the Byzantines, the Pope crowned him Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Today Charlemagne is considered to be one of the founders of France and of Germany, not to mention the first man to unite Western Europe since the Romans. Upon Charlemagne's death, his only son Louis I (Louis the Pious) assumed the throne. Louis had more than one son, and when he died the Empire was divided between them. Many years would pass before any single person would again rule so large a portion of Europe. Louis the Pious' son, Louis the German, inherited the eastern portion of the Holy Roman Empire, which included the Kingdom of Bavaria and other territories in what would become Medieval Germany. Much of his reign was spent fighting the Slavs, the Vikings and his brothers, inheritors of the middle and western portions of Charlemagne's empire (the areas which would later become France and the Benelux countries). Louis the German ruled for some 50 years (ca. 825-876), providing political stability to his war-torn kingdom. When not engaged in battle with his neighbors, Louis was an early patron of German letters who promoted the creation of monasteries in his kingdom. In the two centuries following Louis' reign, external pressure from Danes, Saracens and Magyars, weakened the central government, and as it proved incompetent to protect its citizens from attack, power devolved to local authorities, resulting in a patchwork of smaller mostly independent duchies who became independent political units in everything but name. Following the death of the last Carolingian German king, the German dukes elected first a Frankish duke to be king, but when he proved incompetent the title went to a Saxon duke. The Saxons remained in power for some centuries. They successfully held off the attacks of the eastern barbarians (though an attempt to expand German power east proved disastrous). By the late 10th century Otto I had invaded and conquered much of Italy. Pope John XII crowned him Emperor, beginning a powerful alliance between the German state and the Church that lasted over a century. This alliance was not permanent, however. Eventually, the popes grew to resent the German kings' increasing power over the Church's property and personnel. Reformers within the Church decried the corruption of bishops and abbots who purchased their positions from kings and duchies (the sin of "simony"), claiming that only the pope should make such appointments. Matters reached a peak in 1075, when King Henry IV demanded that Pope Gregory VII abdicate; Gregory responded by excommunicating Henry. Facing a civil war, Henry was forced to beg the pope for forgiveness. The pope gave it, but Henry was badly weakened and was unable to quash the rebellion, which dragged on for some 20 years. Although Henry IV survived, the German monarchy was permanently weakened by the struggle. During this period German power continued to grow in Central Europe, as German kings and duchies conquered and colonized non-German territory to the east and west. King Frederick I (Frederick Barbarossa), who reigned from 1152-1190, campaigned to reconquer Lombardy and Italy. Although unsuccessful against the Lombards, he (and his heirs) did make substantial gains in Italy. Frederick died in 1190, while leading the ill-fated Third Crusade towards the Holy Land. According to legend he drowned while bathing. Frederick's heirs were unable to unify the increasingly fragmented Germany, and when Frederick II, Barbarossa's grandson, died in 1250, the crown was left vacant for some time. Although others would eventually claim the crown, none would again wield true monarchical power. By the late 14th century the dissolution of Germany was all but complete. Germany would remain divided for some five long centuries. By the 18th century Austria (under the Habsburgs) and the kingdom of Prussia were the two dominant powers; at the beginning of the 19th both were engaged in the desperate struggles of the Napoleonic wars that convulsed Europe. In the Congress of Vienna in 1814 which followed Napoleon's defeat, many of the states which comprised the old German empire were joined together in the German Confederation. Austria and Prussia both sought to dominate the Confederation; their incessant squabbling and jockeying for position left the new state weak and divided. In 1861 King William I of Prussia appointed Otto von Bismarck Prime Minister of Prussia. Three short years later Bismarck led his country into war with Denmark, adding that country to the growing Prussian empire. In 1866 Prussia went to war against Austria, after Bismarck's cunning machinations left the Habsburg Empire isolated and vulnerable. Prussia easily defeated its once mighty competitor, driving Austria from the Confederation. In 1870 Prussia went to war with France, utilizing its incomparable railroad network to launch a lightning assault that the French were totally unprepared for. The French were crushed and the Prussians claimed the disputed territories of Alsace-Lorraine. Having decisively beaten the only two land powers who might have stopped them, Bismarck and the Prussians announced the formation of the German Empire, the direct ancestor of modern Germany. Germany would dominate central Europe for the next 50 years. The story of World War I is well known. At heart, that war was a horrible failure of diplomacy as lesser men tried to emulate Bismarck's tactics. In the years leading up to that cataclysmic event, the Great Powers of Europe found themselves almost helplessly falling into two armed camps, each side linked together by a labyrinthine of diplomatic agreements which left little room for actual diplomacy. Country A was treaty-bound to Country B, who had promised to come to Country C's aid if it went to war with Country D, who was similarly allied to Countries E, F, and G. In 1914 the entire house of cards came tumbling down following a blatant attempt to engulf Serbia by Austria-Hungary. Using the assassination of an Austro-Hungarian nobleman by a Serbian anarchist as an excuse, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Russia honored its treaty with Serbia and declared war on Austria-Hungary, and Austria-Hungary's ally Germany mobilized its forces to attack Russia, which caused France (still smarting from the loss of Alsace-Lorraine 40 years earlier) to mobilize against Germany. England, France and Russia's ally, had little choice but to also declare war on Germany and Austria-Hungary. Although it enjoyed great initial success early in the war, crippling Russia and overrunning half of France, Germany and its allies were unable to deliver the final killing blow to its enemies, and the war degenerated into a hideous stalemate which lasted for four horrible years of trench warfare. Britain's command of the seas and the United States' entry into the war finally broke Germany's will to resist. Sick of war, under pressure on all fronts and seeing no chance of victory, the German people revolted. The Kaiser fled to the Netherlands; the Germans declared a Republic, and on November 11 1918 they signed an Armistice agreement. By war's end some 15 million people had been killed and much of Europe was a stinking wasteland of mud, corpses and unexploded ordnance. The victors were not overly kind to Germany following the war. France took back the disputed territories of Alsace-Lorraine, and the allies imposed huge war reparations on the already-destitute country, which was forbidden to maintain a significant military. (Austria-Hungary fared no better: the empire was dismembered on ethnic lines into Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia, and the Ottoman Empire was similarly hacked into pieces.) Germany was prostrate, bankrupt, and under threat of occupation if it did not pay huge sums of money to its neighbors (who it should be noted in fairness were not in much better shape themselves and who desperately needed the money to rebuild). Many wondered if Germany would ever be able to recover from the catastrophe of World War I. Again, the events leading up to World War II are well-known. Trading upon the anger and humiliation felt by the German people, Adolf Hitler and his fascist Nazi (National-Socialist) party gained control of the German government. The Germans rebuilt their country, economy and military with astonishing rapidity, while Jews, homosexuals, Gypsies and other minorities were persecuted with increasing ferocity. While Germany's former enemies watched supinely, Hitler united Germany with Austria, then gobbled up Czechoslovakia. Isolated by France, England and the US, Stalin's Communist Russia helped Germany dismember helpless Poland. This caused France and England to declare war against Germany, but neither country had the military power to launch an offensive war against Hitler's growing army. In 1940 Germany invaded France via the Netherlands, Belgium and the Low Countries. France's defenses were outflanked, and the German tanks made short work of the inferior French and British armaments. In a little over a month France had surrendered and the British had been driven off of the continent. In 1941 Germany turned its attention to the East. The mighty German war machine carved a bloody swath into the belly of the Soviet Union, destroying entire Soviet armies hurled into its path to stem the assault. By late 1941 Germany seemed on the verge of destroying Soviet Russia and achieving undisputed mastery of continental Europe. Despite its early astonishing successes, Germany was unable to destroy the Soviet Union. Crippled by Stalin's purge of the officer's corps some years before and ill-equipped and ill-trained, the Soviet army fought heroically to stem the German advance. Though it cost them huge, terrible casualties to do so, the Red Army halted the Germans before they could capture Leningrad or Moscow, buying Stalin time to train and equip a huge military force with which to launch his counter-offensive. In the Western Front, things were looking no better for Germany The United States had entered the war (following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor), and American and British forces began to undermine German power first in Africa and then Italy. As the Russian forces ground their way west against extraordinary German resistance, the Americans and British invaded France, opening up another front against Hitler's forces. Bled white and unable to defend fronts, the German army finally collapsed. Hitler committed suicide, and in May 7-8 1945 Germany surrendered. Germany paid heavily for its transgressions. Millions of Germans died in the war, including a staggering number of German Jews who were murdered by their Germany countrymen. The Soviet Union (which itself suffered tens of millions of casualties) expanded its borders westward into Polish territory and Poland was in turn awarded German eastern territory, including all of Prussia, where fifteen million Germans were driven from their homes into what remained of Germany. Germany herself was divided and occupied by the Allies, Russia occupying Eastern Germany while France, the United Kingdom and the United States occupied Western Germany and half of Berlin. In the years after World War II Germany has made yet another remarkable comeback. Following the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, East and West Germany have reunited, becoming once again an economic powerhouse unrivaled in Europe. Germany has become an enthusiastic member of the European Union, and perhaps most astonishingly, a close friend and ally of France. The German people seem to accept responsibility for their nation's horrible crimes in World War II and seem determined to make sure that they never reoccur. In short, Germany has become a powerful force for world peace and unity in the twenty-first century." It is surprising, that one of the most dangerous and powerful nations in the 20th Century has now become one of peace, rather than power. That said, at least one of the iconic military units will be noticed in Germany. The Landsknecht is only different to the Pikemen in terms of production cost, for the cost of 1 Pikemen, you get 2 Landsknecht, despite similar attack values. The Panzer, the iconic image of Germany during World War 2, replaces the Tank, and benefits from 20% more strength than the Tank as well as an extra movement point compared to the Tank. Their unique power is quite useful early in the game. Given the spawn rate of barbarian encampments, and how military strategies are different this time round with attacking cities, it is possible to rush early game by getting many units from encampments, and then attacking cities with them. Later in the game however, this ability is next to redundant. Otto von Bismarck ~ History "Otto von Bismarck, also known as the "Iron Chancellor," is perhaps the most significant figure in German history. During his long political career Bismarck unified Germany and founded the German Empire; Germany was transformed from a weak and loose confederation of states into a powerful united country that would come to dominate continental Europe. Descended of a noble Prussian family, Bismarck certainly inherited the arrogance of the Prussian Junker class. He was a poor student who excelled at dueling and was quite a historian and linguist. However, he spent much of his time drinking with the other aristocrats in their exclusive fraternity. Unable to accept the discipline required for military service, Bismarck instead entered the Prussian diplomatic corps, where his skill quickly brought him to the attention of the Prussian Kaiser. Appointed to the German Federal Diet (congress), Bismarck worked to increase Prussian status and power within Germany. Eventually he would rise to the rank of Prussian Prime Minister, where after years of long struggle, he succeeded in unifying Germany under Prussian rule. Bismarck would accomplish this through crafty diplomacy, aided by a series of successful wars. Once Germany was unified, Bismarck's main foreign policy aim was to keep the peace in Europe, mostly by isolating France, Germany's historic enemy. In this he was largely successful. He engineered a war with France in 1870 in order to draw several German states (Bavaria, Baden, and others) into the German empire. In the war, France was quickly defeated. Having achieved his objective of acquiring the German states, Bismarck argued for fairly lenient terms, but the German people and military wanted more, and he was forced to annex the French provinces of Alsace and Loraine. Bismarck knew that this would be trouble in the long run - before the war he had told a colleague, "Supposing we did win Alsace, we would have to maintain our conquest and to keep Strasbourg perpetually garrisoned. This would be an impossible position, for in the end the French would find new allies - and we might have a bad time." This, of course, is exactly what happened in World War I, where Germany had a very bad time indeed. Although an ardent conservative and monarchist, Bismarck was the first European leader to promote a system of social security for workers. He rebuilt the German monetary system, introducing for the first time a single currency. He also helped fabricate the new country's code of civil and commercial law. His benevolence was not universal, however; while emancipating the Jews, Bismarck also enacted laws aimed at restraining Germany's Catholics. As a diplomat, Bismarck's greatest weakness was his single-minded desire to weaken France. He was largely successful during his lifetime, but in doing so he made France into an implacable enemy, which would have dire consequences in the next century. Domestically, Bismarck's great flaw was his indifference to the lives of the German people. As Germany grew in power and stature, the people's lives improved but little. His social security system did some good, but he enacted that mainly to avoid having to make greater concessions to the German Socialists. Bismarck was a great leader, perhaps the greatest European leader of the 19th Century. His triumphs outweighed his defeats, and he almost single-handedly turned a group of bickering kingdoms into a mighty state. Although his policies did contribute to the disasters in Germany's future, those were more so a result of his successors' inability to adjust to the changing geopolitical climate in Europe." Leader Scales Victory Competitiveness - 7/10 Wonder Competitiveness - 6/10 City State Competitiveness - 7/10 Boldness - 4/10 Like most leaders, Bismarck is quite competitive, and loves to build his Wonders alongside taking City States, but he is quite lacking in boldness, he isn't the type to come along and start trash-talking you, but that doesn't mean he won't do it. Diplomacy Scales War - 7/10 Hostile - 4/10 Deceptive - 7/10 Guarded - 7/10 Afraid - 4/10 Friendly - 7/10 Neutral - 4/10 Bismarck is quite difficult to follow. He loves war as much as he loves trying to be your ally. He isn't afraid of you, but the problem is that he either is allies with you, or is at war with you. And for some reason, if he manages to build up his forces, it will be war. Of course, when he decided to attack my outnumbered forces with his Landsknecht, he forgot that pikemen have a massive disadvantage when they attack Riflemen. City State Scales Ignore Others - 4/10 Friendly - 5/10 Protective - 7/10 Conquest - 7/10 Like Napoleon, he is either going to protect the city states or attack and conquer their lands. This is another thing that is really up to the AI, they will more likely protect city states close to you, because declaring war on you will lead to city states sending units against you, whilst conquest is for areas that you won't get to. Ground Military Scales Offensive - 5/10 Defensive - 6/10 City Defence - 6/10 Military Training - 8/10 Reconnaissance - 8/10 Ranged - 5/10 Mounted - 7/10 Bismarck is a big fan of using strong military units for the time. What unit he uses depends on his tech, and to a lesser extent, how much money he has to play with. He will have an extensive army of scouts early in the game, mainly to ensure that he knows what he is up against, and will use a lot of mounted/ armoured units, because they are fast and powerful, so be prepared to counter that with AT guns and Pikemen when he sends such units. Naval Scales Naval - 3/10 Naval Reconnaissance - 3/10 Naval Growth - 4/10 Naval Tile Improvement - 4/10 As one would expect, Bismarck doesn't concentrate on a navy, at best, it is used to protect his crossing forces, but he doesn't use them like Elizabeth does in terms of bombarding your cities with them. As such, you can pretty much be sure to gain the element of surprise when you send in a fleet around the back of his empire, and some firepower to take a few cities, and that should really rile him up. Air Scale Air Power - 6/10 Bismarck is willing to use air in a more strategic and tactical role than other leaders, who tend to use it as support at best. He will drop bombs on your cities, and counter your own efforts with interceptors, so at least he is will to fight an air war, rather than just give you air supremacy right from the get go. Growth Scales Expansion - 6/10 Growth - 5/10 Tile Improvement - 6/10 Infrastructure - 5/10 Production - 8/10 Gold - 5/10 Science - 7/10 Culture - 5/10 Bismarck is concentrated heavily on production, which is apt given that he does tend to produce a hell of a lot of military units. Even when his frontline may be worn out from heavy fighting, you will see a lot of units just being fed from his cities to your killing fields. He is also pretty quick to tech up as well, which requires you to keep up with him, or you will face some highly developed units at your doorstep. Civilisation Scales Happiness - 5/10 Great People - 5/10 Wonder - 4/10 Diplomacy - 5/10 Spaceship - 8/10 Another person going for the Spaceship victory route, it seems that most AIs like to go to this route to win, rather than relying on Diplomacy, which is rather disappointing for someone like Bismarck, who was a very good statesmen, managing to isolate France well, so I would have expected him to have done better here. *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* [3.08] Greece Leader - Alexander the Great Unique Unit 1 - Companion Cavalry, replaces Horseman Unique Unit 2 - Hoplite, replaces Spearmen Unique Building - None Civilization Power HELLENIC LEAGUE - City-State influence is decreased at half its usual rate, and recovers at double the speed of normal civilizations. ~ History "It is difficult to overstate the impact that Greece has had upon Western culture and history. Classical Greece has given birth to some of the greatest artists, philosophers, scientists, historians, dramatists and warriors the world has known. Greek warriors and colonists spread their culture throughout the Mediterranean and into the Near and Far East. The heirs to Greece, the Romans, further promulgated Greek thought throughout Europe, and from there it spread across the oceans and into the New World. Greece and her people are credited with an astonishing number of inventions and discoveries, including the first theatrical performance, work of history, and philosophic treatise. The Greeks provided the West's first recorded sporting event, poem, and building dedicated to theatre. In politics, the Greeks created the world's first known democracy and republic. Greek influence is still all around us: today's doctors still take the Hippocratic Oath, and modern architects still look to classical Greek forms for inspiration. To a large degree, Western civilization is Classical Greek civilization. Greece occupies a large, wide peninsula which juts south from the Balkans into the Eastern Mediterranean, between the Ionian Sea and the Aegean. The peninsula is almost bisected by the Gulf of Corinth, which opens into the Ionian Sea and runs east almost all the way across the landmass, leaving only a narrow isthmus connecting north and south. Greece is quite mountainous, with narrow fertile valleys separated by imposing hills and peaks. Summers are warm and winters are mild in the coastal lowlands, but snowfall is not uncommon in the mountains. Historically the Aegean Sea has been a Grecian lake. Classical Greece dominated the hundreds of islands of the Aegean as well as the rocky coast of Anatolia (Turkey) to the east. Little is known about the earliest inhabitants of Greece. They were all but destroyed during the Bronze Age, circa 1900 BC, when a large wave of Mycenaean tribes migrated into Greece from the Balkans. The new inhabitants were largely dominated by the Minoan civilization of Crete for some 500 years until approximately 1400 BC, when the Mycenaeans threw off Minoan control. Homer's Iliad and Odyssey date from the Mycenaean period. Although altered by time, they nonetheless provide at least a glimpse into Mycenaean warfare, politics, religion, and daily life. Mycenaean civilization collapsed in 1100 BC, for reasons that are still under debate, but which might be linked to the influx of a yet another new group of immigrants from the north, the Dorians. For approximately 300 years following the Mycenaean collapse, Greece entered a period known as the "Greek Dark Ages," from which little written record survives. The so-called "Archaic Period" begins in the mid-seventh century BC, at the end of the Greek Dark Ages. During this period the Greeks begin once again keeping records; however, the Mycenaean written language had been lost in the Dark Ages, so the Greeks borrowed from the Phoenicians, modifying their letters to create the Greek alphabet. The first recorded date in Greek history is 778 BC, the year of the first Olympic Games. This earliest Olympics apparently consisted of one event, a foot race of some 200 yards in length, and it was won by Coroebus of Elis, a cook. The Games were held every four years. Over the next decades the Greeks added other events, including a 400 yard race, a marathon, wrestling, the javelin and discus, and eventually boxing and chariot racing. The Archaic Period is marked by a great Greek colonization movement, in which a large number of communities sent out groups of citizens to colonize the islands and coastline of the Eastern Mediterranean. Exactly why the Greek citizens left their homes to form colonies is open to speculation; some think the settlers were motivated by greed, believing that they could more easily make their fortunes elsewhere, while other historians believe that population pressure was at least partly responsible. Over the next several centuries Greek colonies were formed on the coast of North Africa, Sicily, Mainland Italy, Anatolia, Egypt and the Middle East. The colonies tended to be independent, but they generally maintained close ties to the colonizing polis. The term "polis" is used to denote the ancient Greek city-state. Traditionally the term denotes the classic Athenian-style political unit - a large central city dominating much smaller nearby towns and villages, but the term also describes a group of allied smaller towns with no totally dominant central city (this is closer to the organization of Sparta). Both forms began to appear in the eighth century BC. Some historians believe that the major cities grew up around religious temples, while others believe that the Greeks copied the organization from the Phoenicians, who had been building similar political organizations for years. Each polis was a sovereign political organization, answerable only to its own citizens. Although the citizens of the city-states shared a common language, history and nationality (Greek, of course), that did not stop them from bickering among themselves constantly and going to war with one-another as the mood took them. The polis might band together to face a common enemy, but such alliances were quickly abandoned when the immediate crisis was over. There were four dominant Greek city-states - Corinth, Thebes, Sparta and Athens. Of those four, Sparta and Athens were the most powerful. Eventually the battle for supremacy between the two would shake the Greek world to its foundations. The Spartan polis was located in a relatively poor and forbidding area in central southern Greece. In the 8th Century BC Sparta went to war with nearby Messenia. Sparta was victorious, conquering Messenia and enslaving its people, who came to be known as the "Helots." The Helots bitterly resented their enslavement and attempted several revolutions. In order to keep their slaves in place Spartan society became highly militarized, with every Spartan male required to leave home and enter military service at an extremely young age. The Spartan soldiers were highly disciplined and virtually fearless, and were generally acclaimed as the best foot soldiers in Greece. Athens was located in south-eastern Greece, in a wealthy and fertile region known as Attica. In stark contrast to Sparta, the Athenians were a mighty sea power. They celebrated arts and culture and learning rather than the austere military life of the Spartans. (However, lest one become overly-fond of Athens and overly-censorious of Sparta, it should be noted that the Athenians too had slaves and were not adverse to conquering rival cities for plunder.) In the late 6th century BC Athens was ruled by the tyrant Peisistratos, followed by his sons. An Athenian aristocrat asked the Spartan king Cleomenes I to help overthrow the tyrants; after doing so the Spartan king appointed his own puppet ruler in their place. In response the Athenians kicked out the Spartan puppet and formed a new government in which all citizens (excluding women and slaves, of course) shared power equally, thus creating the world's first democracy. The Spartans attacked Athens, seeking to restore their puppet, but the Athenians defended their city with great tenacity, and the Spartans were forced to withdraw. This began a rivalry between the two powers that would last for centuries. The period known as "Classical Greece" begins when the Athenians overthrow their last tyrant and continues until the death of Alexander the Great. The Classical period sees an explosion of art, architecture, literature, science and political thought, a glorious Renaissance of human culture and knowledge. Consider how many Greeks from this period that we are familiar with - Leonidas I, king of Sparta, Pericles, the leader of Athens, the historians Herodotus and Xenopohon, the philosophers Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, the playwrights Euripides, Sophocles, and Aristophanes, Hippocrates the physician - these men lived 2500 years ago, and we still remember them. Is there any other period in history that can claim so many great men appearing at one time, in one tiny corner of the map? While this was an extraordinary era, this period also contained a whole lot of really bloody, nasty warfare, and many of the great men of the time devoted much energy and effort to killing one-another. It is interesting to speculate whether this was a golden age in spite of the incessant warfare, or because of it. At the start of the fifth century BC, the Greek cities on the coast of Anatolia (Ionia) were under the control of the Persians, a vast and powerful empire to the south-east. In 499 BC the Greek cities revolted. Although several mainland Greek cities came to their aid, they were unable to stand up to the strong Persian response, and all were retaken. Seven years later (492 BC), the Persians launched a massive assault on Greece in retaliation. The Persian invasion came in two wings - a huge army accompanied by a powerful naval force which covered its flank. The army advanced through Thrace and Macedonia, but the force's general was wounded, and the army retreated back to Asia Minor. In 490 BC the Persian fleet landed a huge force (somewhere between 20,000 to 100,000 soldiers) in Attica. They were met by a much smaller force of perhaps 9,000 Athenians and 1,000 Plateans, who defeated the Persian army in detail. This bought the Greeks some 10 years of peace. In 480 BC, the Persian king Xerxes I launched another massive attack on Greece, this time leading some 300,000 troops onto the peninsula. The huge force rapidly overwhelmed the central Greek cities and marched inexorably towards Athens. The invaders were met by a far smaller group of Spartan and other troops at Thermopylae; the defenders fought tenaciously and to the last man, buying enough time for the Athenians to evacuate their city. Although homeless, the Athenians still had their powerful navy, which they used to destroy the Persian ships and cut off supplies to the Persian army in Athens. Within a year the Spartans gathered a great army and attacked the occupiers, who were defeated and largely destroyed. By 478 BC the Athenians had returned to their largely ruined city and began reconstruction. They formed an alliance (the "Delian League") with various island cities, and permanently expelled the Persian navy from the Aegean Sea. Following the defeat of Persia, the Athenians demanded large amounts of money from the other members of the Delian League, which they planned to use to rebuild the destroyed city. As the Athenians had by far the biggest navy, the island cities were forced to comply. The Athenians grew richer and more powerful than they had ever been in history, and the Delian League became in fact, if not in name, the Athenian Empire. Alarmed at Athens' growing power, Sparta formed the Peloponnesian League, an alliance with other concerned Greek land powers including Corinth and Elis. By 458 BC war broke out between the Delian League and the Peloponnesian League. The war ground on inconclusively for several years, until a peace treaty was signed in 445 BC. The uneasy peace lasted until 431 BC, when the two sides once again came to blows. The war continued for decades. The Spartan forces invaded Attica and besieged Athens, and the city fell victim to a massive and deadly plague which killed thousands, including the great leader Pericles. But Athens survived, and the Spartans were driven back. The Athenian navy harassed the enemy coastlines and overseas allies, draining the Peloponnesian League's larders and treasuries. Neither side was able to gain an advantage, and in 421 BC they signed another peace treaty. The "Peace of Nicias," lasted six years. It ended in 415 BC when Athens launched a massive invasion of Sicily, which contained a number of cities allied with Sparta. The Athenian attack was a long, costly catastrophic failure which resulted in the annihilation of the invading army and the almost total destruction of the Athenian navy. Athens was badly crippled, both at land and at sea. In 405 BC the Spartan navy (with the help of the Persians) defeated the Athenian navy and imposed an impenetrable blockade on Athens. Starving and with no hope of external aid, Athens capitulated. The victorious Spartans imposed heavy penalties on Athens, divested it of its overseas possessions and forbid it from building a navy. With the city-states of southern Greece badly weakened by decades of brutal warfare, the balance of power moved north, to Macedon. In 338 BC Philip II led an army south, accompanied by his 16 year-old son, Alexander, who had already proven himself in battle, having led a small Macedonian army to crush a Thracian revolt. After dispatching several smaller forces, Philip and Alexander thoroughly defeated a combined Theban and Athenian army at the Battle of Chaeronea. He then moved to Corinth, which capitulated without a fight. Philip made preparations to launch a major invasion of Persia, at the head of a large army of Macedonian and other Greek warriors. However, he was assassinated in 336 BC and at the age of 20, Alexander was proclaimed King of Macedonia. Upon news of Philip's death, the southern Greek city-states attempted to revolt, but Alexander moved south at the head of 3000 Macedonian cavalry, and the terrified city-states quickly surrendered. He then headed north into the Balkans, where, in a lightning campaign he defeated several armies much larger than his force. While Alexander was securing his northern borders, a number of southern city-states including Thebes and Athens rebelled once more. In response Alexander burned Thebes to the ground, selling most of its citizens into slavery. Athens immediately capitulated and pleaded for mercy. Having made his point, Alexander had no further trouble with the southern Greek city-states. In 334 BC Alexander led an army of 40,000 Greeks across the Hellespont into Persian territory. For here suffice it to say that in 10 short years Alexander conquered all of Asia Minor, Persia, Egypt, and parts of Western India. He died at the age of 32 in 323 BC with no heir, leaving his fragmented empire in the hands of his generals and their children. Greece did not remain unified after Alexander's death. As the polis returned to their squabbling, they fell piecemeal under the control of Rome, the growing power to the west. By 146 BC Macedon was a Roman province, and over the next century the rest of the country was taken. In 330 AD, the Byzantine Empire supplanted the Roman rule in Greece. The Byzantines remained in power for some 1,000 years, until they were supplanted by the Ottomans. The Ottomans ruled Greece from the mid-fifteenth century until the early nineteenth, when Greece regained its independence in 1829, almost one thousand, eight hundred and fifty years after the Roman conquest." Greece was quite a powerful nation back in its day, and no more 300 Jokes or THIS IS SPARTA! jokes. Anyway, The Greeks are very good with city states, so your influence and gold spent there will last much longer compared to that of normal city states. Even if you piss them off, they will be happy once again, in a while. However, their greatest flaw will lie longer in the game where their units and power isn't as useful. Their Hoplite is more powerful than the Spearman in terms of raw strength, whilst their Companion Cavalry is more useful as it has more power, better movement, and has the unique ability to produce a Great General after going into battle, which isn't a bad thing at all. Everyone loves a nice Citadel to plop down next to their aggressive neighbour. Alexander the Great ~ History "Alexander the Macedonian is unquestionably one of the great warlords of all time. In 17 short years he marched his army to victory after victory across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, conquering every civilization he could reach. Alexander was the son of King Phillip II, an extremely successful king and warlord who had restored his kingdom from the verge of extinction and then led his people to triumph by conquering Athens, Illyria, and Thrace - the three powers who, a few short years before, had been on the verge of conquering Macedonia. As the son of the most powerful monarch in the "civilized" world, Alexander got the best of everything, including education - the scholar Aristotle, the great thinker of Western Civilization, was his tutor. Taught by his mother Olympias that he was descended from Hercules and Achilles, Alexander did not lack for self-confidence, even at a very young age. At the age of 14 Phillip left him in charge of Macedonia while he was away attacking Byzantium; Alexander crushed a Thracian rebellion during his father's absence. Two years later he commanded the left wing of his father's army during the battle in which Phillip's forces defeated the allied Greek states and conquered all of Greece. The next year Alexander's good fortune deserted him, for a while, at least. King Phillip divorced Alexander's mother for a woman named "Cleopatra Eurydice", and mother and son fled Macedonia. Alexander and his father were reconciled some time thereafter, but Alexander's position as Phillip's heir would have been in grave jeopardy had Phillip not conveniently died before producing another son. Following the conquest of Greece and the Balkans, King Phillip had been working on building an army to invade and conquer Persia. In 336 Phillip was assassinated by the captain of his bodyguard, Pausanias, while attending his daughter's wedding. (Some believe that Alexander's mother, Olympias - or indeed Alexander himself - was behind the assassination, but as Pausanias conveniently died during the murder there was no actual proof.) At the age of twenty Alexander was proclaimed king by the Macedonian army and nobility. He celebrated his victory by murdering all potential rivals to the throne, then resumed planning his father's interrupted invasion of Persia. Alexander's force consisted of 30,000 foot soldiers and 5,000 cavalrymen, a huge army for the day, and was accompanied by engineers, surveyors, scientists, and even historians. In battle Alexander had amazing success against the Persians. He repeatedly beat their best soldiers, routinely fighting against odds of 10-to-1. His success can be attributed to his military genius, his force's superb training and equipment, and their magnificent esprit de corps, largely engendered by their faith in Alexander's invincibility. Alexander appeared to be without fear. He commonly led the elite Macedonian Companion Cavalry into the thick of battle personally, and he received a number of dangerous wounds during his military career, none of which dampened his military ardor. Having secured Persia's surrender, Alexander then moved south, conquering Syria, Palestine, much of modern Iraq, and eventually Egypt herself. He returned to Persia, destroyed the last of the Persian forces and took over the entire country. He continued east, eventually coming into contact with the great Indian King Porus, who fought him to a standstill. Alexander eventually won the conflict, but at such a heavy cost that his men begged him to end the campaign and let them return to their families. Alexander himself returned to rule his empire from the captured city of Babylon. In eight short years of fighting, Alexander had conquered more territory than any other living being. He successfully led his forces into battle against all of the great nations of the day, but none could stand against him. He was the absolute ruler of the largest empire the world had ever seen. Apparently he found this boring. Once in Babylon, Alexander began an inexorable decline. He began drinking heavily and engaging in all kinds of available debauchery (and there was much debauchery to be found in Babylon). He became subject to fits of anger and bouts of paranoid delusion. One night, in a state of blind rage and under the influence of alcohol, Alexander murdered Clitus, his closest associate. This barbaric act was to haunt Alexander for the rest of his life - which wasn't very long. In June of 332 BC, his body weakened by his excesses, Alexander died of malaria. He was 32 years old. "When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer." This extraordinary man (and his father before him) conquered Greece, the Balkans, Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, Persia, and Asia as far east as Afghanistan. His empire did not long survive Alexander's death - it was simply too large for any mere mortal to hold - and it was divided between a number of Alexander's generals. But Alexander's conquests allowed Hellenic culture to spread across most of the known world, and Greek would become the language of culture, art and science for centuries to come. With the exception perhaps of one or two religious leaders, no single man has had such a great effect upon western civilization as did Alexander the Great." Leader Scales Victory Competitiveness - 8/10 Wonder Competitiveness - 7/10 City State Competitiveness - 3/10 Boldness - 8/10 Alexander is bold indeed, he pretty much will do what he pleases, and that mainly is to exterminate you. He is very competitive and one of the main contenders to get into fights and defeat you. He is also very competitive to build wonders for his nation, but if you are chasing city states, then don't worry too much, Alexander doesn't really have much interest in them. Diplomacy Scales War - 7/10 Hostile - 7/10 Deceptive - 4/10 Guarded - 5/10 Afraid - 3/10 Friendly - 5/10 Neutral - 4/10 Well, Alexander is one who is pretty much without any allies in the game, simply because he is pretty damn hostile to everyone and is quite willing to go to war with them. So if you are defending against him, sure, it is bad news that you are at war with him, but the good news is that he is probably stuck at war with a lot of other nations, and that will be his downfall, his troops will be spread thin across multiple fronts. City State Scales Ignore Others - 4/10 Friendly - 5/10 Protective - 3/10 Conquest - 8/10 Alexander really doesn't care about he city states, but like the city states in Greece, he will conquer those who get in his path. So if you are the protector of one of these cities, then you might need to watch out for Alexander because his attack on a city you are protecting will drag you into a war with him, something that he is clearly not afraid of. Ground Military Scales Offensive - 8/10 Defensive - 5/10 City Defence - 5/10 Military Training - 5/10 Reconnaissance - 5/10 Ranged - 3/10 Mounted - 8/10 Alexander will really concentrate on two types of units, the cavalry units, which later turn into armoured units, and the melee units, such as your standard warrior, hoplites, pikemen, and the like. That does make him hard to defeat, but knowing the counters to melee infantry are good ranged units that can pick them off and anti-cavalry units to take out his mounted units, it does make him predictable in terms of attack. Naval Scales Naval - 5/10 Naval Reconnaissance - 5/10 Naval Growth - 6/10 Naval Tile Improvement - 6/10 Alexander really won't look to the seas, again, the navy for him is more of a supporting act, rather than the main player, and that is another good thing for your empire, especially on water-heavy maps, where naval combat is key. You can quickly take out his ground units as they travel across the water with powerful naval units, and he won't do a thing to stop you. Air Scale Air Power - 3/10 Alexander will really ignore the air when you have the ability to use air units, but although he won't challenge you in the skies, he will challenge you with Anti-Air units on the ground to shoot your guys out of the sky, and that could make life that much harder on you. Growth Scales Expansion - 8/10 Growth - 4/10 Tile Improvement - 4/10 Infrastructure - 4/10 Production - 5/10 Gold - 3/10 Science - 6/10 Culture - 7/10 Another cultural leader, he will focus heavily on expansion of his empire, and that means a lot of settlers that you can intercept and capture for your own nation. He will focus on science a fair bit, so he will get stronger units along the way, and will adopt policy rather quickly as well. He is clearly not one to be underestimated. Civilisation Scales Happiness - 5/10 Great People - 6/10 Wonder - 7/10 Diplomacy - 7/10 Spaceship - 8/10 Alexander, like most leaders, will focus heavily on the Spaceship victory method, and will tend to use diplomacy when it suits him, but that is at odds with his military abilities, who is going to vote for you when you have already conquered everyone? Like mentioned above, he will tend to build Wonders as well, so you will want to beat him to the race. *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* [3.09] India Leader - Gandhi Unique Unit 1 - War Elephant, replaces Chariot Archer Unique Unit 2 - None Unique Building - Mughal Fort, replaces Castle Civilization Power POPULATION GROWTH - Unhappiness from Cities is doubled, but Unhappiness from population is halved. ~ History "The Republic of India is the second most populous country in the world and the largest democracy. A land of contrasts, India contains great wealth and grinding poverty. It possesses high-tech cities and primitive villages. In it one can find beauty and squalor, hope and despair. It is one of the oldest civilizations on the planet, yet India is considered an "emerging" market. In short, India is one of the most fascinating civilizations on the planet. India is a diamond-shaped country. It borders the Himalayan Mountains to the north, while to the south a relatively flat plane juts out into the Indian Ocean between the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. The plains are bisected by a regular series of west-to-east running rivers, many of which are prone to flooding in the Monsoon season. India is some 1,270,000 square miles in area, roughly one-third the size of the United States of America. Its climate tends to be tropical/sub-tropical, with a more mountainous climate to the far north. Archaeologists have discovered evidence of agricultural cultivation in India dating as far back as the 7th millennium BC, with the first signs of urban communities appearing around 2500 BC. The so-called Indus civilization flourished for eight centuries. Some experts believe that the Indus had an empire of some 500,000 square miles in size, with a (more or less) uniform language and currency and which supported an extensive trading network. For reasons that remain unclear, the Indus civilization collapsed some time around 1800 BC. The major cities all but disappeared, as did all traces of central authority. Some scholars believe that this was the result of environmental degradation resulting in widespread starvation, making larger urban populations unsustainable, while others suspect that large migration into the area by foreign invaders are responsible for the collapse. Whatever the cause, this post urban period lasted for almost one thousand years. The "Early Vedic Period" is dated from approximately 1500 to 800 BC. It is named after the "Vedas," which are the earliest surviving Indian written material, composed some time during this period. Four major Vedic texts have thus far been discovered - the Rigveda, the Samaveda, the Yajurveda, and the Atharvaveda. These texts describe religious/mystical practices of the so-called "Aryan" people of India, a group which probably migrated from Europe into India some time around 2000 BC. The Hindu religion traces its origin back to this period. At the beginning of the Vedic period many people had returned to a nomadic way of life, and the clan was the major political unit. Over time the population returned to a more stationary existence, and the clan chief evolved into a king with political and religious - as well as military - authority. As taxation evolved, the state grew in wealth and power. This period also saw the widespread use of iron and the return to urban life, especially in the Ganges valley. Indian civilization was once again on the rise. The Rigveda, the earliest of the Vedic texts, describes the mythological basis for the Indian "caste" system, which apparently developed during this period. Caste is hereditary: a person is born into his or her station, and no advancement is possible. There appear to have been four major castes in Indian culture during this period: the Brahmans, the priestly caste, the Kshatiriyas, the military and land-owning caste, the Vaishyas, the merchants and skilled workers, and the Sudras, the unskilled workers. The caste system has proven remarkably persistent throughout Indian history. Vestiges can still be found in modern times, despite the Indian government's rigorous attempts to stamp it out. By around 500 BC more than a dozen major states could be found in India. Some of these states were monarchical, while others had a more oligarchic system of government. They fought with each other regularly, seeking to expand their influence and power. In addition to their internal conflicts, the Indian states were under pressure from forces outside of India. In 326 BC Alexander the Great invaded northwest India, conquering the province of Punjab before turning back. In the early 2nd century BC Demetrius, the Greek king of Bactria, conquered a large portion of northwest India, and his heirs ruled the area for some time. In the meantime, the eastern portions of India were invaded by Central Asian nomadic tribes, driven out of China by the Han emperors. Over time the invaders were driven out or assimilated, leaving behind a powerful influence on Indian history and culture. Chandragupta Maurya (340 - 290 BC) was the founder of the Maurya Empire. A great military and political leader, he unified much of the Indian subcontinent under his rule. The empire was further expanded by his son Ashoka the Great (304 - 232 BC). Ashoka continued his father's conquests for some years, but later in his life he embraced Buddhism and non-violence, constructing many Buddhist temples across India and doing much to further that religion in Southern Asia. The Maurya Empire went into decline after Ashoka's death, and in 185 BC the Brahmin general Sunga assassinated the Maurya king and seized power, establishing the Sunga dynasty. Religion has always been a powerful force in India. Three major world religions were established in the sub-continent, and other external religions have found significant favor among the populous. Hinduism is the predominant religion of India. The roots of Hinduism date back to the Vedic period, making it the oldest surviving religious tradition. Approximately one billion people practice Hinduism, 90% of whom reside in India. Hinduism is less a specific creed and mythology than a collection of religious traditions and tenets. A remarkably open belief system, Hinduism embraces monotheism, polytheism, pantheism and several other "isms" as well. Dharma, ethics, Samsara, the cycle of life, death and rebirth, Karma, cause and effect, and Yoga, the paths to enlightenment, are important concepts in the Hindu religion. Buddhism is a set of beliefs based upon the teaching of Siddhartha Gautama (563 BC - 483 BC), the Buddha. Buddhism teaches its followers how to achieve nirvana and escape the endless cycle of suffering and rebirth through ethical conduct, meditation, exercise, and study. Buddhism spread slowly throughout India until it was embraced by Ashoka the Great, who constructed many Buddhist temples throughout India and actively exported the religion to other countries. Over time Buddhism was supplanted in India by Hinduism (and later Islam), until it was virtually extinct by the twelfth century AD. It has enjoyed a slight resurgence in India in modern times. Jainism is a religion that teaches its practitioners how to achieve the highest state of consciousness through study and self-discipline; it is a non-violent religion. It originated in the 9th century BC and survives today with perhaps 4 million followers in India and 100,000 more worldwide. The Gupta Dynasty ruled Northern and Central India from AD 320 to AD 540. Some scholars have called this period the "Golden Age" of India, a period in which Indian literature, art, architecture, and philosophy flourished. However, by the mid-fifth century much of the Gupta Empire had been overrun by Central Asian invaders known as the "Hunas." (It's unknown whether this group had any relation to the Huns who invaded Eastern Europe.) This period brought further Central Asian influence into India. Following the collapse of the Guptas, India saw the rise and fall of a series of smaller kingdoms, none of whom rose to the size or power of the Guptas. The Muslims began raiding the Indian coast in the seventh century AD. However, the first significant military incursion into northern India occurred in the late 12th century by Muslim Turks under Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna, who conquered the Punjab and led many successful raids into northern and central India. Delhi was conquered in 1193, and the Delhi Sultanate was established. The Mamluk dynasty ruled the sultanate until 1290, when they were supplanted by the Khalji dynasty. The Khalji were in turn overthrown by the Tughlaq, and so forth. The fun continued until 1526, when Babur of Kabul defeated whoever happened to be in charge at that time and established the Mughal Dynasty, which would survive some three centuries. While the Muslims would never quite manage to conquer all of India, they did rule a large majority of the country. Much of the population remained Hindu, despite several Muslim rulers' vigorous attempts to convert them to Islam. Over time the Mughal Empire gradually declined, coming under increasing attacks from the Afghans, Sikhs, and Hindus. It received its death blow at the hands of the British. The first European known to sail from Europe to India was Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese explorer who reached Calicut, India on May 20, 1498, after a voyage of some nine months. Upon leaving India, da Gama left behind several men to start a trading post, the first of many such European posts upon the long coast of India. The Portuguese quickly followed up da Gama's success with both trading and military vessels, setting up strategic bases in India and East Africa, seeking to dominate trade in the Indian Ocean. The sturdy Portuguese ships were easily able to defeat any Arab and Indian vessels that might dispute their mastery. (It was the Indian weakness at sea which ultimately made them so vulnerable to European conquest.) The Portuguese maintained their trading posts through the 16th century, until they were annexed by Spain in 1580. The Spanish concentrated their naval power to protect their vast interests in the New World, allowing the Dutch and English to challenge their dominance of India. In the 1600s the Dutch began setting up their trading empire in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. They had no interest in conquest or in spreading their religion: they just wanted the spices. The majority of their trade was with the East Indies (Indonesia), although they did establish a few posts in southern India (for pepper and cardamom). The Dutch successfully dominated Indian trade for years, defeating other European countries' attempts to cut into their monopoly. In the early 17th century the English sought to challenge Dutch dominance over the East Indies, hoping for a piece of the spice trade. They were decisively rebuffed by the Dutch navy. Looking for somewhat easier prey, they attacked the Portuguese forces in India. After defeating the Portuguese in 1612, they received a favorable trading treaty with the Mughals, who had resented the Portuguese dominance of the sea. The English traded peacefully with the Mughals for 70 years, until they unsuccessfully attacked the Mughals in 1686. Having learned a lesson, the English returned to peaceful relations with the Mughals for the next 50 years. The French too sought to establish trading relations with India in the 16th century. They enjoyed success for some years, but events in Europe left them open to attack from other European powers. Their fortunes rose and fell in inverse proportion to those of the British and the Dutch. In 1757, the British East India Company's army fought the forces of the Nawab of Bengal, who was angry at the company's refusal to pay taxes. The Company's army was victorious, and the victors occupied Bengal, the first of many cities and provinces it would conquer in the name of "free trade." Over the next century the Company expanded its rule, taking advantage of the fractured Indian landscape of small, weak kingdoms and princely states. The British used bribery, threats and military means to expand their power, and by 1850 they controlled most of the sub-continent. In 1857 the Indians rebelled against the British. This rebellion is variously called "The Indian Mutiny" or the "First War of Independence." While the rebellion enjoyed initial success the British Army sent in large numbers of troops to reinforce the Company's beleaguered forces; these professional soldiers quickly defeated the rebellious Indians. Following the rebellion the British Crown took over governance of India from the British East India Company. India would remain the "Jewel" of the British Crown for the next ninety years. While the British Empire profited greatly from its domination of India, British rule was not entirely without benefit to the Indian people. The Brits educated the Indians, bringing them into contact with more advanced European science and technology. They constructed a solid network of telegraph lines, roads and railroads across the country. They also united the Indian people against them, giving everyone an equally-detested common enemy. It is this last effect that made an Indian independence movement possible. At the turn of the 20th century, the Indian Independence movement was fueled by growing frustration of Indian intellectuals who were barred from participating in their own government. The British constructed institutions of higher learning in India, giving the Indians the general understanding that they could take over control of the instruments of government once they had received the proper education and served the necessary apprenticeships. It soon became apparent that these were hollow promises, as the British kept the higher offices for themselves and froze out the most promising native candidates, no matter how brilliantly they did in university. This was a disastrous policy for the British, for it created a class of highly-educated, highly-dissatisfied Indians. The first Indian National Congress convened in December, 1885 with 73 representatives, most of whom were lawyers, businessmen, and landowners. Among other things, it demanded parity between Indian and British candidates for governmental positions, a reduction in the amount of money that India paid to its British government, and an end to the Anglo-Burmese War (largely fought with Indian soldiers under British officers). By the turn of the twentieth century, the Indian National Congress was calling for self rule. In the meantime, Muslim Indians feared that their interests would not be served by the majority Hindu Indian National Congress, and they created a parallel organization, the Muslim League, to fight for Muslim independence. The Muslim League and the Indian National Congress worked together only with great difficulty, and eventually differences between the two organizations would have catastrophic results for the country. When World War I broke out, the Indian National Congress enthusiastically backed the British war effort. In fact, Gandhi himself toured Indian villages urging men to join the British army. The support was given on the assumption that Britain would repay Indian loyalty with political concessions, if not dominion status or even independence. In the event the British did not move quickly enough to satisfy the Indian expectations, and Indian resentment grew. In 1921, Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948) assumed leadership of the Indian National Congress. He implemented a policy of "satyagraha," resistance through non-violent civil disobedience. He led mass rallies, marches and protests, including the famous "Salt March" in 1930, in which he and thousands of followers marched to the sea to make salt in protest of the British tax on that vital mineral. He was imprisoned on a number of occasions, including a two-year stint in 1942 during which his wife died and he contracted malaria. He was eventually released because the British feared he would die in prison. Despite his enormous popularity in India and around the world, Gandhi was unable to bridge the growing differences between Indian Hindus and Muslims. Even as he was bringing independence to his country, religious strife was tearing it apart. Weakened by two World Wars and unable to find an answer to Gandhi's satyagraha tactics, in 1947 the British Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act. The Act recognized two countries: Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan. Pakistan was divided into two sections, one on the east and the other on the west, separated by 1000 miles by the much larger India between them. Something like 15 million people were displaced during the disintegration of India: Hindus fled from the newly-created Pakistan into Hindu India, and Muslims fled India into Muslim Pakistan. Perhaps one million people died during the upheaval. The new nations were openly hostile to each other, and over the years have fought a number of wars. Much of the tension has been related to border disputes. In 1971 India intervened in a civil war in East Pakistan, which gained its independence from West Pakistan and became the nation of Bangladesh. The three nations that once comprised historical India have taken very different paths in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Bangladesh is a parliamentary democracy, a highly-dense country much subject to floods, cyclones and famine, though life for its population has steadily improved since its independence in the '70s. Pakistan is the sixth largest country in the world and the second largest Muslim country. While its economy has done well in the past 25 years, it remains locationally-challenged. To the east is India, its old enemy, with whom it has an ongoing border dispute, and both sides have recently acquired nuclear weapons. To the west is Afghanistan, which is loaded with Taliban terrorists who use Pakistan as a refuge, and really angry American soldiers equipped with the finest and most powerful weapons the world has ever seen. If Pakistan can achieve some kind of stable peace with India and figure out a way to keep the Taliban and Americans from tearing it apart from within, it might have a glorious future. India is the world's second most populous country and a thriving democracy. It is loud, boisterous, and has a growing and vibrant economy. It has a technological base second to none, and an education system that rivals that of the United States. It also has a large army and an arsenal of nuclear weapons, both mostly pointed at Pakistan. If it can figure out how to step down hostilities with Pakistan, it stands poised to be one of the great powers of the next century." India is a powerful nation with one of the best powers in the game, the ability to double the unhappiness from cities, from 2 to 4, to halving the unhappiness from cities due to population, which is especially useful later on in the game, where population spirals beyond 10. This is quite a useful perk, but it has really bad effects early on in the game, so it is hard to balance it out. The War Elephant is a nice mounted unit, that does not require horses in order to produce, which is evidence since I see an elephant and not a horse underneath the rider, but is significantly stronger than the unit it will replace. The Mughal Fort provides additional culture on top of the defensive bonuses for the city, as well as gold after you have learn the Flight technology, which is a nice touch as well, to counter the maintenance cost. Gandhi ~ History "Mohandas Gandhi was an Indian patriot who led India's nonviolent independence movement against British Imperial rule in the early to mid-twentieth century. He pioneered "satyagraha," or resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience, a ploy used to great effect against the British Raj. Mohandas Gandhi was born in an India under British rule. The son of the Prime Minister of the small state of Porbandar, in his youth Gandhi displayed none of the brilliance that would mark him as an adult; in fact the young man was a mediocre student and quite shy. He entered into an arranged marriage at the age of 13, the usual custom of the period. Apparently he did not enjoy the experience, later calling the practice "the cruel custom of child marriage." Upon graduating from high school, Gandhi decided to follow his father into state service. To this end he decided he would go to England to study. His father having just died, Gandhi's mother did not want him to go, allowing him only after he had promised to abstain from wine, women, and meat. His caste looked upon traveling over the ocean as unclean; when he persisted they declared him an "outcast." He learned much about England and the English during his time in that country, knowledge which was to prove invaluable later in his career. In 1891 Gandhi passed the bar and set sail for India. He attempted to set up practice in Bombay, but was unsuccessful and shortly relocated to South Africa. Gandhi enjoyed more professional success in South Africa, but he was appalled by the racial bigotry and intolerance he found there. He spent the next twenty years of his life in South Africa looking after the interests of all under-classes, not just the Indians. It was here that Gandhi began to refine and teach his philosophy of passive resistance. He was jailed several times for opposition to the so-called "Black Acts," by which all non-whites were required to submit their fingerprints to the government. When the government ruled that only Christian marriages were legal in South Africa, Gandhi organized and led a massive non-violent protest, which eventually caused the government to back down. It was here that Gandhi acquired the title of "Mahatma," which means a person venerated for great knowledge and love of humanity. In 1915, Gandhi returned to India. He shocked the world when he expressed his humiliation that he had to speak English in his native land, and he shocked the Indian nobility when he chided them for their ostentatiousness, telling them that they should hold their jewels and wealth in trust for their countrymen. Thus Gandhi began his long campaign to free his country from English rule. He followed two paths - he shamed the oppressors and he demanded sacrifice from his people. For the next thirty years Gandhi was to tirelessly exhort his people to passive resistance, leading strike after strike, march after march, fasting himself to the point of incapacity, enduring innumerable beatings, and months and even years in prison. At one point he made a historic trip to England, where he won over much of the English working and middle classes, to the great irritation of the government. Despite innumerable setbacks and years of endless toil, he persisted. In 1946, exhausted and virtually bankrupt by World War II, the English agreed to vacate India, but in doing so divided the country between Hindu and Muslims, which Gandhi abhorred. The partition sparked an outbreak of religious violence, in which Muslims were massacred wholesale in India, and the same fate awaited Hindus in Pakistan. The countries were in chaos. In response, Gandhi went on a fast, refusing to eat again until the violence ceased. Astonishingly, his fast worked: the peoples of India and Pakistan were unwilling to see their great hero die, and they sent him letters and representatives promising to stop the killings and begging him to end the fast. He did so, to the relief of millions. Twelve days later, Gandhi was assassinated. Today Gandhi is considered to be one of the great figures in human history. He is recognized as a courageous and tireless champion for justice and moral behavior, in South Africa fighting just as hard for the rights of other downtrodden people as he did for fellow Indians. He is also acknowledged as a brilliant political leader who organized a successful independence campaign against one of the most powerful empires the world has ever seen. Of him, Martin Luther King said, "Christ gave us the goals and Mahatma Gandhi the tactics." Leader Scales Victory Competitiveness - 2/10 Wonder Competitiveness - 3/10 City State Competitiveness - 3/10 Boldness - 2/10 Gandhi is a peaceful leader, so he really won't be threatening you or will he be attacking you, or competing for wonders, which is relatively odd. So, he isn't a big threat, what is he then? Diplomacy Scales War - 3/10 Hostile - 4/10 Deceptive - 3/10 Guarded - 7/10 Afraid - 3/10 Friendly - 7/10 Neutral - 5/10 As you could guess, Gandhi is a peaceful soul, so his military reponse is mainly to guard his empire, and he is quite friendly, so that he will more than willing ally with you, which is good. This also makes him a nice target to take over, when no real army to speak of. City State Scales Ignore Others - 5/10 Friendly - 7/10 Protective - 7/10 Conquest - 3/10 As you can guess, Gandhi will be there to protect the city-states, but not there to conquer them. So if you are going to declare war on some city states, you might want to make sure you can handle Gandhi and his many defensive units that he will be using. Ground Military Scales Offensive - 4/10 Defensive - 5/10 City Defence - 7/10 Military Training - 3/10 Reconnaissance - 4/10 Ranged - 7/10 Mounted - 7/10 Gandhi is there really to defend, and ranged units will do this well. He will concentrate heavily on city defence, so you will pretty much need to bring in siege units to attack his cities. Also, the amount of mounted and armoured units he will use will be quite high, so make sure that if you are facing him, you will need to bring in appropriate counters. Naval Scales Naval - 3/10 Naval Reconnaissance - 3/10 Naval Growth - 3/10 Naval Tile Improvement - 3/10 Gandhi will really not focus on a navy at all, he is more likely to focus on city defence. If anything, a navy will be used as a defensive mechanism, there to guard the city against naval invaders, but that would be the extent of his naval power. Air Scale Air Power - 3/10 Again, Gandhi is not there to use military force, it doesn't fit him or his historical character. He will use air power sparingly, he will have them around his cities, but he won't be there dropping bombs from the cargo bay as you would expect. Growth Scales Expansion - 3/10 Growth - 8/10 Tile Improvement - 5/10 Infrastructure - 5/10 Production - 5/10 Gold - 4/10 Science - 6/10 Culture - 8/10 Gandhi will focus on several big cities, rather than a sprawl of many cities in a big empire. He will focus heavily on culture, which will have him building up his social policies rather quickly, which will be a problem if you are aiming for a culture victory. Civilisation Scales Happiness - 8/10 Great People - 6/10 Wonder - 6/10 Diplomacy - 8/10 Spaceship - 7/10 As you can see, besides the standard spaceship victory, Gandhi will focus on the diplomatic victory, and that means controlling the votes via the UN. He will focus a lot of his resources on keeping his people happy, since that does have good effects on growth. Basically, Gandhi will be there to fill the void, rather than attack, like other leaders. *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* [3.10] Iroquois Leader - Hiawatha Unique Unit 1 - Mohawk Warrior, replaces Swordsman Unique Unit 2 - None Unique Building - Longhouse, replaces Workshop Civilization Power THE GREAT WARPATH - In friendly territory, units move through forest and jungle with the movement cost as if it were a road. ~ History "According to tradition the Iroquois Confederation came into being around AD 1570. The Confederation was a union of five (later six) Native American tribes. The Iroquois are an amazing people: with a population that probably never exceeded 20,000, lacking a written language and possessing no manufacturing base at all, for two centuries the Iroquois managed to hold their own against the French, English, Dutch, and later Colonial Americans. The Iroquois occupied a large section of upper New York State bordering Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. The land is hilly and forested, and in the 17th century teemed with abundant game including deer and beaver. The Iroquois had access to many waterways, including Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence, the Finger Lakes and dozens of rivers, which provided excellent fishing, as well as rapid movement by canoe. Winters in Upstate New York can be long and bitterly cold - particularly when Arctic air is blowing southeast across the Great Lakes - and heavy snowfall is not uncommon. Summers are cool and pleasant. Members of the Iroquois Nation call themselves "Haudenosaunee," which translates roughly as "People Building a Long House." The term "Iroquois" was used by non-Iroquois. Its original meaning is unclear, but it may be a bastardization of a Huron word meaning "snake." (The Hurons and the Iroquois did not much like each other.) Alternatively, it might be a corruption of a Basque (Spanish/French ethnic group) term meaning, "killer people." (The French didn't much like the Confederacy either.) With apologies to the Haudenosaunee we will use the more common term, "Iroquois," because few non-natives would recognize Haudenosaunee - and because Haudenosaunee is too long to fit on the game screen. For similar reasons we have chosen to use the name "Hiawatha" for the Iroquois leader rather than "Ayonwentah" (see below). According to legend, the Confederacy began when a Chief named Dekanawidah or "the Great Peacemaker" convinced a warrior named Ayonwentah to give up violence and cannibalism and advance "peace, civil authority, righteousness, and the great law." (Ayonwentah is believed to be the basis for the poet Longfellow's character "Hiawatha.") Together the two great men unified five tribes who formed the league: the Seneca, Onondaga, Mohawks, Cayuga, and Oneida. A sixth tribe, the Tuscarora, joined the Confederacy many years later, in 1722. The Iroquois had a remarkably advanced government, particularly for people with no writing. The Confederacy was governed according to a constitution known as the Gayanashagowa, or "Great Law of Peace." Each tribe governed its own internal affairs; the Great Council dealt only with issues which faced the entire nation - treaties, border disputes, war and peace, and so forth. The Great Council was comprised of 50 sachems (roughly, "chiefs"). Each tribe provided between 8 and 14 sachems (depending upon the tribe's population and status) to the Council. The sachems were elected by councils of clan mothers. The Tadadaho was the symbolic leader of the Grand Council but had no real political power; the Council worked on consensus and required majority agreement before any action could be taken. Once united, the Iroquois rapidly became the most powerful native group in northeastern America. In 1609 the Confederacy went to war with the French and their Canadian Indian allies. The fight was over control of the fur trade, particularly the skin of the beaver. In the early 17th century, Europe craved beaver pelts, which they made into hats. Having hunted the European beaver nearly to extinction, European traders turned to the New World, where there were still plenty of beavers left. When native Americans discovered that Europeans would give them metal tools and even guns for the pelts, competition for the lovable toothy rodent became quite fierce. In 1610 the Iroquois made contact with Dutch traders at Fort Orange, New Netherland (present-day Albany, New York) who supplied them with large numbers of firearms in return for pelts. This increase in firepower allowed the Iroquois to beat back the French and their allies and expand their empire west to Lake Michigan and south to the Tennessee River. Access to guns also accelerated the extinction of the beaver in Iroquois territory, which in turn caused the Iroquois to attack north, seeking land where the beavers were still plentiful. For several decades the bloody war persisted. By the middle of the 1600s the Iroquois had defeated the Huron, Erie, Neutral and Susquehannock tribes, assimilating thousands and driving the remainder out of their territory. By 1660 the Iroquois had secured their southern and western flanks and were launching regular raids against New France. The French Canadians were unable to stop the attacks and appealed to the motherland for support. France responded by sending a regiment of French troops, the first professional European soldiers seen in Canada. The French troops went on the offensive and invaded Iroquois territory several times, with mixed results. In the meantime the English captured the Dutch colony of New Netherland, cutting the Iroquois off from their major European trading partner. Under mounting pressure from the reinforced French forces and unable to resupply themselves with weapons, the Iroquois made peace with the French. However they continued their westward and southern expansion, finding easier prey among the native tribes with little or no access to modern European weapons. After taking over the Dutch territories, the English made contact with the Iroquois. As always the English were happy to stick a thumb in the eye of the French, and they cheerfully resumed trading weapons to the Iroquois, urging them to use them against the northern foe. By the 1680s war had resumed between the French and Iroquois. In 1687 the French launched another invasion of Iroquois territory, this time with a massive army of some 3000 soldiers and militia. The French employed "scorched earth" tactics, burning Iroquois villages and crops, and many Iroquois died of starvation in the subsequent winter. The Confederacy responded with a number of reprisal raids, killing colonists and burning French supplies as far east as Montreal. In 1688 England went to war with France over some European issue that seemed extremely important at the time (the conflict variously named, "King William's War" and the "War of the English Succession"), and each side's colonies dutifully began to do their best to destroy each other. The Iroquois allied with the English colonies, the Canadian Indians with the French, and both combatants engaged in brutal raid and counter-raid, resulting in indiscriminate slaughter of those unable to run away very quickly (e.g., women, children, and the aged). Eventually everybody pretty much ran out of money and decided to call the whole thing off, and fighting ceased in Europe and the New World. By the beginning of the 18th century, the Iroquois' attitudes toward the two European powers began to change. As English power on the continent grew, English settlers began to encroach on Iroquois territory. In the meantime, the French too were feeling pressure from England, and they sought allies against the southern menace. The Iroquois played one power against the other, buying time for their tribes to recover from decades of fighting. In the French and Indian War (1754-1763), the Iroquois sided with the British against the French. The British were victorious, pushing the French right out of North America. This greatly increased British power over the native populations, including the Iroquois, who were totally dependent upon the British for weapons. The American Revolution began in the 1770s. At first the Grand Council remained neutral, but by 1777 they decided to join the war on the side of the British. Like the previous wars against the French, the Iroquois and Colonial forces engaged in bloody hit and run raids, burning villages and crops, killing the weak and unlucky on either side. The American Revolution ended in 1783. The treaty between the United States and Great Britain ceded all Iroquois territory to the United States, ignoring the unfortunate fact that a sovereign nation happened to already be living on that land. The Iroquois Confederacy basically ended with the end of the American Revolution. A group of Iroquois moved north into Canada, onto land given to them by Britain in gratitude for their help in the American Revolution. Others chose to stay in upstate New York, trying to maintain their tribal existence in the face of American colonial and cultural imperialism. Many still survive today despite some two centuries of terrible hardship, a testament to the amazing spirit of the Haudenosaunee people." The Iroquois are a funny bunch, their powers are not what you would expect at all. Their power is quite useful on heavy forest maps, the ability to move quickly allows them to respond against threats to their empire real quick, compared to the slow movement that units will have to face when they normally enter forest tiles. I don't get the point of their unique buildings and units though. From both stats and manual, the Mohawk Warrior is identical to the Swordsman in every aspect, there is no superiority there, which is very odd. The Longhouse will increase production by 1 for each forest tile that is worked, but that is up to you. Hiawatha ~ History "Hiawatha (or "Ayonwentah") is the legendary chief of the Onondaga Indians who, with the equally-legendary Chief Dekanawidah, formed the Iroquois Confederacy. Little is known about Hiawatha the man; according to Iroquois tradition he taught the people agriculture, navigation, medicine, and the arts, using his great magic to conquer all of man's supernatural and natural enemies. Hiawatha is also believed to have been a skilled orator who through his honeyed words persuaded the five tribes - Cayugas, Onondagas, Oneidas, Senecas, and Mohawks - to form the Five Nations of the Iroquois. What little the West knows about Hiawatha is usually seen through the prism of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's remarkable epic poem, Song of Hiawatha. No verdict is possible on such a legendary figure. The only thing that can be said is that however it occurred, the alliance of the Five Nations proved to be long and remarkably sturdy, even in the face of ever-increasing pressure from the advancing Europeans to the east. Whoever built that alliance certainly did an outstanding job." Leader Scales Victory Competitiveness - 3/10 Wonder Competitiveness - 4/10 City State Competitiveness - 3/10 Boldness - 2/10 Hiawatha is an odd leader, he really doesn't concentrate that much on trying to compete with you as a leader, or does he decide to make any threats with you, so like Gandhi, he does appear to be a peaceful leader, rather than one who is willing to rain ICBMs on you. Diplomacy Scales War - 4/10 Hostile - 3/10 Deceptive - 7/10 Guarded - 4/10 Afraid - 5/10 Friendly - 7/10 Neutral - 5/10 Hiawatha is going to be a friendly leader to play with, he is more likely to be friendly than he is to be declaring war on you, yet again, it doesn't mean that he won't declare war, just less inclined to do so. He is quite deceptive that he will trick you before leading into war, but hey, people do that all the time, nothing new. City State Scales Ignore Others - 5/10 Friendly - 7/10 Protective - 6/10 Conquest - 3/10 Another leader who won't go for the jugular when it comes to City States, he will do the noble thing and try to protect them from harms way. He will be more than willing to protect them, and often be on good terms, so watch out when attacking city states that are near him. They will often be protected by him. Ground Military Scales Offensive - 3/10 Defensive - 7/10 City Defence - 7/10 Military Training - 4/10 Reconnaissance - 6/10 Ranged - 6/10 Mounted - 4/10 As you can see, Hiawatha plays real defensive, he doesn't attack, just defends really well, and once you get past his units, often it will be a very tough fortress of a city that you will be facing as the last battle. He will have a fair amount of scouts everywhere, and don't be surprised that he has ranged archers hiding in the trees somewhere, that's just what he does. Naval Scales Naval - 3/10 Naval Reconnaissance - 3/10 Naval Growth - 4/10 Naval Tile Improvement - 4/10 Again, another leader who really doesn't pay much attention when it comes to the high seas, and delegates it to the role of support rather than a force of it's own, which, later in the game, it will be, with aircraft carriers and submarines making havoc for anyone crossing waters without an escort. Air Scale Air Power - 4/10 And again, another leader who doesn't really look at the strengths of air power as it should be viewed as. However, given the defensive nature of Hiawatha, he will be pretty willing to use lots of anti-air defences against you to stop you from using air power to its fullest, so be careful. Growth Scales Expansion - 6/10 Growth - 6/10 Tile Improvement - 4/10 Infrastructure - 5/10 Production - 5/10 Gold - 6/10 Science - 5/10 Culture - 7/10 Hiawatha is going to focus on his cities evenly as far as production, science, culture and gold is concerned, but the thing is, don't expect him to go and build improvements that will take down forests, this guy is more than likely to end up with a lot of forest tiles on his lands, and that does make things harder for your forces when they invade. Civilisation Scales Happiness - 7/10 Great People - 6/10 Wonder - 6/10 Diplomacy - 5/10 Spaceship - 8/10 And again, the AI will tend to go for a spaceship victory here, which is nice, more competitors for the spaceship. He will tend to have a pretty happy empire, which is really good for growth on his part, so when you sack his cities, you will be getting quite a bit of gold. *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* [3.11] Japan Leader - Oda Nobunaga Unique Unit 1 - Sumurai, replaces Longswordsman Unique Unit 2 - Zero, replaces Fighter Unique Building - None Civilization Power BUSHIDO - A units combat strength and defensive strength remains unchanged even when damaged in combat. ~ History "The islands of Japan are born of the unimaginable violence of plate tectonics, arising as the Pacific Plate is ground beneath the Eurasian Plate. The result is a mountainous land of great beauty and peril, where the people live and thrive in a narrow corridor between volcano and sea. Japan is a small country, with a total landmass approximately equal to the size of the American state of Montana. Mountain ranges cover 80% of the country. Japan is made up of four main islands, Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, plus dozens of smaller islands. The land is young in geologic terms, meaning the mountains are high and rugged and the rivers are narrow and torrential. There are many volcanoes in Japan, some quite active. Earthquakes are not uncommon (nor are attacks by giant radioactive monsters). Japan possesses a monsoonal climate - its climate is governed by wet and dry seasonal winds. In the winter the western side of the country faces cold, wet air from Siberia and the Sea of Japan, resulting in steady rain or snow. In the summer the eastern portion of the country gets steady wet air from the Pacific. It is generally believed that settlers moved into Japan some 20,000 years ago (give or take 10,000 years) during the Paleolithic Period, the stage of human development characterized by the use of primitive stone tools. The migrants probably crossed the Sea of Japan via several land-bridges which for a time connected the islands with Korea and Asia. While little is known about the pre-historic Japanese, it is clear that at some early point they gained enough sea-craft to travel safely and easily between islands, as Japanese culture and language is remarkably homogeneous throughout the chain. (This would not be the case if the island populations were isolated from each other for an extended period of time.) The "Pre-Ceramic" culture was followed by the Jomon, which occurred from 7500 - 250 BC. (The term "Jomon" refers to a style of pottery in which cords are pressed into the clay to make artistic patterns.) In addition to the invention of pottery, this period saw the important progression from chipped to polished tools. The Jomon people were largely hunter-gatherers and fishermen. The Jomon culture was followed by the Yayoi, which ran from roughly 250 BC - AD 250. This culture originated in Kyushu and featured advances in pottery, basic agriculture, plus utilization of iron and bronze implements. The Jomon also adopted ceremonial burial practices, irrigation, and textile weaving. Some of their technological and cultural advances were likely self-discovered, while others were probably gained from contact with China and Korea. With these advantages, the Yayoi culture quickly spread across Japan, overwhelming the more primitive Jomon culture. The earliest surviving written accounts of Japan are found in China, dating from the Han period of that culture. It stated that in approximately AD 50 the "state of Nu in Wo" sent emissaries to the Later Han court. "Nu" was one of more than 100 states that made up "Wo" (Japan). Chinese court later states that some time after AD 250 a "Queen Himiko" ruled over a confederation of more than 30 states, with a capital at Yamatai. No one is certain where Yamatai was located, and no written Japanese records survive from that period. Because of the scarcity of Japanese records, there is a lot of controversy on exactly when and how Japan unified. It is known that some time during the 4th century Yamatai disappeared and the Yamato kingdom arose. By the mid-4th century Japan had sent a large army on a mission of conquest to the Korean peninsula; to do so would require a great deal of central control fairly early in that century. During the Yamatos' reign, farmers began using iron tools for cultivation, and the land saw more advanced creation and flooding of the fields used to grow rice, a tasty and highly-nutritious grain that would quickly become the cornerstone of Japanese cuisine. These advances meant that fewer farmers could grow greater amounts of food, allowing the Yamatos to dedicate surplus manpower to conquest and to the construction of large tombs for themselves. At this time the Japanese imported a number of technological advances from its neighbors, the most important of which may be writing from China; along with Chinese script came Confucianism. The 5th century saw the Yamatos change to a more militant posture. The reasons for this are under debate. Some believe it is the result of an invasion and conquest of the kingdom by external warriors, while other historians believe that the Yamatos simply began more aggressively utilizing their advanced military and agriculture technology without any particular foreign influence. Whatever the cause, the Yamatos made use of their military to attack southern Korea, evidently in order to seize control of iron resources found in the area. The need for access to resources unavailable on the home islands would be a primary driver of Japanese foreign policy in the coming centuries. This period also saw the genesis of the "uji-kabane" system in Japan. The term "uji" can be translated as "clan," while kabane refers to a hereditary title of nobility. Under this system people living in an agricultural community became members of a single clan, each member of which had a specific place within the communal hierarchy. It was believed that a bountiful harvest could be assured by paying proper respect to one's ancestors and clan gods, and thus ancestor-worship became an important component of the uji-kabane system. The 6th century saw the decline of Yamato status and influence as the military suffered reverses at home and abroad. As the Yamatos lost power, local clan leaders gained it. The loss of central authority naturally resulted in greater internal conflict, as warlords sought to fill the growing power vacuum. The 6th century also saw the introduction of Buddhism in Japan, probably from Korea. Prince Shotoku was a proponent of Buddhism. Ruling at the turn of the century, he took the principles of peace and salvation as the ideal for his court. Interestingly, Chinese Confucianism was also gaining ground among the Japanese nobility; Shotoku apparently looked to Confucianism for guidance as well. Shotoku was in power from 592 - 628 BC; the Yamato clan saw a temporary revival of its power and influence during his realm. The Japanese court fell into chaos following Shotoku's death. The powerful Shoga family seized power and killed Shotoku's heirs. They in turn were overthrown in 645 by Prince Nakano Oe and Nakatomi Kamatari, who killed all of the Shoga and anyone else who opposed the imperial family. After destroying their foes they instituted political reforms which increased the strength of the central government and weakened the more powerful clans. At about the same time that the Japanese codified their administrative laws, they instituted criminal and civil laws as well. In doing so they borrowed heavily from the T'ang Chinese codes, altering them as necessary to fit Japan's specific needs. Under the Japanese system the people were divided into free men and slaves. Less than 10% of the entire population of Japan were slaves; the majority of people were freemen engaged in farming. The political system survived reasonably intact for several centuries, but by the 10th century flaws in the structure began to undermine the government. Several great clans gained control of important government positions, using their power to funnel huge amounts of wealth into their coffers. Taxes were increasingly high, and power and wealth continued to accrue to the central aristocracy, at the expense of the provincial clans and the farmers everywhere. Partly as a result of growing dissatisfaction with central government, a new class of warrior aristocrats known as "Samurai" began to emerge. The tenth and eleventh centuries saw the rise of the Samurai as a major new power in Japan. Outside of court Samurai warlords conquered entire provinces; inside the court they became bodyguards and generals for the aristocracy. Towards the end of the 11th century the Samurai general Taira Kiyomori gained so much power and influence that he became the prime minister and virtually ran the Imperial court. In fact, his son Antoku ascended to the Imperial throne in 1180. Taira rule did not last long, however; in 1185 they were destroyed by the Minamoto clan in a sea battle which culminated a five-year bloody struggle for primacy known as the "Gempei War." After the victory, Minamoto leader Joritomo established a military government, or "shogunate," in which the shogun (short for seii taishogun, or "barbarian-quelling generalissimo") would rule Japan in the name of the Emperor. This form of government proved remarkably persistent, surviving almost 700 years before it was abolished in 1868. Over the next several centuries power passed to the Hojo family, who in the early 12th century beat back an attempt by Emperor Go-Toba to regain actual power. At the end of the 12th century they defeated several Mongol attempts to invade Japan, helped by two fortuitous typhoons which destroyed large numbers of attackers at crucial points in the battles. The Japanese called these storms kamikaze, or "divine winds" sent by Heaven to protect them from the barbarians. The Hojo clan remained in power until 1333, when Emperor Go-Daigo launched a coup to return actual power to the imperial family. He was assisted in the battle by a large group of aristocrats, plus several Samurai clans and some militant Buddhist monks. A number of important allies of Go-Daigo were unhappy with their cut of the spoils, however, and in 1336 they revolted, driving the emperor north into the Yoshino Mountains. For the next 60 years there were two imperial courts, the Northern and Southern, with control of Japan split between them. The Southern emperor remained a figurehead, with real power in the hands of the Southern shogunate. In 1391 the imperial courts were reunited, with power held by the great shogun Ashikaga Takauji. The 14th century saw growth in the power of the farming families and communities, and concomitant increase in resistance to the warlords. Large uprisings broke out in 1428, 1429 and 1441, and almost yearly afterwards. In 1467 civil war broke out over who should succeed the shogun Ashikaga; this war would drag on for some 10 years and see the destruction of many large temples and the displacement of great numbers of civilians. Although the war ended in 1477, central authority was badly eroded, and the era saw numerous local rebellions and the rise of a new class of local warlords known as "daimyo." The years 1338-1573 are known as the "Warring States period." This period saw near-incessant warfare, as the shogunate and the imperial family were both nearly powerless, and battles for primacy among the daimyos raged across the countryside. Many castles were constructed during these years, and Japanese warriors grew quite adept at siege warfare, especially after European traders taught them how to manufacture muskets. In 1549 the father of a young nobleman named Oda Nobunaga died, leaving his son some land, some money, and a group of Samurai retainers. Within eleven years he had defeated all opposition and taken control of Owari province. A brilliant visionary and military leader, Oda quickly adopted the new musket firearms, using them with deadly efficiency against those who stood against him. In 1562 he allied with Tokugawa Ieyasu, a neighboring feudal lord who would turn out to be one of the great leaders of all time. In the 1560s Nobunaga marched on and captured Kyoto, the historical center of power of Japan. In 1573 he deposed the Shogun, consolidating his actual and ceremonial power. By the time of his death by assassination in 1582 Oda had unified nearly half of Japan. See Oda's Civilopedia entry for more details on this remarkable leader's life. Oda was succeeded by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the son of a peasant who rose to prominence as a warrior and later commander in Oda's service. By 1590 Hideyoshi had unified all of Japan. As part of his policy to strengthen the central government, he disarmed the peasantry and instituted tax reform. He also instituted a feudal system, forcing farmers to stay in their villages and artisans and merchants to remain in the cities. Hideyoshi died in 1598, and Tokugawa Ieyasu took his place. In 1603 he assumed the title of shogun. Having happily utilized western weapons and personnel to achieve the unification of Japan, Tokugawa quickly came to see them as potential threats to his rule. He (and his heirs) all but obliterated Christianity in Japan, ousted virtually all westerners from the islands, and forbid the use of muskets to any but his warriors. For the next several centuries Japan remained stubbornly isolated from the west, a state that probably saved it from the humiliating European occupation and colonization suffered by so many of its Asian neighbors. In the 19th century the Netherlands were the only European power trading with Japan, and their contact was quite limited. By mid-century several attempts had been made by various European powers to establish diplomatic relations with Japan, but with no success. Seeking ports to fuel its merchant and fishing fleet, the United States decided to press the issue, sending a modern fleet under the command of Commodore Matthew C. Perry into Uraga Bay in 1853. The shock of foreign military power displayed right at Japan's hitherto inviolate shores destroyed the ancient Tokugawa shogunate, and power at long last reverted back to the Emperor. The young Meiji emperor, who succeeded to the throne in 1867, began a policy of radical reform in Japan, seeking to make it militarily and economically equal to the western powers whose modern warships ruled the seas around it. The so-called "Meiji Restoration" was an extraordinary effort in which in a period of less than a century Japan abolished feudalism, almost entirely disbanded the Samurai class, and returned ownership of land to the farmers who worked it. The government initiated a program of industrialization, which proved remarkably successful in a very short period of time. In the late 19th century Japan adopted a constitution roughly based upon European models. By the early twentieth century, Japan had emerged as a major power - the great power in the Pacific, save for the United States - though other countries were slow to recognize it, much to their misfortune. In 1894, China went to war with Japan over who would control Korea. Japan won easily, gaining nominal independence for Korea from China, plus Formosa, the Liaotung Peninsula, the Pescadores Islands, and several other pieces of territory for itself. Japan also extorted unfair trade agreements from China. The western powers insisted that Japan return the Liaotung Peninsula to China, who then leased it and its important naval base to Russia. This infuriated Japan. In the Boxer Rebellion (1900), Chinese citizens rose up against all of the foreigners busily selling them opium and robbing their country blind. The western powers and Japan responded by sending in troops who slaughtered the Chinese citizens and occupied yet more Chinese terrain. Russia occupied Manchuria, which Japan saw as a threat to its Korean and Chinese possessions. In 1904 the Japanese attacked the Russian fleet without warning (a strategy which they would reemploy later against other inattentive westerners with great effect). The Japanese were spectacularly successful against the Russians, proving to an astonished world that they could take on a major western power and lick it. In the peace treaty with Russia, Japan received primacy in Korea, plus it acquired Russia's possessions in China. President Roosevelt received the Nobel Peace Prize for brokering the treaty. (There were not many Chinese or Koreans on the Nobel committee at that time.) Bolstered by its success against China and the west, Japan seized the opportunity to increase its power in East Asia. It tightened its grip on Korea and its portion of China, and in World War I it seized Germany's possessions in Asia and the Pacific. In the post-war period a series of military treaties between European powers, the United States and Japan sought to limit Japanese expansion while assuring Japan of its independence. In the 1930s the militarists came to power in Japan, in part as a response to the hardships the country faced during the Great Depression. Western and Chinese tariffs (and anti-Japanese racism) limited Japan's ability to earn money through exports, money it needed to purchase food for its growing population. The militarists argued that the only way to open foreign markets was through force. That, plus fear of communists and growing anger with the government caused the Japanese military to seek to expand its power structure. In the late 1920s the military increased operations in Manchuria without government approval, and the government was too weak to stop them. In May of 1932 naval officers murdered the prime minister, and in 1936 several important politicians were assassinated as rebellious military units took over central Tokyo. Though the rebellion was quickly put down, it was clear that the government survived only at the military's pleasure. The new young Emperor Hirohito was believed to be a progressive, but he remained silent over fears that the throne itself would be imperiled if he spoke out. It was clear that the Japanese military was in charge of the country, in fact if not in name. By the 1930s Japan's relations with the USSR, England and the United States were bad, and getting worse. The USSR resented its defeat by Japan in the last century, and it also hoped that the Japanese government would be overthrown and the country would become a workers' paradise just like Russia. England and the US were opposed to Japan's brutal policies in China and Korea, and feared that Japan's growing naval might would threaten their own considerable interests in Asia and across the Pacific. Attempting to counter the English/American pressure, in 1936 Japan signed a mutual defense pact with Germany and Italy, and another in 1940. Facing a growing German threat on the west, the USSR sought to shore up its eastern borders by signing a non-aggression pack with Japan in 1940. After the Nazis attacked Russia in 1941, Japan occupied northern Indochina, seeking to block British supply routes into China, where it supported the Nationalist Chinese forces against Japan. In response the United States froze Japanese assets and, worst of all, implemented an oil embargo against Japan. Japan had two choices: agree to US terms and retreat from Indochina and possibly China itself, or seize the rich oil fields of the Dutch East Indies. Negotiations between the US and Japan went nowhere, and the Japanese government decided upon war. World War II started out remarkably, shockingly well for Japan, with hugely successful surprise attacks on the US bases at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and in the Philippines. The Japanese Navy nearly drove the battered US forces right out of the Pacific Ocean, but they were never quite able to deliver the final killing blow. Over the next few years the United States industry built ships, planes, guns, and submarines, more than replacing their early losses. The US Navy and Army learned quickly and soon began the grindingly, heartbreakingly difficult task of driving the tenacious Japanese back across the Pacific. In August of 1945 the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, largely destroying the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Japanese surrender followed quickly. After the war Japan lost all of its overseas possessions. In addition, it was subject to United States occupation, and the USSR occupied some northern islands (the ownership of which still remains under dispute). American occupation was relatively benign, as these things are judged. The Americans imposed a democratic constitution on Japan and barred Japan from possessing a military. The US also helped (forced) Japan to dismantle the remnants of its feudal system and institute a vast program of land reform. It also helped Japan to rapidly rebuild its infrastructure and monetary system. The US hoped that Japan would become a vital, thriving democracy and capitalist nation, a counter-balance to the growing Communist power in Asia. In this it has succeeded far beyond its wildest dreams. Benefitting from the terms imposed upon it by the victors of World War II, Japan has used the money other nations have had to spend on militaries on more beneficial and profitable endeavors. Japan today is indeed a thriving democracy and an economic powerhouse. Although it has suffered from government/business cronyism which led to a collapse of the Japanese banking system in the '90s, overall Japan has enjoyed a meteoric rise in economic power since the war. Its people are highly educated and motivated and quite technologically advanced. As the United States' position in the Pacific has weakened and other powers have grown, Japan has cautiously begun to rebuild its military. It still relies on the US for the bulk of its defenses, but for how long it can continue to do so remains unknown. Assuming that Japan can maintain cordial relations with its neighbors, Russia, China and South Korea - and assuming that North Korea doesn't implode - Japan's future is bright." Japan is a nice country to play as. They have a nice power, the Bushido, which is very useful in combat. A riflemen that has been weakened to 3 health points left will still be as effective as one that is on full health, and that is a major benefit, allowing them to inflict heavy damage on their last breath or defend like crazy before sending them back to healing. Their units are nice as well. The Samurai is 20% more powerful when it is fighting in open terrain, on top of all the other bonuses that may be on them, and they during battle, they are more likely to create a Great General from an epic battle. The Zero is the same as a normal fighter, but it receives a bonus when it engages other fighters as well, which is a nice powerful boost. Oda Nobunaga ~ History "Oda Nobunaga was a 16th century Japanese warlord. Both a brilliant general and a cunning politician - as well as an early adopter of new technology - Nobunaga fought and backstabbed his way to domination over nearly half of feudal Japan. His two lieutenants, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, would complete the job after his death, reunifying Japan for the first time in over a century. Oda Nobunaga was born in 1534 AD, well into the "Sengoku" or Warring States period in Japanese history. During this period feudal Japan was divided into provinces run by powerful "daimyos" (territorial lords), while a weak shogun ruled in the name of a still-weaker Emperor. The Sengoku period saw an almost complete overthrow of the established order, with local lords overthrowing their daimyos, retainers overthrowing their lords, and inferior family branches fighting each other for dominance. It was a remarkably brutal period in Japanese history, and the nobility had to be smart, powerful and lucky to survive. Nobunaga was born the son of a wealthy government official in the small and unimportant Owari province. Following his father's death in 1551 he inherited his father's title, wealth and military vassals. He was all of 17 at the time, and by all accounts was a wild and unruly child. According to legend Nobunaga acted so badly at his father's funeral that one of his friends and retainers committed seppuku (ritual suicide) in humiliation. Shocked and sobered by his retainer's death, Nobunaga began to take his position and obligations seriously. Over the next ten years, Nobunaga rose to dominate Owari province, systematically co-opting or destroying anyone who stood in his way. The series of alliances, battles, betrayals and murders Nobunaga engaged in to achieve victory is bafflingly complex, rivaling the most intricate plot of a South American "telenovela" (soap opera). Here's how it went: At the time of his father's death, the Oda clan was divided into many factions. Some favored Nobunaga as the legitimate heir, while others favored his younger (and less wild) brother, Nobuyuki. Meanwhile, his late father's brother, Nobutomo, used his position as deputy to the powerless Owari province's "shugo," (military governor) Shiba Yoshimune, to advance his claim to leadership of the Oda clan. But when he learned that the shugo secretly favored Nobunaga's claim, Nobutomo had Shiba Yoshimune murdered. Meanwhile, Nobunaga convinced another of his father's brothers, Oda Nobumitsu, to turn on Nobutomo (who, we must remember, had just murdered Owari shugo Shiba). Nabunaga and his Uncle Nobumitsu attacked and killed Uncle Nobutomo in Kiyosu Castle. By destroying his uncle, Nobunaga gained control over Owari province's new shugo, Shiba Yoshikane (Shiba Yoshimune's heir). He used Shiba Yoshimune to gain alliances with the Imagawa and Kira clans, who also owed allegiance to Shiba. Nobunaga then fielded an army to Mino Province to aid Saito Dosan against his rebellious son, Saito Yoshitatsu, but he was unsuccessful and Dosan fell. In 1556 Nobunaga's brother, Nobuyuki (remember him?) rebelled with the aid of Shibata Katsuie and Hayashi Hidesada. Nobunaga defeated the conspirators at the Battle of Ino. Showing unusual mercy, he pardoned his brother and his allies. His brother repaid him by immediately planning another revolt, but he was betrayed by his onetime ally Shibata Katsuie, who informed Nobunaga of his plans. Nobunaga then murdered his brother. And so on. By 1559 Nobunaga had destroyed all of his rivals and was undisputed master of Owari Province, though he kept Shiba Yoshikane in place as a puppet shugo (at least until he discovered that Yoshikane was secretly plotting against him with the Kira and Imagawa clans, at which point Nobunaga removed him from his position). Having secured Owari province, Nobunaga began to expand his power across Japan. In 1560 he led a laughably small army against a far superior force which was on its way to Kyoto to overthrow the weak Ashikaga Shogun, achieving a shocking victory against brutally long odds. One key to Nobunaga's military success was his early adoption of the new weapons which were beginning to appear in Japan at the time, brought in by European traders. He was one of the first daimyos to organize entire musket units, giving him a great advantage against his more backwards foes. He was also a gifted manager, making full use of the agricultural and mercantile wealth of Owari to support his war efforts. In 1568 Nobunaga marched on Kyoto, putting up his ally Ashikaga Yoshiaki as his puppet Shogun. By 1573 the two men had fallen out, and Nobunaga deposed Ashikaga, at last ending the long Ashikaga Shogunate. Nabunaga consolidated his hold on Japan by attacking various politically powerful Buddhist sects. The monks put up incredibly stubborn resistance, some holding out for more than a decade. Nobunaga distributed the captured religious property to various samurai and nobility, further earning their loyalty. Nobunaga was friendly with the European Jesuit missionaries who appeared in Japan in ever larger numbers (probably because they had no political power with which to threaten him). He did not convert to Christianity, however. By 1582 Nobunaga had established firm control over central Japan and had begun attempting to expand his power westward. However, during a military campaign he was betrayed by a subordinate at Honno-ji temple and was forced to commit seppuku. His murderer survived him by just eleven days before being defeated by Nobunaga's loyal lieutenants, who would go on to complete the unification of Japan he so ably started. Oda Nobunaga is generally agreed to be one of the three greatest leaders in Japanese history. His two lieutenants, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu, are the other two. By 1590 Hideyoshi had completed the conquest of Japan, and following his death Tokugawa Ieyasu would come into power, creating the Tokugawa Shogunate which would rule Japan for centuries to come. Together these three men created the modern state of Japan. Nobunaga was a brutal man in a brutal time. But by helping to unify Japan he brought an end to the brutal wars that had been ravishing his country for more than a century. Leader Scales Victory Competitiveness - 7/10 Wonder Competitiveness - 5/10 City State Competitiveness - 6/10 Boldness - 8/10 Oda is an aggressive leader, he will charge you down if you appear weak in front of him, and he plays to win, he doesn't play to lose, like other leaders who are more than content just to hold your hand and bide your time. That does make him dangerous and very hard to fight. Diplomacy Scales War - 7/10 Hostile - 5/10 Deceptive - 7/10 Guarded - 7/10 Afraid - 2/10 Friendly - 4/10 Neutral - 5/10 Yes, when he meets you, he isn't likely to make friends with you, he is more than likely to attack you and set your cities on fire. He isn't afraid if you either, so in a time of peace, don't expect a few powerful units on the border deter him from not attacking you, he will attack you regardless. He is a dangerous foe, a brutal man, but his was a brutal time. City State Scales Ignore Others - 5/10 Friendly - 4/10 Protective - 7/10 Conquest - 7/10 Oda is either going to protect or destroy the City States and it is more of a coin toss, rather than an equation as to what he would do. Again, he is more likely to protect the ones that are next to his enemies, since the armies of the City State can be used as well. Ground Military Scales Offensive - 8/10 Defensive - 5/10 City Defence - 5/10 Military Training - 8/10 Reconnaissance - 5/10 Ranged - 5/10 Mounted - 4/10 Oda is going to march you down with a good old physical beatdown. Oda is more likely to use melee units, but they will be trained, so expect him to establish barracks to train his troops up from the ground, so you aren't going to be facing green recruits, but some battle-seasoned veterans. He is still powerful on the defensive as well, so just because you have defeated the incursion, doesn't mean you will defeat the defences of his empire. Naval Scales Naval - 7/10 Naval Reconnaissance - 5/10 Naval Growth - 6/10 Naval Tile Improvement - 6/10 Oda will use naval units on you, and not in a supporting role, rather, as a force of its own. This will be different, you will actually have to face attacking naval units, and given that they normally attack from a range, you will need to develop some nice tactics to get the upper hand. Submarines are useful here. Air Scale Air Power - 6/10 Given that one of the unique units for the Japanese is the famed Zero fighter from World War 2, it isn't surprising that Oda will use air power a fair bit during his battles against his enemies. If you annoy him enough, he will bomb your cities using bombers, and that is something you want to protect yourself against. He isn't that willing to hand air supremacy over to you. Growth Scales Expansion - 8/10 Growth - 5/10 Tile Improvement - 5/10 Infrastructure - 5/10 Production - 5/10 Gold - 6/10 Science - 4/10 Culture - 6/10 Oda will tend to expand quickly, but that is about it, he really doesn't have too much of a preference on how he runs his cities, or where he will settle, but he will settle quickly, so have units around in order to capture a free settler or worker off him, and save you the trouble of getting one yourself. Civilisation Scales Happiness - 5/10 Great People - 6/10 Wonder - 5/10 Diplomacy - 7/10 Spaceship - 7/10 Again, with the spaceship victory, but it is odd considering the diplomatic victory there, however, given the protective nature of City-States Oda has, it isn't all that surprising. Otherwise, there isn't really that much of a surprise in how Oda will approach his neighbours. With a samurai sword and a nice swing. *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* [3.12] Ottoman Leader - Suleiman the Magnificant Unique Unit 1 - Janissary, replaces Musketman Unique Unit 2 - Sipahi, replaces Lancer Unique Building - None Civilization Power BARBARY CORSAIRS - When destroying a Barbarian naval unit, there is a 50% chance of converting it to your cause and earning 25 Gold. ~ History ">The Ottoman Empire was born in Anatolia (in modern Turkey) at the start of the 13th century. It expanded into three continents and thrived for some six centuries. Many Americans know very little about the Ottoman Empire (it occupies the blind spot Americans have for pretty much everything between Greece and China). This is a great pity, for the Ottoman Empire was vast, powerful, and extremely interesting. At its peak, the Empire stretched from Hungary in the north to Basra in the east to the shores of the Indian Ocean in the south to Morocco in the west. With enormous holdings of land on three continents, it's impossible to generalize about the Ottoman terrain or weather. They ruled over mountains, hills, plains, swamps and desserts. Temperatures in Egypt in the summer can rise to as high as 110 degrees Fahrenheit, and in Hungary they can fall to well below freezing during the winter. The Ottoman Empire is named for Osman I (1259-1326). Osman was a prince of Bithynia, a small province in Anatolia (Turkey), strategically located bordering the Black Sea, the Bosporus, and the Sea of Marmara. Bithynia had until recently been a part of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, a Muslim empire that had ruled much of Anatolia for over two centuries. As the Sultanate declined in power (following crippling invasions by Mongols), the neighboring power of Byzantium sought to expand into Anatolia. It was unable to fully pacify the region, and Osman I took advantage of Byzantine weakness to push west toward Byzantium. In the 14th century, Byzantium power was fading rapidly. The eastern heir to the Roman Empire, Byzantium once possessed enormous holdings in Italy, Eastern Europe, Anatolia, the Middle East and North Africa, but by 1300 its domain was reduced to portions of Greece, the Balkans, and western Anatolia. Over the next century the Ottoman Empire would steadily grind away at the fading empire, first in Anatolia, then in the Balkans. When the Ottomans captured the Bulgarian capital of Nicopolis, located on the strategic Danube river, the Bulgarian king appealed to Christian Europe for assistance against the growing Muslim menace. In 1396 an army of Knights from Hungary, Burgundy, Venice, the Knights Hospitaller and Bulgaria set forth to defeat the Ottomans. The Battle of Nicopolis is often called the "Crusade of Nicopolis." The numbers of combatants involved is unknown, with estimates ranging from around 10,000 knights, footmen and archers on either side to 200,000 on either side. (The latter numbers are generally agreed by modern historians to be absurdly high.) According to early historians, one side in the battle was outnumbered by at least two to one, though they tend to disagree vehemently on which side that was. In any event, the invading Crusaders marched south from Hungary and laid siege to Nicopolis. From all accounts the Crusaders suffered from divided command and gross overconfidence, a not uncommon problem among mixed armies of the day. The siege was sloppy and the Crusaders posted no sentries. However, one Burgundian leader, the experienced veteran Enguerrand VII, Lord of Coucy, disobeyed orders and sent out a reconnaissance in force that encountered the approaching Ottomans, saving the Crusaders from an extremely rude surprise. On the morning of the battle, the Ottoman forces, under the command of Sultan Bayezid I, were arrayed on a hillside overlooking the city of Nicopolis. The Crusaders were lined up opposite the Muslims in front of Nicopolis, their backs to the Danube. One of the Crusader leaders noted that the first line of Ottoman troops were militia, untrained and ill-equipped, designed to blunt the force of an attacker before it met the main Ottoman infantry. He recommended that the infantry lead the assault against these troops, and that the Crusader knights be stationed on the flanks, supporting the infantry and engaging the dangerous Ottoman sipahis (cavalry). The French knight Philippe d'Eu denounced this plan, claiming that it was dishonorable and demanded that the knights have the honor of leading the charge against the enemy. This plan was adapted. The Ottomans had placed a wall of sharpened stakes in their front lines, designed to kill advancing horses and stop a determined cavalry charge. Although the Crusader knights crushed the Ottoman militia, many were unhorsed in the charge, and the attack became quite disorganized. The Ottoman infantry retreated and the Christian knights followed triumphantly without reforming, believing they had crushed the cowardly enemy. However, the Ottomans had kept a force of sipahis in reserve, and Bayezid committed them at this point - a large force of fresh cavalry facing the exhausted and unhorsed knights. At the same time other Ottoman troops began to flank the exposed Crusader positions. Badly outgeneraled at every point, the Crusader force collapsed and surrendered. Many of the European noblemen were ransomed for a good deal of treasure, while a lot of the common soldiers were massacred in retaliation for similar European behavior earlier in the campaign. The capture of Nicopolis secured the Ottoman holdings in the Balkans for some time. Now all that remained of the once mighty Byzantine Empire was the city of Constantinople. In 1399 the Mughal leader Tamerlane (Timur) declared war on the Ottoman Empire, disrupting Bayezid I's European campaign. Tamerlane was a descendant of Mongol conquerors who led his troops triumphantly through Persia, India, central Asia and Anatolia. In 1402 Bayezid's troops met Tamerlane's army at the battle of Ankara. Once again it's almost impossible to determine the number of forces involved in the battle, with numbers ranging from 1,000,000 on each side to as few as 140,000 for Tamerlane and 80,000 for Bayezid. Whatever the number, it is generally agreed that Tamerlane's army significantly outnumbered Bayezid's. The battle opened with a large attack by the Ottomans which was broken up by accurate arrow-fire from the enemy horse archers which inflicted significant damage to the attackers. As the battle progressed a significant portion of Bayezid's troops deserted and joined Tamerlane's army. Now badly outnumbered and exhausted, Bayezid's army was defeated and he was captured shortly thereafter, dying in captivity. Having secured his flank against the Ottomans, Tamerlane left Anatolia and returned to India to continue his own empire's expansion. After Bayezid's death civil war broke out in the Empire as his four sons fought over the crown. The so-called "Ottoman Interregnum" lasted for some 11 years until 1413, when Mehmed Celebi, the last surviving brother, assumed the title of sultan. Sultan Mehmed I and his son Murad II spent a number of years restoring central power within the Empire, repairing the damage done during the Interregnum. Having secured his control of the Ottoman Empire, in 1423 Murad II besieged Constantinople, leaving only after he had extorted an exorbitant sum from the Byzantines. Murad then went to war with Venice, an extended affair that ended with an Ottoman victory but on terms that kept Venice as a major mercantile power in the Eastern Mediterranean. He also began a long-running war with Hungary over control of Walachia. As the Ottoman Empire grew, so too did the power of the Turkish nobility, who Murad II saw as an increasing threat to his rule. To counter the Turks, Murad created the Janissaries, a military force of Christian slaves. He gave the Janissaries lands from his latest conquests, the income and status from which made them an effective balance to the old-moneyed Turks in the Empire. Murad continued to attempt to expand further into Europe until 1444, when he made peace with all of his enemies and retired, passing the throne to his son Mehmed II. Sultan Mehmed II reigned for some thirty years, 1451-1481. One of his early acts was to once again lay siege to Constantinople. His vizier and other Turkish nobles bitterly opposed the attack, which they rightly saw as a prelude to still further Ottoman expansion and diminution of their power within the Empire. The siege lasted less than two months. Mehmed had a force of 100,000 at his command, and Constantinople was defended by perhaps 7,000 soldiers. The defenders fought stubbornly, beating off waves of Ottoman assaults accompanied by heavy cannon fire. Eventually the Ottomans broke in and flooded the city, overwhelming the defenders through sheer weight of numbers. Although the Ottomans enthusiastically sacked the city, Mehmed treated its citizens with mercy, sparing their lives and leaving them their houses and possessions (or at least those that hadn't already been looted). He treated the non-Muslims with respect, and many Jews emigrated to the Ottoman Empire, seeking protection from European persecution. Mehmed II made Constantinople the capital of his Empire, giving him a strategic foothold at the edge of Europe. Over the next century the Ottoman Empire continued to expand into Europe, as well as into the Middle East and Africa. In addition to its superb land forces, the Empire had developed a powerful navy. The Ottoman navy dominated the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea, and it had a significant force in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, where it competed with growing European naval powers such as Portugal. Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-1566) continued the Ottoman expansion into Europe, primarily targeting Hungary. His chief European rivals were the Habsburg family, who at the time ruled Hungary (along with much of the rest of Europe); however, he had a powerful ally in the King of France who feared the Habsburgs' designs on his kingdom and was happy to aid any power that could weaken them. In 1521 Suleiman took Belgrade, and by 1526 the Ottomans had conquered perhaps half of Hungary. The war continued for several years, and by 1529 Suleiman had advanced to Vienna, the most powerful European city in the area. Although unable to capture the city and ultimately forced to abandon the siege, Suleiman put the Europeans on the defensive and secured Hungary for more than 10 years. At sea, Suleiman responded to European pressure by creating a powerful navy under the command of Barbarossa, an ex-pirate turned admiral of the Ottoman navy. Barbarossa captured Algiers in 1529, and Suleiman assigned the entire province to Barbarossa to support his fleet. In the 1530s Barbarossa fought several naval battles against a variety of European forces, emerging victorious from all of them. Meanwhile, the Ottoman Empire had expanded to about the limit possible given the weapons and supply systems of the day. Suleiman invaded Iran repeatedly, but ran out of supplies before he was able to bring the Iranian army to battle. Once he left, the Iranians simply moved back in and reconquered everything he had taken. In 1555 he agreed to permanent eastern borders, keeping Iraq and Eastern Anatolia but renouncing claims to Azerbaijan and the Caucasus. At its peak during this period, the Ottoman Empire was both a military and an economic powerhouse. The Empire's treasury was filled by tributary payments from its possessions in Egypt, North Africa and Eastern Europe, and it sat athwart the trade routes between Europe and the Far East, giving it a slice of the profits from the growing spice trade. This is largely responsible for the European Age of Exploration, as they looked for ways to avoid Ottoman territory and trade directly with India, China, and other providers of spice. Over the next few centuries the Ottoman Empire endured a slow, steady decline. Although it remained a powerful and vital state for many years, it never again reached the height of power it had attained under Suleiman. By the mid to late 16th century the Janissaries had gained almost total ascension in Istanbul (the new name for Constantinople), and with greater power came greater corruption. The position of grand vizier became more powerful as the sultans grew more decadent. Eventually the viziers overstepped their bounds and were overthrown, with power first going to the harem (the "Sultanate of the Women") from 1570 - 1578, and then to the military from 1578 - 1625. The basic problem facing whoever was in charge was that the empire was simply too large to rule effectively, and over time more and more of it began to slip into something approaching anarchy. Because of increasing corruption as well as external trade pressure the economy of the Empire all but collapsed, with rampant inflation occurring during the 16th and 17th centuries. Despite its internal weakness the Empire remained a potent international power, greatly feared by Europe. Although it suffered the occasional defeat, it was still far more powerful than any external enemy. It continued to expand over the years, gaining Tunis, Fez and Crete in the Mediterranean, as well as Azerbaijan and a portion of the Caucasus. However, at the end of the 17th century the Ottomans pushed their luck just a bit too far. In 1683 Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Pasa once again besieged Vienna. The defenders, led by Polish King Jan Sobieski, held out easily against the Ottoman assault. Emboldened by the weakness the Ottomans displayed, Sobieski was able to assemble a massive coalition of European forces against the common enemy. The Hapsburgs sought their lost territory in the Balkans, the Venetians wanted their lost Adriatic bases back, while the new power of Russia sought (as always) a warm-water port in the Mediterranean. This was an uneasy alliance at best, and the allies would periodically break off the assault to fight each other. In addition, the Ottomans were supported by France (still seeking to weaken the Habsburgs) as well as Britain and the Netherlands, who feared that whoever took over the Ottoman Empire would dominate Europe and threaten their growing naval ascendency. Still, the allies were victorious, and they gobbled up much of the Ottomans' European possessions over the next century. By 1792 the Ottomans had been driven back to the Danube, losing possessions they had held for nearly two centuries. Soon thereafter they lost the northern coast of the Black Sea, the Caucasus, southern Ukraine and the Crimea. In the mid-19th century, several sultans began earnest efforts to modernize the Ottoman state, attempting to enact huge reforms to the army, government, and education system. These reforms occurred slowly, not only because of resistance from those whose power was threatened by the new ideas, but also because the state was nearly bankrupt and under increasing pressure from the external forces who sensed its weakness and who wanted to be in on the kill. Still, by the 20th century thousands of primary schools were in existence, as were a growing number of secondary schools and universities. Advanced military colleges were created on the European model. The government even experimented with a parliamentary system, but this was abandoned after less than a year. In 1909, a group of reformers known as the "Young Turks" led a revolt to restore the parliament that had been abolished 30 years earlier; this in turn led to a wider mutiny which overthrew the existing government. A new sultan was put in place; he was compelled to reinstate parliament, but real power resided in the military that had put him in power. In 1914 the Ottoman Empire entered World War I on the side of the Central Powers (Germany, Austria and Bulgaria). During the war they held off a spirited but ill-planned assault on the Dardanelles by forces of the British Empire, stopping the British fleet from linking up with Russia. They fought against the Allies in Europe, Egypt, the Balkans, and the Middle East. They also perpetrated a ghastly massacre against Armenian nationals living in Asia Minor, killing perhaps half a million men, women and children. By late 1918 it was clear that the Central Powers were going to be defeated; the Ottomans agreed to an Armistice on October 30. The victorious Allies dismantled what was left of the Empire, with Britain, France and Italy dividing up North Africa, Egypt and the Middle East as well as portions of Asia Minor. Other sections that no European power especially wanted were carved off and made into new independent countries. The Ottomans were left with just Istanbul and a portion of Thrace. Much of the Allies' plans came to naught, however, because by 1923 a brilliant Ottoman general named Mustafa Kemal, later called "Ataturk" or "Father of Turks", had reunited much of Asia Minor in a new country called "Turkey." By doing so he finally brought to an end the political entity known as the Ottoman Empire, 600 years after it was born. To summarize: the Ottoman Empire lasted six centuries. It took on all of Europe and beat it. It conquered Persia, Egypt, and North Africa, not to mention a goodly chunk of the Balkans. It destroyed the Byzantine Empire. The Ottoman Empire was cool." The Ottomans have one of the worst powers in the game in my opinion, simply because the barbarian pirates are just too little in the game and they appear early on. Furthmore, the barbarian pirates are too hard to counter effectively early in the game as well, they will really only move close to land to bombard your ground units, but other than that, it is hard to get them. The Janissary is a powerful unit however, if it manages to destroy the enemy unit that it is attacking, it will be completely healed of all battle woulds. They will also get a 25% attacking bonus when they attack first, which makes them even more deadly on the battlefield. The Sipahi has better movement than the lancer, they will also not use up movement points when pillaging a tile and they will have better sight as well. Suleiman the Magnificant ~ History "Suleiman I, known as "The Magnificent," "The Legislator" and "The Grand Turk," was the caliph of Islam and the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, taking the reins of the Turkish kingdom in 1520 and ruling until his death in 1566. During his rule Suleiman greatly expanded the Empire's territory, earning the fear (and grudging admiration) of leaders across Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Suleiman was the son and grandson of sultans. At an early age he studied science, literature, theology, and the military arts in Istanbul. At 17 he was appointed governor of Kaffa by his grandfather, and he was made governor of Manisa during the reign of his father, Sultan Selim I. His father died in 1520 when Suleiman was 26, and he ascended to the throne. Although still quite a young man, Suleiman had nearly ten years of leadership experience when he came to power. According to some historians, Suleiman deeply admired Alexander the Great and hoped to emulate him and create an empire that encompassed Europe, Asia Minor, Africa, and the Middle East. Upon achieving power, Suleiman began planning a campaign against Europe and the Balkans. In 1521, just a year after achieving power, Suleiman captured Belgrade. In the following year he took the Island of Rhodes from the Knights of St. John. In 1526 he defeated the Hungarians at the Battle of Mohacs, killing the Hungarian king Louis II in combat. Following Louis II's death, the Hungarian throne was taken by Ferdinand I, the Habsburg archduke of Austria. Seeking to weaken Habsburg power in Eastern Europe, Suleiman supported the claim of John Zapolya, lord of Transylvania. In 1529 he laid siege to Vienna. The siege was unsuccessful, however, but it did serve to keep Hungarian power concentrated on Vienna, effectively ceding control of most of Hungary to Suleiman's puppet, John. When John died in 1540 the Austrians moved back into central Hungary. The two forces would continue to battle inconclusively for the next twenty years, until a peace treaty was signed in 1562, four years before Suleiman's death. To support his land campaigns Suleiman also created a great navy on the Mediterranean, the first such in Ottoman history. He put his forces under the command of admiral Khayr al-Din (known in the west as "Barbarossa"), a sometime pirate with a natural genius for naval warfare who defeated the combined Spanish-Venetian fleets in 1538, effectively giving the Ottomans dominance in the Eastern Mediterranean for the next forty years. Suleiman waged three major campaigns in Persia during his reign. The first campaign (1534 - 1535) won the Ottomans control over a portion of eastern Asia Minor as well as most of Iraq. The second campaign some ten years later (1548 - 1549) won some additional terrain around the strategically important Lake Van on the border of Persia and Asia Minor. The third campaign was inconclusive, as the Ottomans were unable to sustain an offensive deep in Persian territory and thus were unable to hold onto their gains. As sultan, Suleiman surrounded himself with competent, often brilliant, statesmen and administrators. He built mosques, bridges, roads and fortresses across his territory, and the period is seen as a golden age of Ottoman architecture. He also worked to reform and codify the empire's legal system. "The Lawgiver's" legal system would survive almost unchanged for three centuries. He paid attention especially to the plight of his Christian subjects, who until then had been little more than serfs. Jews also were protected, to such an extent that many emigrated to the Ottoman Empire from Europe, where they were much more harshly treated. While his territorial accomplishments were impressive, the Sultan did not ignore the culture of his homeland, Suleiman himself a skilled poet and fervent Muslim. During his rule hundreds of artistic societies flourished across the country. Suleiman commissioned numerous new mosques of a previously unseen grandeur, many designed by master architect Sinan. Suleiman died in 1566 while (once more) campaigning in Hungary. At the time of his death he was famous across the known world. In Europe he was envied for his unbelievable wealth, his magnificent treasury containing more riches than any other leader had possessed in history. He was admired for his military prowess and respected for his fair treatment of non-Muslim subjects. Muslims respected the Sultan for his belief in the rule of law. The Sultan adopted Islamic sacred law to compliment the traditional law already in place from his predecessors, providing a model for Eastern powers for centuries to come. Almost everyone - Christian and Muslim alike - agreed that he was fully worthy of the title "The Magnificent." Leader Scales Victory Competitiveness - 5/10 Wonder Competitiveness - 5/10 City State Competitiveness - 6/10 Boldness - 8/10 Suleiman is quite bold, as you can gather, he is will more than likely tread on your nerves somewhat, which is interesting. Other than that, he isn't more likely than any other of the leaders to compete for the city states or build wonders in his civilization before you. Diplomacy Scales War - 6/10 Hostile - 6/10 Deceptive - 7/10 Guarded - 4/10 Afraid - 5/10 Friendly - 7/10 Neutral - 5/10 Suleiman wil be friendly, but if he does not get his way, he will turn ugly and he will declare war on you, which is clearly not a good thing, for either him or you, depending on who has the upper hand. Other than that, it is nice to note that as long as you stack enough powerful unders on the border, he will back off. City State Scales Ignore Others - 5/10 Friendly - 5/10 Protective - 7/10 Conquest - 6/10 Another leader that is about as protective as he is bloodthirsty, Suleiman will either protect or conquer, it is that simple. Ground Military Scales Offensive - 7/10 Defensive - 4/10 City Defence - 4/10 Military Training - 6/10 Reconnaissance - 5/10 Ranged - 5/10 Mounted - 6/10 Suleiman doesn't concentrate as much on his defence than he does on his offence, and that means you will be facing a fair amount of melee units, in conjunction with other units when he decides to come aknockin when he signs a declaration of war against you. Make sure that you have the counter to armoured and cavalry units, Suleiman won't hesitate to use them against you if he needs to. Naval Scales Naval - 8/10 Naval Reconnaissance - 10/10 Naval Growth - 6/10 Naval Tile Improvement - 6/10 Suleiman is a big user of the Naval power that is available to him, and that makes him that much harder to counter, because if you can't match him on the land, the odds are against you that you can match him in the sea. He will scout out your lands and the coastal areas around it pretty quickly and it is only a matter of time before his warships sit outside your city firing cannon broadside after broadside into what was your city. Air Scale Air Power - 6/10 Suleiman is a user of air power, and given that he is also a big fan of naval power, it is a big worry when he has the ability to develop carriers and the aircraft to launch off them. However, that is not to say he won't use bombers to pulverise your cities into a nice ground pulp. Growth Scales Expansion - 8/10 Growth - 4/10 Tile Improvement - 5/10 Infrastructure - 5/10 Production - 5/10 Gold - 5/10 Science - 6/10 Culture - 6/10 Suleiman, as you can gather from his warmongering ways, is a little bit trigger-happy when it comes to expansion. He will use his army and navy to expand aggressively, and he will destroy all that stands in his path. On the bright side, you will have a ready source of workers and settlers when you decide it is time to rain on his parade. Civilisation Scales Happiness - 4/10 Great People - 5/10 Wonder - 5/10 Diplomacy - 5/10 Spaceship - 8/10 No real surprises that there is another spaceship victory here, but other than that, Suleiman is kind of average in terms of what type of victory he would like to seek. There isn't much for him to choose from really. *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* [3.13] Persia Leader - Darius I Unique Unit 1 - Immortal, replaces Spearman Unique Unit 2 - None Unique Building - Satrap's Court, replaces Bank Civilization Power ACHAEMENID LEGACY - Golden Ages will last 50% longer, and all units receive a movement bonus and +10% attack power during a Golden Age. ~ History "The term "Persia" derives from a region in southern Iran formerly known as "Persis;" it is commonly used to describe areas where the Persian language and customs predominated. There have been a series of "Persian Empires" throughout history; in this article we are specifically examining the Achaemenid dynasty, which began in 559 BC and ended some two centuries later under the onslaught of the Greek military genius Alexander the Great. The Iranian Peninsula, which formed the heart of the Persian Empire, is a high plateau surrounded on the east and west by mountains. To the south lie the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, to the north the Caspian Sea and more mountains. At its height the Persian Empire also encompassed Egypt, the Middle East and much of Asia Minor (modern Turkey). It's useless to generalize about the terrain and weather of such a huge and varied region spanning two continents. Before the Persians, the Medians were the ascendant power in the area. According to the ancient historian Herodotus, the first Median king was Deioces, who ruled from 728 to 675 BC. Deioces' son Phraortes subjugated the Persians; he later died in battle against the Assyrians. At some point in the sixth century Medes came under Scythian domination, but they withdrew or were assimilated by the end of the sixth century, and the kingdom was once again under Median control. By all accounts king Cyaxares (625 - 585 BC) was a brilliant ruler who reorganized the Median army and took it successfully into battle against the powerful Assyrians, capturing several important Assyrian cities. Cyaxares allied with the Babylonians, and the two powers destroyed Assyria. In the division of spoils Babylon received all of the Assyrian territory in the Fertile Crescent (the area between and adjacent to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers), while the Medes took possession of the Assyrian holdings in the highlands to the east and north of Babylon, including territory in Asia Minor. Cyaxares' son, Astyages, was evidently not as politically or militarily astute as his father; he would be the last king of the Medes. According to legend, King Cyaxares gave Persia to his vassal Cambyses I. Cambyses I passed the crown to his son, Cyrus II, who solidified his political position by marrying Medes King Astyages' daughter. Despite his royal connection Cyrus was not satisfied with his subordinate position, and after allying with nearby Babylon, he rebelled against the Medes. By 550 BC the Persians had emerged victorious and the Medes were no more. Cyrus II was the first of the "Achaemenian" kings of Persia. After conquering Medean territory, Cyrus expanded Persia into Asia Minor. First he diplomatically isolated and then conquered Lydia (whose king was the famously wealthy Croesus), and then he systematically besieged and took all of the Greek city-states on the west coast of Asia Minor. With his northern flank secured, Cyrus II then turned south against his previous ally Babylon. While a great power, Babylon was internally divided, had an unpopular king, and by allowing Cyrus to destroy Lydia, was fresh out of potential allies. In the event, it fell almost without Persia striking a blow. In 539 Cyrus marched triumphantly into the city, now ruling an empire that stretched all the way to the borders of Egypt. Cyrus did not get to enjoy his triumphs for very long. He died in battle in Central Asia in 529 BC. Cyrus II was succeeded by his son, Cambyses II. After allegedly securing his thrown by murdering his brother Bardiya, in 525 BC Cambyses led a campaign against Egypt, which fell after battles at Pelusium and Memphis. Cambyses then attempted to further extend Persian power west, but attacks against Carthage, Nubia and Amon were all unsuccessful. In 522 Cambyses learned of a revolt in Iran led by an imposter claiming to be his brother, Bardiya. He died while hurrying home to regain control of the rebellious region. It was said that he committed suicide, but some historians believe that was just propaganda spread by his successor. Upon Cambyses II's death, one of his generals, a man named "Darius," led his troops back to Iran to crush the rebellion, which was apparently well advanced by the time Darius arrived. A member of the Achaemenian house and a distant relative of Cambyses II, Darius had himself declared Cambyses's rightful heir. It took a year of hard fighting to break the back of the revolt and to secure his claim to the throne, but by 521 Darius I was in firm control of the Persian Empire. Darius I was by all accounts a superlative leader. After squelching the rebellion through a combination of harsh punishment of rebel leaders combined with clemency of local populations, he then worked to reorganize the empire and to codify its laws. He further expanded Persian power into northern India and he established a bridgehead across the Hellespont, giving Persia a permanent toehold in Europe. He successfully suppressed a revolt of the Greek city-states, earning Greek citizens' goodwill by removing local tyrants and returning democracy to the people. In 492 Darius's forces had retaken Thrace and Macedonia in the Balkans, setting the stage for an invasion of Greece. At first Darius underestimated the difficulties of a Greek campaign, and in 490 the allied Greeks beat him decisively at the Battle of Marathon. Darius was forced to retreat and regroup. He began preparing for another campaign, but on a far larger and more powerful scale. Darius I died in 486 BC, and he was succeeded by his son, Xerxes I. Xerxes immediately had to deal with a serious revolt in Egypt, which he did in one quick campaign in 484. Unlike his predecessors, Xerxes dealt harshly with the rebellious province, removing the local leaders and imposing direct Persian control on the citizens. He did the same to the Babylonians when they revolted in 482 BC. In 480 Xerxes led a huge army into northern Greece, supported by a powerful Persian navy. Northern Greece fell to the invaders fairly easily, and despite the heroic stand of the Spartans and the Boeotians at Thermopylae, the Greeks were unable to stop Xerxes' army from marching to Athens and sacking the most powerful city-state in Greece. However, the Athenians had evacuated their city before the Persians arrived, and their navy very much remained a potent force. At the battle of Salamis (480 BC) a Greek fleet of some 370 triremes soundly defeated 800 Persian galleys, destroying perhaps 300 Persian vessels at a cost of 40 Greek ships. This defeat delayed the planned Persian offensive further into Greece for a year, giving the Greeks time to strengthen their defenses against the invaders. Xerxes was forced to return to Persia, leaving his general Mardonius in command, and the Greeks promptly won several important naval and land battles against the new leader. With Mardonius's death in the battle of Plataea, the campaign was over and the surviving Persians withdrew from Greece in disorder. Xerxes never mounted another invasion of Greece. In 465 BC he was assassinated. Ruling from 465-404 BC, the three Persian kings who followed Xerxes I - Artaxerxes I, Xerxes II, and Darius II - were weak and uninspiring. At the end of the 4th century the Persians regained some power in the Aegean, successfully playing the Greeks off against one-another during the long Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta; however in 405 BC Egypt revolted and Persia was unable to regain control of the wayward province for more than 50 years. Darius II was succeeded by Artaxerxes II, who ruled for 45 years (404 - 359 BC). During his reign Artaxerxes II fought a war against Sparta, once again over the Greek colonies in Asia Minor. Persia allied with the Athenians (who were recovering from their disastrous defeat in the Peloponnesian War) and Sparta was forced to come to terms. Despite these occasional successes, as the third century BC progressed Persian weakness and disorganization grew. In 373 BC a group of the Empire's satraps (provincial governors) revolted. They were put down, but other revolts followed, and with growing frequency. The position of king was increasingly unstable; Artaxerxes III came to the throne as a result of treachery in 359 BC; in an attempt to secure his position he promptly murdered as many of his relatives as he could find. In 338 Artaxerxes III was poisoned at the orders of the eunuch Bagoas, who placed Artaxerxes' youngest son Arses in power. Arses promptly tried to poison Bagoas, but his effort failed and he himself was killed. Bagoas then elevated Darius III to the throne. Darius III was a former satrap of Armenia; although he was but distantly related to the late king, pretty much everybody else with a better claim was already dead. Darius II may or may not have been an especially effective leader, it is difficult to tell. When he assumed the throne the Persian Empire had been in decline for well over a century, its many component parts in near-constant revolt against the increasingly inept central government. Palace intrigue further crippled the monarchy, and leaders who wished to survive spent as much time watching their backs as they did looking out for the interests of the Empire. Any leader who took power under those circumstances would be in trouble. However bad things at home were, they paled into insignificance when compared with the troubles headed Darius III's way from across the Hellespont. In 359 BC, King Philip ascended to the throne of Macedon, a country straddling the line between Greece and the Balkans. Within 20 short years Philip had conquered all of Greece and then began preparations to invade Persia. Following Philip's assassination in 336 BC a young man named Alexander took the Macedonian crown. After securing his throne and suppressing a Greek rebellion, Alexander resumed Philip's invasion into Persia. Alexander was a military genius and a man of great courage and even greater ambition. At the head of a highly-disciplined Greek army equipped with superior weaponry and tactics, he drove through Persia like a hot knife through butter. Darius repeatedly met him in battle, often with far superior numbers, and Alexander simply destroyed his armies one after another. The Persian capital Persepolis fell to Alexander's armies in 330 BC, and Darius was murdered the same year. The last Achaemenian ruler had fallen to the invaders. The Achaemenian Persian Empire survived and thrived in a dangerous neighborhood for some 200 years. At its height it dominated land from India to Egypt, from Iran to the Balkans. It was an awkward and ungainly empire, spanning three continents with citizens speaking dozens of different languages. At their best, the Achaemenian kings were lawgivers who treated their subject populations with clemency and fairness, interfering as little as possible with provincial internal policies as long as the subjects behaved themselves. At worst, the Achaemenian kings were incompetent bullying backstabbers. Whatever else they were, the Achaemenian kings were survivors. Two hundred years is a long time for a single family to remain in power. If they hadn't lived next to Alexander and Philip they might have remained in power another 100 years. Alexander the Great himself was a brilliant leader and warlord, but his own empire barely survived his death by a year." The Persians are best during a Golden Age, without a Golden Age, they really are useless, simply because their power has no real use. Therefore, in order to use the power, you either need to have a very happy empire, or you will need to have a lot of Great People in your empire to satisfy the need for the Golden Age. The Immortals, despite being so famous thanks to 300, are just marginly more powerful over the Spearmen, however, they do heal at double the normal rate, which does make them somewhat more useful to you. Satrap's Court will be replacing the bank, and whilst providing the normal gold bonus, will also provide 2 extra happiness as well. Darius I ~ History "The son of a satrap (governor) of Parthia, Darius I forcibly took the throne of Persia upon the death of Cambyses II in 522 BC. An administrative genius, during his reign Darius reorganized the sprawling Persian empire, greatly increasing its wealth and power. He also implemented many great construction works across Persia. Much of our knowledge of Darius I comes from the early Greek historian Herodotus, as well as from Persian inscriptions commissioned by Darius himself. According to Herodotus, as a youth Darius was suspected by Persian king Cyrus the Great of plotting against him. Darius survived this suspicion, later becoming a general and bodyguard of Cyrus' son and heir, Cambyses II, after Cambyses assumed the throne. Cambyses died in 522 BC while in Egypt. Upon his death Darius returned to Media and killed Cambyses' brother, Bardiya, who Darius claimed was an imposter who had usurped the throne. After killing Bardiya (or the imposter, depending upon whose story you believe) Darius claimed the Persian throne. This did not go over well in the provinces, and Darius faced serious revolts in Babylon, Susiana, Media, Sagartia, and Margiana. Babylon revolted twice, in fact, and Susiana three times. The insurrections were uncoordinated, however, and Darius was able to suppress each separately. According to one of his inscriptions, Darius defeated nine rebel leaders in 19 battles. By 518 or so his throne was secure. After establishing his position, Darius initiated a series of wars to expand and secure Persia's borders. In 519 he attacked the Scythians east of the Caspian Sea, and shortly after he conquered the Indus Valley. He later attacked northwest from Asia Minor, conquering Thrace and then Macedonia. He tried to expand his European bridgehead north across the Danube, but he was forced to withdraw by stubborn resistance of the Scythian nomads. Finally, he secured the Aegean islands of Lemnos and Imbros. Persia now held the Greek colonies in Asia Minor, the straits of Bosporus (which gave them control over the Black Sea), Macedonia, which bordered Greece to the north, as well as a number of strategic islands in the Aegean. This inevitably led to conflict with the powerful but divided Greek city-states watching Persian expansion with jealousy and alarm. When not battling one of his empire's neighbors, Darius took a series of actions to unify the empire and to improve its administration. He completed the organization of the empire into satrapies (provinces) and set the annual tribute due from each. He improved the Persian road network and standardized coinage, weights and measures, greatly expanding the opportunities for trade throughout the empire. He funded exploration expeditions from India to Egypt, and he completed a canal in Egypt leading from the Nile River to the Red Sea. Darius was the greatest builder in the Achaemenid Persian history. He constructed fortifications, a palace, and administrative buildings at Susa, his administrative capital. In his native Persepolis, Darius began construction of a new palace, as well as a council hall, treasury, and more fortifications (though these would not be completed until after his death). While firmly putting down any attempts at insurrection within Persia, Darius showed a good deal of tolerance to his subject peoples' religious beliefs. He constructed a number of temples in Egypt honoring the Egyptian gods, and he ordered his Egyptian satrap to codify the Egyptian laws in consultation with the Egyptian priestly class. In 519 he allowed the Jews to begin reconstruction of the Temple at Jerusalem. Darius himself is thought to have been a follower of Zoroastrianism, which was eventually made the state religion of Persia. In 499 BC the Greek city-states of Athens and Eretria supported a revolt of some Greek colonies in Asia Minor against Persia. Darius crushed the rebellion and began plotting a campaign against the meddling Greeks. In 492 BC Darius' son-in-law Mardonius was put in charge of an expedition against Greece, but his fleet was destroyed in a storm off of Mount Athos and he was unable to advance. In 490 another Persian force successfully invaded Greece, destroying Eretria and enslaving its inhabitants before being defeated by Athenian warriors at Marathon. Darius was in the middle of planning yet a third expedition when he died in 486 BC. History's view of Darius is generally quite favorable (if you put aside his questionable ascension to power, which was pretty much standard operating procedure throughout much of history). He constructed roads, reorganized the Persian provinces and government, secured the empire's borders, and generally treated his subjects about as well as or better than anyone in that time. Although not primarily known as a warlord, he fought a number of successful campaigns against both internal and external foes. It is quite possible that he could have successfully subjugated Greece if death had not intervened. His son, Xerxes I, certainly wasn't up to the task. All in all, Darius left his empire in better condition than he found it, which is a pretty good epitaph for any leader in any time period." Leader Scales Victory Competitiveness - 7/10 Wonder Competitiveness - 4/10 City State Competitiveness - 4/10 Boldness - 3/10 Darius isn't that bold, so you don't have to worry too much about him going to threaten you and pissing you off. However, Darius will be there to play to win, so you will want to make sure that you will keep him in check, just to not let him win. Diplomacy Scales War - 4/10 Hostile - 3/10 Deceptive - 5/10 Guarded - 6/10 Afraid - 6/10 Friendly - 7/10 Neutral - 5/10 Darius, as you can see, isn't the war mongering type, he is there to be friends, and if you start stacking units on the border, he will be rightfully concerned. He will be willing to defend his land though, so don't expect him to be a pushover. City State Scales Ignore Others - 5/10 Friendly - 5/10 Protective - 4/10 Conquest - 5/10 Darius is really must opportunistic to the city states, if they are in the way, he will take them over, if they serve as a buffer between him and his external enemies, he will protect them, but really, he isn't a threat to the city states. Ground Military Scales Offensive - 3/10 Defensive - 7/10 City Defence - 6/10 Military Training - 4/10 Reconnaissance - 5/10 Ranged - 5/10 Mounted - 5/10 Darius is again, one of the defensive leaders who rather defend his land, rather than aggressively take it from his enemies, or soon to be enemies. Darius will concentrate on units that can defend, and he will use a mix of all units, rather than focus one type over another. He will have units on the border, and in the city, so you will need a lot of siege power in order to get your way. Naval Scales Naval - 4/10 Naval Reconnaissance - 4/10 Naval Growth - 5/10 Naval Tile Improvement - 5/10 Darius doesn't concentrate heavily on his navy, something that is lacking given his defensive stance. He might have a few ships here and there to have a look around, but that is about it. Which is a shame, I always want to sink a few thousand triremes with cannon fire. Air Scale Air Power - 5/10 An average user of air power, he really won't concentrate on bombing your lands with air units, just enough to defend his airspace, to make sure that your bombers don't have an easy time when they decide to take a stroll over his lands. Growth Scales Expansion - 5/10 Growth - 6/10 Tile Improvement - 7/10 Infrastructure - 7/10 Production - 6/10 Gold - 7/10 Science - 5/10 Culture - 5/10 In terms of empire building, Darius will concentrate a lot on tile improvement, which is useful if you decide to rake and pillage all his lands. He will also concentrate heavily on gold production, which will make him a nice rich target. And with all the infrastructure that he builds, he will be quick to conquer, all roads load this his Capital. Civilisation Scales Happiness - 8/10 Great People - 5/10 Wonder - 6/10 Diplomacy - 5/10 Spaceship - 8/10 Aside from the usual spaceship victory, you would expect Darius to concentrate on a happy population, since that is the main way his power will be drawn from, the Golden Age. As such, Darius will have pretty high growth as a result, so his cities are going to be nice to capture. *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* [3.14] Rome Leader - Augustus Caesar Unique Unit 1 - Ballista, replaces Catapult Unique Unit 2 - Legion, replaces Swordsman Unique Building - None Civilization Power THE GLORY OF ROME - +25% production bonus for buildings constructed outside the Capital that has already been built in the Capital. ~ History "The Roman Empire is the most remarkable and long-lived political entity in the history of Western Civilization. It was founded around the 8th century BC, and portions of it survived until the 14th century AD. The Romans were great innovators in some areas, and they were not shy about appropriating good ideas they found in other cultures. They greatly shaped Western culture, law, art, architecture, religion, language, and warfare. The city of Rome stands near the Tibur River in central Italy. A series of hills and mountains run along the spine of boot-shaped Italy; the coastal regions are flatter and make better farmland. The central highlands can be cold and snowy in winter, while the coastal lowlands enjoy milder, stereotypical Mediterranean climate. At its height the Empire controlled much of Western and Central Europe along with a great chunk of the Middle East and most of the northern coast of Africa, and naturally the Empire's terrain and climate varied greatly from province to province. According to legend, Rome was founded by twin brothers named "Romulus" and "Remus," the sons of the god Mars and a king's daughter. The children were abandoned at birth, but they were rescued by a she-wolf who suckled and raised them. Upon reaching maturity the boys founded a new city, then quarreled over who would rule. Romulus won: he killed his brother and became the first king of Rome. Archaeologists date the first major settlement in the area from the eighth century BC (though there is some evidence suggesting that there were settlements in the area as far back as the 10th century BC). The city was founded by the Latin tribe atop the Palatine Hill, which overlooks a crossing of the Tibur River. The city's strategic location made it a natural trading post between the Etruscan civilization to the north and the Greek settlements to the south. Thus Rome benefitted from technological and cultural advances of both groups. Its location also made it greatly prized by its neighbors, and for two centuries the Latins fought off attacks by the Etruscans and the Sabines, another local tribe. Roman tradition states that the last Roman king was a brutal tyrant. The villainous king, Tarquinius Superbus, was overthrown after his son raped a virtuous noblewoman. Modern historians believe that the truth is far more prosaic. According to one current theory Rome was captured by the Etruscans, who ejected the Roman king, but external events forced them to vacate the city before they could install their own monarch. Finding that they preferred being kingless, the Romans did not recall Tarquinius to power but instead implemented a Republic loosely based upon the Greek model. It is believed that the last Roman king fell at the end of the fifth century BC. The Roman political system evolved over time, but the early structure was something like this: Rome was ruled by two consuls. The consuls acted as the city's chief magistrates as well as the military commanders. The two consuls possessed equal power. The consuls were elected annually by the "centuriate assembly" - the Roman army. To ensure unity of command in times of great danger a "dictator" could be appointed. The dictator had supreme military command. However, the dictator's term lasted only for six months, at which time power reverted to the consuls and senate. The second power bloc in Roman government was the Senate. The Senate was composed of approximately 300 men drawn from the leading Roman families. According to theory the Senate was strictly an advisory body, advising both the Consuls and the assemblies (see below), but in fact it held enormous political power, and its "advice" was almost always followed by the assemblies (see below). Two assemblies met periodically in Rome, and they (theoretically) held all political power. The centuriate assembly met outside the city's borders in the Field of Mars. As stated before this assembly was composed of Roman soldiers; they elected consuls and magistrates and voted on peace and war. The "tribal" assembly met inside the city; it was comprised of all male Roman citizens. This assembly enacted laws and sat as a court for public offenses involving money. During much of its history, the Roman Republic was at war with one or more of its neighbors. It was constantly expanding its territory at the expense of other Italian tribes. It fought and conquered the nearby town of Fidenae in 426 BC after an eleven-year struggle, and this was followed soon thereafter by a painful ten-year fight to conquer the Etruscan city of Veii. Much of these gains were swept away in 390 BC, when a Gaulish tribe defeated the Roman armies and sacked the city. It took almost half a century for Rome to recover from this devastating defeat. By the middle of the third century, however, Rome was master of most of central Italy, with Latin colonies extending far to the north and south. Further, work was progressing on the incomparable Roman road network linking the growing empire, and Rome was in the process of constructing its first navy. As Rome's power grew, it began to come into conflict with other regional powers. One such power was Carthage, a one-time Phoenician colony based on the North African coast in Tunisia. At the time Carthage had a mighty trading empire which covered most of North Africa west of Egypt, coastal Spain and France, and much of Sicily. Rome and Carthage fought three "Punic Wars" (264 - 146 BC) to decide who would control the Western Mediterranean. While Roman historians placed the blame for the wars on Carthage, modern historians believe that the Romans actually provoked the conflict by attempting to muscle in on Carthaginian territory in Sicily. The First Punic War (264 - 241 BC) found the Carthaginian mercenary army no match for the Roman legions, who inflicted upon them a massive defeat at the Battle of Agrigentum in 261 BC. The elite Carthaginian navy had much better initial success against the untried Roman navy, but over time this advantage faded as the Romans constructed new vessels and gained combat experience. Eventually the Carthaginians admitted they were overmatched and ceded Sicily to Rome. Shortly thereafter the Romans took advantage of unrest in the Carthaginian army to take the Carthaginian islands of Corsica and Sardinia, as well. With Rome restricting Carthaginian operations in the Central Mediterranean, Carthage sought to recoup its losses by expanding into Spain. Rome responded by allying with the Spanish city of Saguntum, making it clear that they were going to oppose Carthage's interests pretty much anywhere on the Mediterranean. In 219 BC the Carthaginian general Hannibal laid siege to Saguntum and Rome declared war once again. The Second Punic War (219 - 201 BC) had begun. A brilliant general, Hannibal realized that Carthage could not defeat Rome as long as Rome had unrestricted access to all of the resources of Italy. To win, he had to disrupt Roman cooperation with the other Italian cities. To do so, he had to get his army into Italy. As a Roman navy now commanded the seas, he had to take the long, arduous land route. This remarkable six-month journey included a perilous trip across the Italian alps. By 218 BC Hannibal arrived in Italy with 20,000 foot soldiers and some 5,000 cavalry. In 217 BC Hannibal defeated and largely destroyed a Roman army of some 15,000 soldiers. He moved south, hoping to stir up unrest in the Italian subject cities, but few joined the Carthaginian cause. His forces roamed about the countryside to no great effect. By 216 BC the Romans had regrouped and fielded another, even stronger army of some 50,000-80,000 soldiers against Hannibal. The two forces met at Cannae. Hannibal let his center fall back in the face of the Roman attack, but he then wheeled his cavalry in behind the Roman army, who had neglected to adequately protect their flank. The Roman force was hemmed in and attacked from all sides, and Hannibal had destroyed yet another Roman army, this one much bigger than the last. This triumph totally demoralized the Romans. More importantly, it at last convinced the southern Italian people that Hannibal could win, and a large number of them deserted Rome and rallied to Carthage's support. While Hannibal's forces had greatly expanded, he now had numerous allied cities he had to protect. While Rome had lost a great army and much of its southern possessions it still had northern Italy, not to mention naval control of the Mediterranean. The war degenerated into stalemate. In 207 BC Hasdrubal, Hannibal's brother, duplicated Hannibal's storied march and brought yet another army across the Alps and into northern Italy. He sought to move south upon the east coast of Italy (the side away from Rome), join up with his brother, and launch a final assault on Rome. Rome managed to scrape up yet one more army and the two forces met at the Metaurus River. Stealing a page from Hannibal's book, the Roman general Gaius Claudius Nero outflanked Hasdrubal, cutting off his army's retreat. Most of the Carthaginian army was destroyed, and Hasdrubal himself was killed. His head was cut off and thrown into Hannibal's camp. That broke the back of the invasion. Although Hannibal remained in the area for some years, he was unable to again challenge Rome in Italy. In the meanwhile, the great Roman general Scipio had captured most of Spain from Carthage. Despite Hannibal's presence in southern Italy, he convinced the Roman senate to back an invasion of Africa itself. In 204 he sailed across the Mediterranean. He destroyed the opposing Carthaginian force and another in 203 BC. In 202 BC he faced Hannibal, who had been recalled from Italy in the face of the crisis. Although Hannibal fielded a slightly larger army, Scipio's troops were veterans and they had a superior cavalry wing. Hannibal's army was outflanked and largely destroyed. Prostrate and defenseless, Carthage sued for peace. Rome stripped them of all of their remaining Spanish and island possessions and hit them with a huge indemnity of 10,000 talents (a fantastically large amount of gold). The Third Punic War (149 - 146 BC) occurred some fifty years after the Second. It is generally agreed that this war was little more than a Roman mugging of the nearly helpless Carthage. While Carthage no longer had any significant military power to threaten Rome, the Empire greatly envied the wealth of the African city and its growing commercial empire. The Romans imposed a series of intolerable demands on the city, including that the citizens abandon Carthage and move inland so that they could no longer engage in commerce by sea. The Carthaginians refused, and the Romans besieged the city, which put up a stubborn resistance. In 146 BC Carthage fell. The city was destroyed, its fields sown with salt, and the few surviving citizens were sold into slavery. Rome was undisputed master of the Mediterranean. Although Rome continued to expand, fighting wars across the Mediterranean, the first century BC saw tens of thousands of demobilized soldiers return from foreign lands. There was not enough work for the ex-soldiers, especially since Rome was being flooded with slaves from overseas possessions. These men were angry, and they had the vote. Several men attempted to enact land reforms, taking property away from the extremely wealthy and distributing it to the soldiers, but the senate (which was largely comprised of wealthy men) stymied these reforms. To be elected consul, Roman politicians had to appease the ex-soldiers, and Roman politics turned increasingly populist, and political infighting became increasingly bitter. In 88 BC Sulla, an elected consul, marched his army into Rome to force the assembly to enact laws that would permanently weaken the opposing party. After his army left, the opposition retook the city and negated Sulla's laws. In 83 BC Sulla returned again with his army and slaughtered most of the members of the opposing party. He then passed a series of constitutional reforms and retired. It was now clear that control of Rome would fall to whoever commanded the loyalty of the army. In 62 BC three men agreed to share power between them. This "First Triumvirate" consisted of the generals Gnaeus Pompey the Great and Marcus Lucinius Crassus, and a soldier and sharp politician from a very wealthy family named Julius Caesar. These men had the same ability to cooperate and desire to share power as one might expect to find in your average killer shark, and following Crassus's death in battle, Caesar and Pompey were at each other's throats. Caesar was in the field at the time, and the Pompey and the senate sought to remove him from his army. He refused the orders and advanced on Rome. The army defending Rome was untrained and Pompey did not believe it would stand against Caesar's highly-motivated veterans, so he and the senate fled the city, and in 49 BC Caesar marched into Rome unopposed. The events surrounding Julius Caesar's last years are well known. While maintaining the fa�ade that Rome was a republic, he became a de facto dictator. He gave himself the power to appoint all senators, and he altered the constitution so that the assemblies would vote only on candidates and bills he submitted. In 44 BC he was assassinated by members of the senate. Following Caesar's death, his lieutenant Mark Antony allied with Marcus Lepidus and Caesar's adopted son Gaius Octavian to defeat Caesar's assassins. Shortly thereafter members of the "Second Triumvirate" quarreled, and Octavian - now known as "Augustus" - became undisputed Emperor of Rome. While the Roman Republic was dead, the Roman Empire had just begun, and the world would tremble at its power and glory. The mighty Roman Empire is an endlessly fascinating and complex entity. Although long dead, the Empire's shadow still falls across the world, and events in Rome 2000 years ago still affect our daily lives. One wonders if the same will be said about any of today's civilizations." If you have a powerful capital city with quick production, the Glory of Rome will be an exceptional power, it will really hope your newer cities as you build them from the ground up. With some wonders under your belt that also improves building speed and other buildings, you can quickly turn a small settling city into a flourishing metropolis. The Ballista is simply more powerful than the Catapult, but really, it isn't much, until you get to the Cannon, I love that toy. The Legion is probably one of the best unique units in the game, simply because of they can build roads as well as having a power bonus over your enemies. Since building a nice road network does use up your worker's time a fair bit, you can use Legions on the borders, simply because they can build and defend. Augustus Caesar ~ History "Born Gaius Octavius, Augustus would become the first (and possibly greatest) Roman Emperor. He ended a century of civil wars and initiated two hundred years of the Pax Romana (Roman Peace) while overseeing a golden age of Roman literature and culture. Octavius was born in 63 BC. His father (also named Gaius Octavius) was a respectable but undistinguished member of the equestrian order. His mother, however, was a niece of Julius Caesar. Octavius' father died when he was only four years old, and he was brought up in the house of his stepfather Lucius Marcus Phillippus. At the age of fifteen, Octavius put on the toga virilis ("manly robes"), the symbol that he had reached adulthood, and was elected to the College of Pontiffs. In 46 BC he joined Julius Caesar during Caesar's last campaign in Spain. In Spain he made such a fine impression on the great general that Julius Caesar changed his will to make Octavius his heir. When Caesar was murdered on the Ides of March in 44 BC, all the wealth that Caesar had spent a lifetime accumulating passed into the hands of the 18-year old Octavius. At the time of Caesar's assassination, Octavius was with some of his soldiers in modern-day Albania. Upon hearing the news he went to Italy and recruited an army from among Caesar's veterans, gaining their loyalty by stressing that he was Caesar's heir. Once in Rome, Octavius allied with Marc Antony and Marcus Lepidus to form what is known as the "Second Triumvirate," directed against Caesar's killers Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius. Octavius' and Antony's armies tracked down Brutus and Cassius in Greece, where they defeated the assassins' army at Philippi (42 BC). Brutus and Cassius both committed suicide after their defeat. Antony married Octavius' sister Octavia to cement their alliance, and the two leaders divided Rome's territory between them. Octavius took the west, while Antony went to the east, where he entered into a torrid affair with Cleopatra, the ruler of Egypt. Octavius saw Antony's actions as an insult to his sister and to his family, and relations between the co-rulers soon soured. While Antony enjoyed the pleasures of Egypt, back in Rome Octavius strengthened his political position and his armies. The two eventually went to war, and in 31 BC Octavius defeated the forces of Antony and Cleopatra at the naval battle of Actium. The lovers were pursued to Egypt, where they both committed suicide. Octavius was now the undisputed master of Rome. He surrendered his extraordinary powers to the Senate, which was filled with his allies; in return the Senate named him "Augustus" (one who is marked by dignity and greatness) and showered him with honors. More importantly, they also gave him the powers of a Roman consul, tribune, and censor, which had never before been combined into one office. All permanent legal power within Rome officially remained within the Senate - but since Octavius controlled the Senate, this was mostly a legal fiction. Although he had all of the power of an Emperor, Augustus preferred to style himself "Princeps," or "first citizen" (probably to avoid further antagonizing the few remaining republicans in Rome). During his reign Augustus presided over four decades of peace and prosperity, a welcome relief to Rome after almost a century of civil strife. He carried out a great building program in the ancient city, constructing a new Senate house as well as great temples to Apollo and "Divine Julius" (his deceased great-uncle). Later, Augustus would boast - with justification - that he had found Rome a city of brick and left it marble. Under his patronage many of the most famous Roman authors and poets created their great works: Virgil, Ovid, Horace, and Livy all flourished during his reign. Augustus' generals also enjoyed great success and were quite relieved to be once again turning their military strength against external enemies instead of one another. Rome's borders were extended to the Danube, northern Spain was finally conquered, and Armenia was pacified in the east. Augustus did suffer two significant military defeats during his rule. In 15 BC Gaul's Roman governor, Marcus Lollius was defeated by an alliance of the Sicambri, Tencteri and Usipetes tribes who had crossed the Rhine into Gaul; little permanent damage was done to the Roman position in Gaul, and Suetonius calls this defeat "more humiliating than serious." The second defeat, however, was of an entirely different magnitude. In 9 AD Publius Quintilius Varus, Governor of Germania, led three legions across the Danube and deep into barbarian territory where they were surprised by German Cherusci tribesmen and, after a three-day battle, captured or killed to the last man. Varus himself committed suicide and the victors sent his head as a present to King Marbod of the Marcomanni in Bohemia. Hearing of the catastrophe, Augustus sent troops into the city to watch for uprisings. He also prolonged the terms of the governors of the provinces to ensure that experienced men would be in charge if the subject people revolted. In addition he dedicated great games to Jupiter if he would improve the Empire's lot. It is clear that Augustus was badly shaken by the defeat. Suetonius says that "for several months in succession he cut neither his beard nor his hair, and sometimes he would dash his head against a door, crying, 'Quintilius Varus, give me back my legions!'" Fortunately, the natives did not revolt and the Empire survived the catastrophe without long-lasting consequences. By Augustus' death in 14 AD, a return to the old system of the Republic was unthinkable, and he was peacefully succeeded by the Emperor Tiberius. During Augustus' long rule Rome flourished and the Empire came to dominate the Mediterranean basin. The policies he put in place kept the Empire running smoothly, so much so that Rome would continue to rule the entire known world for almost two centuries without any major wars or other significant threats to its survival. Few if any leaders in world history could make the same claim." Leader Scales Victory Competitiveness - 7/10 Wonder Competitiveness - 6/10 City State Competitiveness - 8/10 Boldness - 6/10 Augustus is very competitive as a leader, he will go for the victory conditions, and if you are getting close, he will come down on you like a ton of bricks. He will take on the City States pretty damn aggressive as well, so if you want to woo the city states over, you might want to take note. Diplomacy Scales War - 5/10 Hostile - 5/10 Deceptive - 7/10 Guarded - 6/10 Afraid - 5/10 Friendly - 4/10 Neutral - 5/10 Augustus is more likely to play dirty, he will form pacts of secrecy and cooperation with your enemies, research agreements to drain your gold, all this to ensure that you are nice and alone when he decides to declare war. No one is safe, especially his allies, who he is prone to backstab at the last minute. Out of all the leaders, it is probably Augustus that has given me the most research pacts. City State Scales Ignore Others - 5/10 Friendly - 7/10 Protective - 6/10 Conquest - 6/10 Again, Augustus is one of those who is about as likely to protect a city state as to conquer it. Like other leaders, those tend to act as a buffer between him and enemies he will protect, whilst those who are away from the action will see their cities burnt down to the ground. Ground Military Scales Offensive - 5/10 Defensive - 6/10 City Defence - 6/10 Military Training - 7/10 Reconnaissance - 3/10 Ranged - 6/10 Mounted - 4/10 What is interesting with Augustus is that he will rarely send out scouts, and that is quite an problem for him, a good thing for you, as long as he doesn't know where you are, he can't attack you. He will focus a lot on training, so he will be spending his time building Barracks and Stables, which will make his troops slightly harder to crush. And when he does attack, you can expect a fair few archers to rain arrows on your land as well. Naval Scales Naval - 5/10 Naval Reconnaissance - 5/10 Naval Growth - 4/10 Naval Tile Improvement - 4/10 Surprisingly, Augustus doesn't seem to worry about building a naval power base that much, given that one of his most famous conquests was the Battle of Actium, although to be fair, he wasn't one of the generals in that, it was really up to Agrippa during that battle. Still, it doesn't mean he won't have naval units around, just don't expect them in force. Air Scale Air Power - 4/10 Augustus isn't a fan of air power, which is a shame, I love my air units a lot, however, what you must be wary of is that although the AI might not like air units, it doesn't mean it won't build appropriate counters to shoot your planes out of the sky. Growth Scales Expansion - 8/10 Growth - 5/10 Tile Improvement - 7/10 Infrastructure - 8/10 Production - 6/10 Gold - 6/10 Science - 5/10 Culture - 5/10 Augustus is really heavy on expansion, which is expected given that he does tend to pursue the path of war more often than not. Also note that infrastrucutre is high up there, mainly because his Legion units can build roads, and well, roads is pretty much infrastructure until you get access to railroads. Also high on the list is tile improvements, so make sure your pillage axes are ready, you will want to make some money when you attack. Civilisation Scales Happiness - 8/10 Great People - 5/10 Wonder - 6/10 Diplomacy - 5/10 Spaceship - 8/10 Augustus is clearly a leader that will want to keep his people rather happy, and that means he will expand for luxury resources quickly, and that means you will either settle at them before he can, or just blow up his cities with some cannon fire. Augustus is a strong leader, he won't be easy to beat, but he isn't impossible either. *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* [3.15] Russia Leader - Catherine the Great Unique Unit 1 - Cossack, replaces Cavalry Unique Unit 2 - None Unique Building - Krepost, replaces Barracks Civilization Power MOTHER RUSSIA - All resources will provide +1 production values, and all Horse, Iron and Uranium deposits will be doubled. ~ History "As Winston Churchill once said, Russia is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. It is a part of Europe and a part of Asia, yet separate from both. It is rich with natural resources, yet its people have historically been grindingly poor. It has been invaded and overrun by Goths, Huns, Mongols, French and Germans, yet remained uniquely Russian. It has been a superpower and a nearly failed state, a monarchy, communist dictatorship and democracy - all within a span of 100 years. Indeed, Russia is one of the most fascinating civilizations in all of human history. Russia is a huge country. At 6,500,000 square miles in area, it's nearly twice the size of the United States of America, but with only half its population. It's a country of great mountains, enormous steppes, and raging rivers. On the east, Russia borders the Pacific Ocean, and on the west the Baltic Sea. The southernmost portions of Russia can be broiling hot in the summer and Russian winters are famously brutal - long, cold and dark. Archaeological evidence states that portions of Russia have been occupied for some four thousand years, but not much is known about the earliest settlers in this vast land. Greeks and Persians settled in the Ukraine at some early date, and they seem to have hunted and harvested resources from the vast Russian forests to the north. Various nomadic tribes crossed the country between the fourth and 10th century AD before settling further west in Europe; these included the Huns, Goths, and Magyars. During the same period the East Slavs began migrating east into the area, followed by Germanic commercial explorers looking for trade goods as well as new routes to the east. They encountered Finnic tribes moving south. The eighth century saw the first written record of "Kievan Rus." The Rus are believed to have been Scandinavian Vikings who migrated south from the Baltic coast (although this is disputed by some Russian scholars, who believe that the original founders of Kievan Rus were Slavs). By 860 the Rus were sending raiding parties as far south as Constantinople, and by 1000 AD Kievan Rus controlled a trade route from the Baltic to the Black Sea; this would form the economic backbone of the growing regional power. By the 12th century, the Kiev Empire covered much of what would become eastern Russia, extending from Poland in the west to the Volga in the east, and from Finland in the north to the Ukraine in the south. It was a vast territory to manage from one centralized location, especially as component parts of the Empire began developing individual identities and national aspirations. Economically, the Empire also became divided, with northern provinces aligning themselves with the Baltic powers while the western areas were drawn to Poland and Hungary, and the southern regions to Asia Minor and the Mediterranean. By the closing of the 12th century Rus Kiev was dissolved in all but name, replaced by a number of smaller quasi-feudal states. The first Mongol incursion into Kievan territory occurred in 1223, when a Mongol reconnaissance unit met the combined warriors of several Rus states under the command of the wonderfully-named "Mstislav the Bold" and "Mstislav Romanovich the Old" at the Battle of the Kalka River. The Rus forces enjoyed early success, but they became disorganized in the pursuit of the retreating foe. The Mongol horsemen rallied and defeated the pursuers in detail before they could reorganize. A large portion of the Rus forces surrendered to the Mongols on the condition that they would be spared; the Mongols accepted the conditions then slaughtered them anyway. The Mongols then left Rus for several years before returning in much greater force. In 1237 a vast Mongol army of some 30,000 or more horse archers once again crossed the Volga River. In a few short years the Mongols captured, looted and destroyed dozens of Russian cities and towns, including Ryazan, Kolomna, Moscow, Rostov, Kashin, Dmitrov, Kozelsk, Halych and Kiev. They soundly thrashed every force raised to oppose them. By 1240 most of Rus was a smoking ruin, firmly under the control of the Mongols, who then turned their sight further west, towards Hungary and Poland. The Western Mongol Empire, which included much of Russia, was called (though probably not by the Mongols themselves) the "Golden Horde." Its capital was at "Sari," a new city they constructed on the Volga River. Although the Mongols (also known as "Tatars") were ruthless invaders and conquerors, they were relatively benign rulers. Generally they had little direct dealings with the subject people, much preferring to keep the existing power structure intact, ruling through the current rulers. Originally Shamanists, the Mongols were late converts to Islam, and they were extremely tolerant towards other religions. Generally, as long as they got their tribute, they left the people alone. The Golden Horde survived until the end of the 13th century, when it fell prey to attacks from Timur (Tamerlane) from the south. Seeking to capture their commercial trade, Timur overran and destroyed the Mongol cities of Sarai, Azov, and Kaffa, fatally weakening the Mongol rulers. Local Rus leaders, particularly those ruling the Principality of Muscovy, were quick to fill the growing power vacuum. Under the rule of Ivan III (1462 - 1505), Muscovy began the process of "gathering of the Russian lands", in which Moscovy sought to annex all East Slavic lands, including the traditional Russian territories as well as the Belarusian and Ukrainian principalities, neither of which had any traditional link with Muscovy. In 1478 Novogorod was annexed, and in 1485 Tver was similarly absorbed. This work was nearly undone in 1497, however, by a deadly struggle among Ivan's relatives over the succession to the throne. Ivan had originally picked his grandson from his first marriage, but he was eventually forced to name as heir his second wife's son, Vasily. Ivan's reign also saw Muscovy's first entry into the maelstrom of European diplomacy. Ivan sought to engage more closely with Byzantium in order to put pressure on the growing Polish-Lithuanian state to Muscovy's west (the powers were competing to gobble up the smaller principalities left after the collapse of the Golden Horde). After Ivan's death his son, Vasily III, strengthened the monarchy and further expanded Muscovy's territory. However Vasily failed to produce an heir until late in his reign and he was forced to create a regency to rule after his death until his son Ivan was able to take the throne. As Ivan was three and sickly at the time of his father's death (1533), the regency was prolonged and subject to a great deal of political intrigue, and the kingdom suffered accordingly. Once Ivan achieved maturity, things went from bad to exceptionally bad - one might even say "terrible." At the age of 16, Ivan the Terrible (1530 - 1584) was crowned "tsar" of Muscovy, the first to bear that title. (The word is related to the Roman title "Caesar.") Very little is actually known of Ivan the man, except that he was sickly and he married six times. Many believe that in his early reign he was a figurehead - a puppet ruler fronting for one of the factions striving for dominance in that unsettled land. During that period he enacted a series of reforms rebuilding the military and the legal system, and laws to severely limit the power of hereditary landowners (i.e., the nobility). These reforms appear designed to improve the Russian military in preparation for major campaigns to expand Russian territory. These adventures were less than totally successful. In his mid-twenties, Ivan began a program to dramatically increase his power at the expense of virtually anybody else in the vicinity. The Imperial Court was swept of independent-minded nobility and stocked with sycophantic bullies. The upper echelons of the military were similarly purged. Ivan declared millions of acres of the best land to be "oprichnina" - or crowned land - subject to his direct control only. Ivan was about as good a military leader as he was a humanitarian: he virtually destroyed the army and bankrupted the country in the disastrous Livonian War, which dragged on for some twenty-five years (1558 - 1583). He died in 1584, and not a moment too soon. Things improved for a time after Ivan's death, when one of his cronies named Boris Godunov assumed the throne, but when Boris died in 1605, everything once again went straight to hell, so much so that this period (1606 - 1613) is known as the "Time of Troubles." Central authority was gone; foreign and domestic armies marched and fought their way across the countryside, as one pretender after another took the crown only to be overthrown by the next in line. Eventually the merchants of northern Russia financed an insurgent army (largely staffed with Swedish troops) who swept the foreigners out of Moscovy and brought the Cossacks back in line. In control of the government apparatus (what was left of it), the insurgents called for the election of another tsar. Michael Fyodorovich was just 16 when he was elected Tsar. He faced innumerable problems. Decades of insurrection and neglect had left much of the country in ruins, its citizens fled and its croplands fallow. Portions of the country were occupied by foreign troops, and those that weren't often had their own local military forces which were not answerable to any central authority. It took the first Romanov Tsar nearly twenty years to regain control of the country. The Tsars following Michael continued the expansion of Russia, fighting or allying variously with Sweden, Poland, and/or the Ottoman Empire, depending upon where the territory they were trying at that moment to nab lay. Territory under contention included the eastern Ukraine, the Baltic territories, and Belarus. Peter (1672 - 1725) jointly ruled Russia with his half brother Ivan V for the period 1682 - 1696, and he ruled singly following Ivan's death from 1696 - 1725. During the early part of his reign Peter was all but exiled to the village of Preobrazhenskoye while his half-sister Sophia ruled as regent. He thus missed much of a young Tsar's standard education, concentrating instead on sports, mathematics, and military training. While a growing land power, at the start of Peter's reign, Russia lacked direct access to the Black Sea, the Caspian, or to the Baltic Sea. Peter believed that Russia could never be a great state unless it possessed a navy. Much of his foreign policy was turned to that end. In 1695 Peter attacked southward, capturing Azov from the Crimean Tatars and moving that much closer to the Black Sea. In 1697 Peter formed the "Grand Embassy," a group of some 250 people who were to travel across western Europe to gather information on European culture and economy. Peter traveled with the group incognito. For four months Peter worked as a ship's carpenter in the Dutch East India Company's shipyards, and this was followed by a similar period in the British Royal Navy's dockyard. As he progressed around Europe Peter hired hundreds of European workers to help improve the Russian cities, economy and infrastructure. Peter was looking for allies to assist him in his campaign against Turkey, but was unsuccessful. Believing that Russia could not move alone on that front, the pragmatic Tsar signed a peace treaty with Turkey and turned his attention to the Baltic. At the end of the 16th century the Swedes occupied the Baltic coast including Karelia, Ingria, Estonia and Livonia. Peter formed an alliance with Saxony and Denmark-Norway, and in 1700 the alliance attacked. The "Northern War" dragged on for some 21 years. Peter took an extremely active role in prosecuting the war, and he could often be found on the front lines, under enemy fire. Meanwhile, in 1703 Peter began construction of the city of St. Petersburg in the far north of Russia, near the Gulf of Finland. By 1712 it was named the new capital of Russia. By 1721 Russia had driven Sweden from the eastern and southern Baltic. In 1724 Peter helped rescue some sailors whose ship was aground in the frigid waters of the Gulf of Finland. He caught a chill during the adventure and died shortly thereafter. Peter died without declaring a successor, and the forty years following his death saw a series of more or less weak regencies and short-lived rulers, the best of whom was probably his daughter, Elizabeth, who ruled from 1741 to 1760. Under her reign the Moscow State University was founded in 1755 and Russia extended its control over western Ukraine. Elizabeth was followed by her nephew, the hugely unpopular Peter III. Peter's reign lasted only two years - when he was overthrown and (eventually murdered) by his wife, the remarkable Catherine II. Catherine was the daughter of a German prince. She came to Russia at the age of 15 to marry Peter III, the heir to the Russian throne. She educated herself by reading European literature. Beautiful, intelligent, and witty, she captured the hearts of the Russian nobility, who greatly preferred her to her husband, who was said to be feebleminded. She received their enthusiastic support when she engineered a palace coupe and assumed power at the age of 33. Catherine reigned for thirty years. During that time she expanded the Russian Empire's borders, gaining important territory along the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, as well as expansion east, beyond the Ural mountains. Catherine also added large chunks of Poland to the Empire when that country was partitioned between Austria, Prussia and Russia in 1772, though these would in the long run be far more of a liability than a benefit. During her reign Catherine also implemented many important reforms in Russia, attempting to improve the organization of and battle corruption in local governments. Despite her liberal reputation she was no especial friend to the Russian peasantry, however; in fact the odious practice of serfdom (slave labor) increased significantly during her reign, and the lot of the average peasant grew even harder. Catherine died in 1796. The first two decades of the 19th century saw the rise and fall of one of Europe's greatest military figures, Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France. Following the French Revolution, Bonaparte took a divided and weakened France and turned it into the most powerful nation in Europe. Russia and its allies were defeated at Austerlitz in 1805; the Russians and French fought again in 1806 and 1807. There were five years of peace, followed by Napoleon's catastrophic invasion of Russia in 1812. Russian armies fought the French for two more years and were greatly responsible for Napoleon's final defeat and expulsion from Europe. Russia emerged from the wars as the preeminent military power on the continent. Russian military prestige suffered a major blow mid-century, when it was unable to defeat a small, incompetently-led French-English force during the Crimean War (1853-1856). This led the new Tsar, Alexander II, to attempt sweeping modernizations in the Empire, including the abolishment of serfdom in 1861. However the emancipation terms were highly onerous, requiring that the peasants pay annual "redemption payments" to buy their own freedom, and in many cases the newly-freed men were worse off than they had been as slaves. At this time Russia also instituted a series of legal reforms based upon European models, but although these were an improvement over the older system, the new laws still treated the peasantry as less than full citizens. The 1870s saw an increase in revolutionary activity, especially among university students. In 1873 students attempted to rouse the peasantry to revolution, but the peasants were mostly unimpressed, and many students were imprisoned or sent off to Siberia. The surviving revolutionaries then turned to covert action, including assassination attempts against high officials. In 1881 a terrorist group successfully assassinated Alexander II. The main leaders of the group were captured and hanged. Alexander III, the new Tsar, implemented a series of repressive laws that restricted education and further restricted the citizens' already-limited freedoms. In 1894 Alexander III died and his ill-fated son, Nicholas II, took the throne. The Russo-Japanese War (1904 - 1905) saw a series of crushing Russian defeats at the hands of the Japanese. This significantly weakened the central government's prestige, and Russia underwent a series of damaging strikes and protests as various groups demanded a variety of reforms. In 1905 a group of St. Petersburg workers marched on the Winter Palace to give the Tsar a list of demands; they were met by troops who opened fire, killing 130. News of "Bloody Sunday" spread quickly throughout Russia, and riots broke out across the country. Later in the year the Tsar reluctantly agreed to implement an elected assembly. This did not satisfy the revolutionaries however, and unrest continued for two hard years. The creation of a new assembly, the "Duma," did succeed in splitting the opposition, as some chose to attempt reform from within the assembly, while the more radicalized opposition remained outside the system, throwing bombs. The country limped along, bleeding, until the cataclysmic Great War brought the entire system to the ground. World War I was an epic failure of diplomacy and rational thinking. In the pre-war years the nations of Europe had allied themselves to or against one-another in a series of defensive/offensive pacts that virtually guaranteed that any small conflict would drag the entire continent into a giant conflagration. In the event, in 1914 an Austro-Hungarian land-grab of Serbia brought Russia into the war on Serbia's side, Germany into the war on Austria's side, and France and Great Britain in on Russia's side, and so forth. Tsar Nicholas II mobilized his forces as rapidly as possible, then marched them west to meet the German foe, who promptly encircled and captured most of the Russian armies. Then in 1915 a German/Austrian offensive marched virtually unopposed into Poland and from there into Russia's western provinces. This, plus the entry of Russia's traditional enemy Turkey into the war on the side of Germany placed incredible strain on the tottering Russian government. Tsar Nicholas II did not acquit himself well in the crisis. He moved his court to Belarusia, to be in "personal command of the army," which left day-to-day governing of the Empire to his wife and her hated advisor, Rasputin. In 1916 Rasputin was murdered by a conspiracy that included many of the Royal Family's most loyal allies. In 1916 the military situation improved, but the situation at home grew even worse. Food was short everywhere, as more peasants were called into the army and imports were cut off by the enemy. That plus rampant inflation led to increasing worker unrest. In 1917 the March Revolution called for the abolishment of the aristocracy. The government summoned Cossacks to disburse the crowd, but the Cossacks mutinied and went over to the insurgents. Soon thereafter the Duma joined the insurgency and on March 15, the Tsar was forced to abdicate. Later he and his family were executed. Imperial Russia was dead. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics had arrived. The USSR survived for fifty years. Its greatest triumph was its victory over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War (World War II). It also served as a counterbalance to the United States, which in post WWII had nearly unlimited power. (Whether that was a good or a bad thing depends upon one's point of view.) Its greatest failure was its inability to improve its citizens' standard of living to match the other countries of Europe and the West. The Soviet Union ended in 1991, brought down to some extent by external pressure from the United States and its allies, but mainly by massive internal economic problems. The New Russian Federation is still a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. It has abandoned communism for what might be called oligarchic capitalism. It has created many multi-millionaires but many of its citizens are still poor. It has freed many of its client states - East Germany, the Ukraine, the Baltic States - but it still casts a heavy shadow on its neighbors (witness its recent invasion of ex-Soviet state Georgia). It's a democracy, but power seems more and more concentrated in one man. It's uncertain what will become of this long-lived country in the 21st century, but it surely will remain one of the most powerful and important nations on Earth." Russia has one of the best powers in the game, hands down. Resources will give an extra 1 production value, which is invaluable early on in the game, and when it comes down to it, extra horses, iron and uranium will lead to more units that you can field on the battlefield, which is important, when it is later in the game, and technology advantages will be nullified somewhat. The Cossack is will get a powerful bonus when attacking, which is nice when you are on the attack, and they are probably the mainstay of your forces during the Medieval Era. The Krepost is an early building, which replaces the barracks, it will reduce the culture cost of acquiring new tiles by 50%, which is very useful early on in the game. Catherine the Great ~ History "Catherine the Great ruled Russia during the latter half of the 18th century. She oversaw a great expansion of the Russian empire, adding tens of thousands of square miles of territory through conquest and shrewd diplomacy. A beautiful and intelligent woman, she beguiled and seduced the best minds of Europe, making her court one of the centers of Enlightenment thinking on the Continent. Although born in Germany, Catherine is one of the greatest rulers in Russian history. Sophie Friederike Auguste Von Anhalt-Zerbst was born in Szczecin in 1729, a princess of Pomerania, a small kingdom in Prussia. At 16 she was married to Carl Peter Ulrich, the heir to the Russian throne, becoming Grand Duchess Catherine Alekseyevna. Catherine quickly learned Russian and joined the Russian Orthodox Church. Largely self-educated, Catherine immersed herself in the literature of the time. Endowed with both beauty and intelligence, she became strong friends (if not more) with the great thinkers of the day, including the brilliant French philosophers Rousseau and Diderot. Catherine's marriage was extremely unhappy. Her husband, the Tsar Peter III, was by all accounts a shabby and neurotic person. He was described as mean, cruel, hideous (from smallpox scars) and a drunkard. He was said to detest Russians and loved Prussians, which didn't endear him to the Russian court. Although born a foreigner, Catherine was far more popular with the nobility and, most importantly, with the Russian military. At the age of 33, with the support of the Imperial guard, she overthrew her husband, who was soon killed "in a hunting accident," leaving Catherine the sole ruler of Russia. As Empress, Catherine pursued an expansionist policy backed by military muscle. The "First Russo-Turkish War" (1768-1774) - declared by Sultan Mustafa III after a border incident in which a Cossack entered Ottoman territory and allegedly slaughtered the residents of Balta - was a resounding Russian success, gaining for Catherine the Southern Ukraine, Northern Caucasus and the Crimea, expanding Russian access to the Black Sea. The Ottomans tried to take their territory back in the Second Russo-Turkish war, but they failed miserably. In the years following the French Revolution, Catherine became afraid that Enlightenment movements throughout Europe would threaten the monarchies of Europe. Toward the end of the century Poland, a Russian puppet, began to show disturbing signs of edging toward democracy. In 1792 Russian forces defeated Polish loyalists in the Polish "War in Defense of the Constitution," following which Poland was partitioned between Russia, Austria and Prussia. Throughout her reign Catherine maintained cordial relations with the great powers of Europe, Prussia, France and Austria, who in return did not stand in the way of Russian expansion. During her reign Catherine undertook a wide range of political reforms, attempting to shape up the notoriously corrupt and incompetent Russian bureaucracy. She tried to model her government and court on Versailles, France. She paid for her reforms by seizing property from the clergy, who owned almost one-third of the land and serfs in Russia. She curried favor with the aristocracy, expanding their already-great power over the Russian peasants. In 1773 a plague broke out in Russia, which was already suffering from ill-effects of the long war with Turkey. Taking advantage of growing public disaffection, Pugachov, a Cossack officer, pretended to be Catherine's dead husband, Tsar Peter III, and attempted to raise a peasant army to overthrow the Empress while the Russian military was locked in battle with the Turks. Fortunately for Catherine, the First Russo-Turkish War ended at just the right time, and a Russian army was able to return from the Front and crush the rebellion before it could reach Moscow. This made Catherine suspicious of the Russian peasants and she implemented even more repressive laws against them. A patron of the arts, Catherine commissioned many statues and paintings. Under her rule St. Petersburg was transformed from a primitive and forbidding city into one of the most beautiful and impressive European capitals. Her private art collection formed the basis of the famous Hermitage Museum, one of the world's great art museums. Despite her many public successes, Catherine is best known for her private excesses. Her affairs are legendary; it has been suggested that she slept with a fairly large fraction of the Russian officers corps, not to mention her many well-publicized dalliances with a horde of well-known European politicians and artists. It is said that once she tired of a lover Catherine would "pension him off," giving him a large gift of cash, peasants, and land somewhere far away from Moscow. Catherine's reign was notable for imperial expansion. Most important were the securing of the northern shore of the Black Sea, the annexation of the Crimea, and the expansion into the steppes beyond the Urals. This permitted the protection of Russian agricultural settlements in the south and the establishment of trade routes through the Black Sea. Catherine's partitioning of Poland also helped bring Russia closer to the rest of Europe, at least geographically. Catherine implemented many public work projects throughout Russia and its possessions. She also increased internal and foreign trade. On the other hand, she did little to improve the lot of the Russian peasant; in fact, their lives grew distinctly harder during her reign. Catherine died at the age of 67, having lived longer than any other Romanov monarch. Like Queen Elizabeth I of England, she proved that a woman could be smart enough and tough enough to lead a great country." Leader Scales Victory Competitiveness - 6/10 Wonder Competitiveness - 7/10 City State Competitiveness - 7/10 Boldness - 3/10 After playing Catherine, seeing she was the most powerful neighbour I had, I can say that although she is very competitive in all aspects, she is one of the least likely to piss me off with annoying messages saying how puny and weak I was, mainly because I had a few riflemen on the border. She is hard to fight though. Diplomacy Scales War - 4/10 Hostile - 6/10 Deceptive - 7/10 Guarded - 5/10 Afraid - 5/10 Friendly - 7/10 Neutral - 5/10 Yes, Catherine is more likely to be friendly rather than warlike, however, she is rather hostile if you get on her bad side, such as denying her a treaty that she wants, or parking a few units near her border. Given the low war bias, it doesn't mean she won't declare war, she will, after making sure that you are all alone. City State Scales Ignore Others - 4/10 Friendly - 6/10 Protective - 6/10 Conquest - 7/10 Catherine is more likely to take over city states, but just. She is also quite likely to protect them, which is annoying if you don't want to go to war with her, but hey, nothing much you can do about it, if you want Belgrade, you will get it. Ground Military Scales Offensive - 6/10 Defensive - 6/10 City Defence - 6/10 Military Training - 5/10 Reconnaissance - 5/10 Ranged - 5/10 Mounted - 6/10 Catherine is quite average in terms of what units she will use, it is normally a balanced mixed. From being her neighbour on a massive map, invariably, she will use more infantry, simply because it is cheaper to build, but she will use mounted units. However, these scales are just bias towards one over the other, it isn't the same throughout. Naval Scales Naval - 3/10 Naval Reconnaissance - 3/10 Naval Growth - 3/10 Naval Tile Improvement - 3/10 Another leader that doesn't really care about the Navy, given that Russia, during Catherine's reign, wasn't about the sea, it is will deserved. At most, I've seen her use the sea to transport her land units, so as long as you can intercept them, that's about all you need to counter her in the sea. Air Scale Air Power - 3/10 Again, what tends to happen is that if you don't care about the sea, you won't care about their air war either. She doesn't use air power, hardly if ever, but again, that doesn't mean that your air units will get free reign, most likely, lack of air power means a lot more AA units on the ground. Growth Scales Expansion - 8/10 Growth - 3/10 Tile Improvement - 5/10 Infrastructure - 5/10 Production - 6/10 Gold - 5/10 Science - 8/10 Culture - 6/10 Catherine will expand very quickly. She will have tons of cities, by the time I had 16 cities, she had about 30, which was odd. If you are close to her at the start, you might as well declare war on her and sit outside her borders to capture her settlers. She will tech up relatively quickly, which isn't good as her aggressive expansion will lead to a larger military response, so you will want to take her cities quickly if you want to wear her out. Civilisation Scales Happiness - 3/10 Great People - 6/10 Wonder - 5/10 Diplomacy - 6/10 Spaceship - 9/10 Besides the massive bias to go for the spaceship victory, Catherine will, interestingly enough, not care about happiness. This is very strange, with a unhappy empire, she will have very little growth, and that will drop her science research abilities. *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* [3.16] Siam Leader - Ramkhamhaeng Unique Unit 1 - Naresuan's Elephant, replaces Knight Unique Unit 2 - None Unique Building - Wat, replaces University Civilization Power FATHER GOVERNS CHILDREN - The food and culture gifts from City-States are increased by 50%, the amount depends on your relationship. ~ History "Located in Southeast Asia between Burma (a.k.a. Myanmar), Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia, Siam - now Thailand - has a long and storied history. A beautiful and mysterious land of dark forests and ancient mountains, Siam has seen occupation and revolution, flood and famine, and the rise and fall of empires. Siam is a semi-tropical country located in a monsoon zone. From May to October warm northwestern winds bring huge amounts of rainfall to the country, the west coast receiving an astonishing 160 inches of rain annually (the hilly north much less so). The wind reverses course from November to February, bringing cooler, drier weather to the country. The countryside is covered with forests, swamps and wetlands. The Siamese people have traditionally used water buffalo, horses, and even elephants as draft animals (though the late 20th century has seen the introduction of farm machinery across much of the country). The earliest known settlers of Siam spoke Mon-Khmer languages. There were several different groups on the southeast Asia peninsula. One, the Mon, were known to have accepted Buddhism as far back as the sixth century AD. Another group, the Khmer, were primarily located in Cambodia, their capital at Angkor (home of Angkor Wat); in the 12th century they possessed an empire stretching over half of modern Thailand. The Khmer tended to follow Hinduism rather than Buddhism. Around 1,000 AD the area saw an influx of Tai-speaking people called the "Tai." Modern historians generally believe that the Tai originated in northern Vietnam. In a few centuries the Tai had spread across much of Southeast Asia, as far west as northeastern India and as far south as the Malay Peninsula. By the 13th century the Tai were numerous enough to threaten the Mon and Khmer primacy in Siam. In the mid-thirteenth century a Tai ruler successfully revolted against the Khmer Empire, founding the Sukhothai kingdom. It remained a small, unimportant power until the ascension of its third ruler, Ramkhamhaeng, in 1279. In twenty short years this extraordinary leader would transform the small kingdom of Sukhothai into a major regional power. During his reign Ramkhamhaeng expanded his kingdom's dominance west into Burma, east into Laos, and south down the Malay Peninsula. The king was a shrewd diplomat as well as a warlord; many territories joined his confederation voluntarily. Towards the end of his rule Ramkhamhaeng had a stone inscribed detailing his triumphs. It portrays a wealthy, contented kingdom ruled by a loving and benevolent monarch. Ramkhamhaeng died in 1298. For more on Ramkhamhaeng, see his Civilopedia entry. Sukhothai would last a century past its greatest leader's death before being consumed by Ayutthaya, a new Tai power rising in the south. The kingdom of Ayutthaya was founded by Ramathibodi I in 1351 on the Chao Phraya River Basin, a fertile plain just north of modern Bangkok. The kingdom was formed on the remains of an earlier kingdom, Lavo. In 1352 King Ramathibodi attacked the Khmer, driving them east out of Siam. By 1387 Ayutthaya was strong enough to attack north, conquering Sukhothai. And in 1431 the kingdom attacked the Khmer once more, this time capturing and sacking the capital city of Angkor after a seven-month siege. By all accounts the city of Ayutthaya was beautiful and wealthy. It was traversed by a series of north-south canals which brought water to all sections of the city. The remains of magnificent palaces and temples can be seen in the city today. The Tai of Ayutthaya were the first people in the area to be called "Siamese," and this of course eventually became the name of the entire country. From the Khmer, the Ayutthayans adopted the belief in the divinity of the king. The king was above all people. None could gaze upon his face, except for members of the royal family. In addition to the king's increased religious/ceremonial power, King Trailok (1448-1488) reorganized the state to concentrate political power in the hands of the monarchy as well. Socially, the Ayutthayans lived under a rigid caste system that assigned a numerical value to each person according to his or her rank. A slave was worth five units (called "sakdi na"), a freeman 25 or so, and the heir to the throne perhaps 100,000 units. (The king himself was probably worth a gazillion - or even more!) Both Buddhism and Hinduism were followed in the country. Having dealt with Sukhothai to the north and Khmer to the southeast, the greatest threat to Ayutthaya lay in Burma, to the west. In 1569 Ayutthaya was overrun and conquered by Burma. It regained its independence at the end of the 15th century. Burmese troops once again sacked the city in 1767. This time they deported the royal family, burned the city to the ground, and destroyed all of the Ayutthayan works of art and historical records. The Kingdom never recovered from this attack. However a new Siamese kingdom would rapidly rise to power in Ayutthaya's ashes. In 1767 (the same year that saw the final destruction of Ayutthaya), a Tai leader named "Taksin" founded a new capital city at Thon Buri, some forty miles downstream from Ayutthaya (near present-day Bangkok). Built on the eastern side of the Chao Phraya River, the city was easier to defend from Burmese forces; located closer to the open sea, the city was ideally suited to accommodate international trade as well. In fact Taksin encouraged Chinese merchants to establish businesses in Thon Buri, and tax revenue from this trade was used to rebuild the Siamese economy, devastated from the recent Burmese attack. Taking advantage of his country's wealth, Taksin constructed a powerful army and began expanding its territory. After retaking the territory that had belonged to Sukhothai and Ayutthaya, Taksin's troops conquered additional territory in Laos, and pushed the Burmese forces out of traditional Tai lands to the north. In 1782 Taksin began showing signs of serious mental illness and was overthrown and killed. He was succeeded by a general named "Chao Phraya Chakri" (he later changed his name to Rama I). The Chakri dynasty has remained in power in Thailand until today. Shortly after assuming the throne, the new king moved his capital to Bangkok, a small village across the Chao Phraya River. Bangkok quickly grew into a bustling trading city, largely due to the many Chinese who immigrated to the metropolis. King Rama I and his successors continued to expand Siamese power into Laos and south down the Malay Peninsula. They also continued to clash with Burma, who remained a perennial menace until that country in turn was menaced by Great Britain (approaching from India). King Rama I was also a great patron of Siamese culture, religion and the law. He rebuilt Siamese temples and palaces, and he greatly updated the Siamese legal system. His successor, Rama III (ruled 1809-24) was a patron of the arts, and no mean poet himself. Perhaps the greatest triumph of Siamese diplomacy was that it avoided occupation by Western powers, unlike every other country in Southeast Asia. In 1826 Siam signed a treaty with Great Britain, and in 1855 this was expanded to allow the British unrestricted - and untaxed! - trade in Siamese ports. The British also secured the right to set up separate law courts to try cases involving British subjects. This was a humiliating loss of sovereignty and income for Siam, but it kept Britain from invading and occupying the country, and Siam soon signed similar treaties with other European powers and the United States. King Rama IV (ruled 1851 - 1868) was a keen student of the West. He appointed to his court several Western advisors. He also hired the Englishwoman Anna Harriette Leonowens to tutor his children. Mrs. Leonowens later wrote a book about her adventures, and that book became the basis for the musical "The King and I." Both the book and the musical are highly entertaining and (according to historians) highly inaccurate. In some ways King Rama IV was rather enlightened for that place and time. A former Buddhist monk before assuming the throne, he sought to reform Buddhism in the country, which he believed had become corrupt and filled with superstition. He also began to remake the Siamese monarchy, removing from it the more onerous trappings of godhood. Although he remained largely an absolute ruler, at least his subjects were allowed to look directly at him. King Rama IV's son, Rama V, reigned from 1868 to 1910. He continued his father's practice of granting concessions to the West to maintain Siam's independence, losing large chunks of Laotian and Cambodian territory to the French and various bits of Malaysia to the British. He further reformed the monarchy and the government in general, including abolishing slavery, introducing a modern school system, constructing railways and telegraph systems, and establishing a new law court and judiciary. King Rama V's two successors, the aptly-named Rama VI (ruled 1910-1925) and Rama VII (ruled 1925-1935), continued the modernization of Siam. In 1917 Rama VI opened the first university in Thailand. In that year he also entered World War I on the side of the Allies. He was able after the war to convince the victors to give up their special concessions in Siam, regaining for the first time in seventy-five years full independence for his country. However, Rama VI's reforms and wars were extremely expensive and necessitated reductions in government spending which caused deep resentment from the people. The discontent continued into his successor's reign, and it was exacerbated by the Great Depression. In 1932 a group of students under a lawyer named "Pridi Phanomyong" and supported by the Siamese military staged a bloodless coup, compelling the king to agree to rule under a constitution and to accept the formation of a National Assembly. In 1933 members of the royal family attempted unsuccessfully to stage a counter-coup, and King Rama VII was forced to leave the country, abdicating in 1935. A regency council was appointed to act until the very young Prince Ananda Mahidol came of age. In truth, however, the military was now running the country. In 1938 a field marshal (and one of the co-conspirators of the '32 coup that toppled Rama VII) became military dictator. Dictator Phibun Songkhram changed the name of the country to Thailand, encouraged Thai nationalism as well as anti-Chinese and pro-Japanese sentiment. In 1940, following the conquest of France by Germany, he invaded and captured French territory in Laos and Cambodia. Late in 1941, following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese troops marched into Thailand and requested right of passage through the country to facilitate their attack on Singapore, which was held by Great Britain. The Thai forces put up minimal symbolic resistance and then were ordered to lay down their arms. In 1942 Thailand signed an Alliance with Japan and declared war on Britain and the US. Resistance groups formed in the country and overseas, attacking the Japanese and the collaborating Thai government. In July 1944 Phibun was forced to resign, and the dictatorship collapsed following Japan's surrender in 1945. Thailand got off relatively lightly following World War II. It had to return the territories it had snarfed up from the French, but generally it suffered no other penalties. It did suffer from a great deal of internal strife, however. In 1946 the king was found dead of a gunshot wound. The current leader of the government was blamed for the king's death and forced into exile, the proto-fascist Dictator Phibun Songkhram returning to power. In the Cold War years the United States funneled huge sums of money into Thailand, most of which was taken by the military and the dictatorship. A majority of the country's industry was owned by the dictator and his cronies, and in 1957 the military staged another coup, placing yet another field marshal, Sarit Thanarat, in charge. Thanarat ruled for five years. While maintaining total control over the government and military, he implemented economic reforms that spread the wealth among the growing Thai middle class, earning a good deal of popular support for doing so. The US gave him even more money, which he used to support the military, but also to improve the Thai infrastructure. Thanarat also gave support to the monarchy, which by then had no political power, but which once again became a powerful symbol of Thai nationalism. A popular leader during his life, after his death Thanarat's popularity waned a good deal when it was discovered how much of Thailand's money he had stolen and hidden away. Thanarat's successors continued to receive huge amounts of American money, and in return they supported the American adventure in Vietnam. By the end of the 1960s more than 10,000 Thai troops were serving in Vietnam, and thousands of American soldiers were stationed in Thailand, which provided an important base for the US Air Force. Popular discontent for the war and the government grew, and in 1973 a student-led revolt drove the current leaders into exile. Thailand enjoyed a brief period of parliamentary democracy, but in 1976 the military staged yet another coup, this time with the support of the monarchy. This in turn drove many disaffected Thais into the jungles, swelling the ranks of the insurgent Communist Party of Thailand. In 1980 the military ousted the right-wing government they had just installed and replaced it with a dictator with more democratic leanings. For the next eight years the military shared power with parliament, mediated by the king, and in 1988 an elected Prime Minister was put in power...for three years, when he was toppled by the military. In 1992 the military "junta" held elections, which one of its own members won, much to nobody's surprise. The public were dissatisfied with this outcome, staging massive protests, which were put down with bloody force. Eventually the king intervened, the current dictator resigned and a more democratic government was put into place. This lasted for eight glorious years, until in 2006 increasing public dissatisfaction and government excesses led to... another military coup. With the elderly king's backing, another caretaker government was formed with a retired general put in charge. Another new constitution was drafted and ratified by popular vote in August of 2007. In September 2008 another prime minister was found guilty of a conflict of interest by the Constitutional Court. In October his replacement was unable to enter his office, which was occupied by protestors, so he was forced out of office. The latest prime minister (as of this writing) took office in December of 2008. Who can tell? Thailand is a great country with a great history, beset by a seemingly never-ending series of political troubles. Things are especially uncertain because the current King, Bhumibol Adulyadej, arguably the only man capable of holding the country together, is over 80 years old. It is greatly to be hoped that the country can survive his passing without further chaos. Given the battered country's recent history, the odds do not seem to be in its favor." The power of Siam is pretty weak, City States generally don't give too much of a benefit overall, well, I don't tend to use their powers much at all, I capture them, they often are in good strategic positions. This is why Siam is harder to play, simply because the Civilization power is so critical in the game, and with such a weak one like this compared to ones like Russia, it is a shame. Now, Naresuan's Elephant is useful as it doesn't require Horses as a strategic resource to build, but it is slower than your average Knight that it replaces. However, it does have a 50% bonus against enemy mounted units, so you probably won't be needing Pikemen to do that job. The Wat replaces the university, and removes the science bonus from working Jungle tiles, and replaces that with an extra 3 culture points per turn. Ramkhamhaeng ~ History "In 1278, a prince named "Ramkhamhaeng" inherited the small and unimportant kingdom of Sukhothai. In twenty years, employing a brilliant combination of military genius and shrewd diplomacy, he expanded his country's borders and influence to cover much of Southeast Asia. Not much is known about Ramkhamhaeng's early life. His parents were King Sri Indraditya and Queen Sueang. He had two sisters and two older brothers, one of whom died early and the other, Ban Mueang, became king on their father's death. Ramkhamhaeng was said to have studied under the poet wise-man Sukathanta. At 19 he served under his father during the latter's attack on the city of Sukhothai, which was held by the Khmer. The success of this attack greatly expanded the king's power, essentially establishing Sukhothai as an independent kingdom. Because of his heroic actions during the battle the prince was given the title "Phra Ram Khamhaeng," or Rama the Bold. Upon the death of his father in 1257, his brother, the new king Ban Mueang, put Ramkhamhaeng in charge of the city of Si Sat Chanalai. Ban Mueang died twenty years later, and Ramkhamhaeng ascended to the throne. During his reign Ramkhamhaeng expanded his kingdom's dominance west into Burma, east into Laos, and south down the Malay Peninsula. The king was a shrewd diplomat as well as a warlord; many territories joined his confederation voluntarily. Ramkhamhaeng did not seek to dominate Southeast Asia, rather he promoted trade and diplomatic alliances with surrounding kingdoms. Most of what we know of Ramkhamhaeng's rule comes from a stone inscription he created in 1292 towards the end of his rule. This is the earliest surviving example of Thai language, and it portrays him as a wise and benevolent leader. Ramkhamhaeng was an ardent patron of Buddhism. He also supported the arts and Thai artistic expression achieved an especially high level during his reign, especially in bronze sculpture and ceramics. Ramkhamhaeng died in 1298. His extended empire, held together by his personal magnetism and brilliant international diplomacy, did not long survive his death, and the furthest provinces soon broke away. Sukhothai itself survived another century before it fell. Ramkhamhaeng is viewed today as a great leader and the first to rule over a united Siam (later Thailand). It should be remembered however that almost all that we know about him comes from the stone inscription that he himself created. If he did have any major flaws, would he have carved them into the living rock for all of history to see? (Would any of today's world leaders do so?) Still, there is plenty of independent evidence to show that he successfully created a great empire and his people prospered during his reign. And that's a record that any leader could be proud of." Leader Scales Victory Competitiveness - 3/10 Wonder Competitiveness - 4/10 City State Competitiveness - 4/10 Boldness - 5/10 Ramkhamhaeng is a relatively tame leader. In all my matches that I have seen him, he doesn't last very long, he gets conquered pretty quickly. In this game, if you aren't aggressive half the time, you will lose quicksmart. He is relatively benign, just don't take him for a total pushover though, you might be surprised. Diplomacy Scales War - 6/10 Hostile - 3/10 Deceptive - 7/10 Guarded - 7/10 Afraid - 5/10 Friendly - 7/10 Neutral - 5/10 Again, he is a friendly leader, he isn't there to blow you up completely. However, if he does hate you, he will declare war, really, up to what the AI perceives of you and your current situation that will decide between war and peace. He will be rather deceptive, everyone loves those pacts, and he will be very defensive, so as long as you can crush the defence, no dramas. City State Scales Ignore Others - 3/10 Friendly - 7/10 Protective - 7/10 Conquest - 5/10 Again, his peacefulness will extend to the city states, he won't conquer them too much, he will most likely go ahead and protect them from any real predators, such as you, and help them out. Given that his power does rely heavily on city states, they are a good target if you want to soften him up a little before the attack. Ground Military Scales Offensive - 5/10 Defensive - 8/10 City Defence - 6/10 Military Training - 5/10 Reconnaissance - 4/10 Ranged - 5/10 Mounted - 4/10 As you can guess, his peacefulness will impact how many offensive ground units he will use on you, which means he won't be having warriors all over your borders. He will defend his lands pretty well, and that means a lot of garrisoned units as well as walls around his cities. He isn't that hard to beat, just fire a few cannons into his cities and watch him turn around and run away. Naval Scales Naval - 3/10 Naval Reconnaissance - 3/10 Naval Growth - 3/10 Naval Tile Improvement - 3/10 Ramkhamhaeng won't pay attention to the navy or to the seas as much as some leaders would, like Elizabeth. He will pretty much only use the seas to improve fish tiles or to send his units across, but other than that, you don't have to worry about him sending frigates after you. Air Scale Air Power - 5/10 Ramkhamhaeng will use air power a fair bit, he isn't afraid to take to the skies unlike other leaders, although he will use mainly interceptors to take out enemy fighters and bombers over his lands, he isn't there to fly stealth bombers on your cities or the like. Growth Scales Expansion - 6/10 Growth - 6/10 Tile Improvement - 6/10 Infrastructure - 5/10 Production - 5/10 Gold - 5/10 Science - 5/10 Culture - 8/10 Ramkhamhaeng is mainly focussed on culture, and that's about it. All the rest, he will do as a normal AI player would do, slowly expand, build up his empire, and the like, but culture, he will go crazy over, so be careful when you face him in a cultural victory battle, he might just win. Civilisation Scales Happiness - 6/10 Great People - 5/10 Wonder - 5/10 Diplomacy - 8/10 Spaceship - 8/10 Despite the usual spaceship bias, Ramkhamhaeng will try to win via the United Nations as well. As a peaceful leader, he won't be using military force, just pure diplomacy. Just take down a few of his protected city states to quash that dream before it becomes a reality. *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* [3.17] Songhai Leader - Askia Unique Unit 1 - Mandekalu Cavalry, replaces Knight Unique Unit 2 - None Unique Building - Mud Pyramid Mosque, replaces Temple Civilization Power RIVER WARLORD - Embarked ground units can defend themselves. All pillaged cities and destroyed barbarian encampments will provide double gold. ~ History "The Songhai Empire was a civilization that flourished in West Africa during the 15th and 16th centuries. The Songhai first appeared near the city of Gao, which was a vassal of the Malinese Empire. In the early 14th century the Songhai gained independence from the Mali, and over the next two centuries it expanded, eventually becoming the largest empire in African history. The terrain of western Africa that was occupied by the Songhai is largely flat and arid, dominated by two major river systems, the Niger and Senegal, which provide cheap and rapid east-west transport as well as rich farmland along their banks. The climate is hot and tropical with two main seasons, dry and wet. From March until June a hot, dry wind blows out of the Sahara, and daytime temperatures are often above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Before the rise of the Songhai, much of central Western Africa was controlled by the Mali Empire. This empire is believed to have been founded sometime before 1,000 AD. It was largely a trading empire and literally the crossroads of Africa, controlling the important north-south Saharan commercial routes as well as the east-west river routes. Under the great leader Mansa Musa (1307 - 1331?), the Malinese Empire conquered the wealthy cities of Timbuktu and Gao and gained control of the valuable salt deposits to the north. Mali was a Muslim empire, and under Musa the city of Timbuktu became an important center of learning in the Muslim world. However, by the turn of the 14th century the empire had grown too large for sustainable centralized rule, and major territories began to assert their independence and calve off. This included Gao, the home of the Songhai. The Songhai are believed to have first appeared in Gao around 800 AD. Little is known about their early history, but it is known that in the 11th century, King Kossoi converted to Islam, and he also made Gao the capital of the growing Songhai kingdom. Under Songhai rule Gao grew wealthy and prosperous, and in the early 13th century the Mali conquered the Songhai, making the kingdom a vassal state. Songhai remained under Mali control for perhaps fifty years, before regaining its independence under King Sulaiman-Mar. Songhai maintained a precarious freedom for the next century, until a great new leader, Sunni Ali Ber, propelled it into greatness. >Sunni Ali Ber ruled the Songhai for thirty years (1464-1493). He was a brilliant military leader and strategist. Taking advantage of Mali's growing feebleness, Sunni led Songhai armies to conquer the wealthy city of Timbuktu, driving out the marauding Taureg people who had taken over the city as Malinese power declined. He expanded his empire further west, gobbling up all Malinese land north of Jenne (a.k.a., Djenne). He was not unopposed in his expansion. Over the course of his reign he repelled assaults from the Mossi, Dogon, and Fulani. In 1473 Ali Ber sought the greatest prize, the wealthy trading city of Jenne. Jenne was still a part of the Malinese Empire, and its people put up a stout defense. Unable to take the city by storm Ali Ber laid siege to it. The city held out stubbornly for seven years before capitulating. The records of the day generally regard Ali Ber as an unstable tyrant, who was by turns generous and brutal, who ruled with an iron fist and who slaughtered and oppressed those he captured. There may be some exaggeration, as the Muslim scholars who recorded the histories disliked Ali Ber for the unorthodox form of Islam he practiced, apparently a kind of fusion between Islam and traditional Songhai religious observances. Muhammad I Askia ruled Songhai from 1493 until 1528. The word "Askia" means "usurper," which is how he came to power, overthrowing Ali Ber's son and heir less than a year after Ber's death. That he chose "usurper" for his title and dynastic name suggests that this extraordinary man had an extraordinary sense of humor. Although he fought a war to gain the crown of Songhai, Askia was more than a warlord. He fought several battles during his reign, with mixed success, but he is primarily known as a reformer, organizer, and man of god. During his reign he created a bureaucracy to help rule the empire and to bring coherency to its tax, military, and agricultural policies. He opened many religious schools across Songhai, and in 1495 he made a famous pilgrimage to Mecca. Askia ruled until 1528, when he was deposed by his son. In the years following Askia's removal, no other leader was able to take and hold power for any significant length of time. Askia's son, Musa reigned for three years; he was followed by Muhammad II, who lasted for six years; and the next two leaders lasted for two and ten years respectively. In 1549 Askia Dawud came to power; he ruled for some thirty-three years, until 1582. This relative stability was shattered when the Sultan of Morocco raided the Songhai's valuable salt deposits at Taghaza. The end came in 1591. Seeing that the Songhai were weak and divided, and most of all, lacked modern weaponry, a Moroccan army armed with muskets launched a major attack. The Songhai warriors were completely routed, the leaders driven into the hills and the Moroccans captured the major cities of Timbuktu and Gao. In one shocking campaign, an entire empire was virtually wiped from the planet. The fall of Songhai was brutal and rapid. In many ways it resembled the conquest of the Aztec Empire some seventy years earlier in 1521. In their day both of these empires were mighty, rich and powerful and thought themselves invulnerable. Both were brought down by a small force armed with markedly superior technology. It reminds us of the famous rule, "Never bring a knife to a gunfight. Bring a gun. Preferably, bring at least two guns." This is as true in empires as it is in gunfights." The Songhai empire is best early on in the game, where barbarians roam freely and you will have a lot of encampments to pillage. Later on in the game, you will be able to pillage enemy cities, and this is a very rich source of gold later in the game. Mandekalu Cavalry is significantly more powerful than the knight, which is a good advantage to have during the Medieval Era, and they will also have a good bonus when they are attacking against enemy cities. The Mud Pyramid is the same as the temple, but instead of providing 3 culture, it will provide 5 culture instead. Leader Scales Victory Competitiveness - 5/10 Wonder Competitiveness - 8/10 City State Competitiveness - 4/10 Boldness - 7/10 Askia will compete heavily for Wonders, and that does make him annoying if you are like me, wanting to build every single Wonder known to man in my cities. He will also be quite in your face, and given how he is displayed in the portrait, warlike and all, not a surprise. Diplomacy Scales War - 7/10 Hostile - 6/10 Deceptive - 4/10 Guarded - 6/10 Afraid - 3/10 Friendly - 6/10 Neutral - 5/10 Askia is more likely to declare war on you than anything else, which is rather annoying, or useful if you are planning on annexing some of his fine cities for your empire. He is also friendly at times, but this is normally when he can't declare war on you, basically, when you outnumber the hell out of him and he can't defeat you. City State Scales Ignore Others - 5/10 Friendly - 5/10 Protective - 4/10 Conquest - 8/10 Like Montezuma, this guy is more likely to see a city state as a weak empire, and kill it quickly. There will be no talk, there will be no diplomacy, there will just be pillaging. Well, on the bright side, when he kills off the city state, you can take it back, and keep it under your control, as most City States are placed in nice locations, close to resources. Ground Military Scales Offensive - 8/10 Defensive - 4/10 City Defence - 5/10 Military Training - 6/10 Reconnaissance - 5/10 Ranged - 5/10 Mounted - 7/10 Askia will pack a lot of offensive units, basically, a hell of lot of melee units will be on your border. There will also be a hell of a lot of mounted units, so you want to pack a few pikemen or counters to such units to ensure that your infantry won't be decimated. Otherwise, once the offensive push is crushed, Askia will be pretty easy to conquer. Naval Scales Naval - 6/10 Naval Reconnaissance - 6/10 Naval Growth - 6/10 Naval Tile Improvement - 6/10 Askia will often use a navy to his advantage, mainly to ensure that you don't have an easy time on the seas. This isn't that bad, compared to other leaders such as Elizabeth, his idea of a navy isn't that bad, just a few leaky boats that you can sink. Air Scale Air Power - 4/10 Askia isn't that big on air power, he won't tend to use it as often as he could, and this, combined with his ground assaults, is good for you. Since he will be on the offensive, in your land as much as possible, your air units will pretty much have an easy time to eliminate him since the ground units won't be that well protected. Growth Scales Expansion - 5/10 Growth - 6/10 Tile Improvement - 5/10 Infrastructure - 5/10 Production - 5/10 Gold - 8/10 Science - 4/10 Culture - 6/10 Askia is very slow to tech up, which is one of the best things, you can easily defeat his big army with smaller amounts of highly advanced units. He will tend to concentrate to settle and attack areas with lots of luxury resources, things like gold and gem mines, silk and spice plantations. He is pretty much average in other respects. Civilisation Scales Happiness - 4/10 Great People - 6/10 Wonder - 3/10 Diplomacy - 5/10 Spaceship - 8/10 Again, the spaceship bias, other than that, Askia won't concentrate much on anything else. At least you don't have to worry about the issue of the United Nations with Askia. He'll just kill everyone who doesn't vote for him, that's all. *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* [3.18] United States Leader - George Washington Unique Unit 1 - B17, replaces Bomber Unique Unit 2 - Minuteman, replaces Musketman Unique Building - None Civilization Power MANIFEST DESTINY - Sight increased for all land units and all tile costs are discounted. ~ History "The United States of America is a world "super-power" (which more or less means that it possesses weapons capable of destroying everything on the planet). A relatively young civilization, the United States formed in the 18th century, nearly self-destructed in the 19th century, and became the most powerful and dominant military, technological, cultural and economical civilization in the 20th. One can hardly guess what will happen to it in the 21st. The United States spans the continent of North America and includes Alaska in the far north and several islands in the Pacific Ocean. Conditions vary widely across the country, from near-Arctic in Alaska to near-tropic conditions in Florida, to arid desert in Arizona. The continent is bisected by two mountain ranges, the older and lower Appalachians in the east, and the much younger and bigger Rockies in the west. The central plains between the two ranges drain into the Gulf of Mexico via the Missouri/Mississippi River system. The country borders on the Great Lakes, some of the largest freshwater bodies of water on the planet. Despite several centuries of enthusiastic harvesting, the United States still has plentiful forests, coal supplies and other natural resources. Some historians hypothesize that North America was originally settled by Eurasian people who migrated onto the continent via the "Beringia" land-bridge that once connected Alaska and Russia. This theory is under debate, and even more so is the question of how many waves of settlers there were and when the first settlers arrived. There appears to be some agreement that the natives migrated between 9,000 and 50,000 years ago (which is quite a spread). It's also quite possible that the natives arrived in a series of waves over many years, with some groups migrating south along the western coastline, while later groups moved inland, into the heart of Canada and the United States. Over time these groups spread across the continents, developing language, hunting skills, arts and crafts, and so forth. They did not domesticate horses, however (having consumed all of the horse's ancestors before figuring out that they might be good for something else). Estimates on how many natives lived in the portion of North America that would eventually become the United States also vary, ranging from five to twenty-five million. In any event, the first European visitors brought with them a number of extremely unpleasant diseases (like measles and smallpox) that the natives' immune systems were totally unaccustomed to, and 90 percent or even more of the North American native population died from disease within a century of the first white man's arrival. Having lost 90% of their population, lacking guns or any significant industrial technology, the natives were relatively helpless in the face of massive European assault. Four European groups set up colonies in North America, beginning in the 16th century: the French in Canada, the British (with a small settlement of Dutch right in the center), and the Spanish in Florida and points south. Over time the English would conquer the French colonies to the north and the Dutch colony at Manhattan, and with the exception of Florida, the entire eastern seaboard would be English. As discussed above, the native population was ravaged by disease and badly outgunned, unable to resist the European incursion. As the 18th century progressed, the British colonies in North America grew and prospered. Immigrants from Great Britain and elsewhere arrived in the country in great numbers, drawn by the promise of land, wealth, and often to escape religious persecution in the mother country. The slave trade provided plenty of cheap labor, and British North America began to establish agriculture and light industry. Tensions grew between the colonies and the British government as the century progressed. The colonies were controlled by Crown-appointed governors and they did not have direct representation in the British Parliament. Further, the colonials chafed under what they considered to be unfair trade restrictions from Great Britain. Meanwhile, the government thought that the colonials were in large ungrateful rabble who had no idea how much money the Crown was spending on their protection. By the late 1770's the American colonies were in open revolt, and on July 4, 1776 the United States declared their independence. As the war opened the Colonists were grossly outgunned and outmanned by the highly-trained British Army, particularly since the British Navy had absolute control of the seas and thus could move large numbers of troops up and down the coast with impunity. The Continental Army, untrained and untested, was no match for the "Redcoats." The commander of the Continental Army was George Washington, a wealthy Virginia landowner with some military experience (he was a colonel in the British army in the French and Indian War). His first major battles were nearly catastrophes - his overly-complex battle-plans collapsed in the face of enemy action and his troops' inexperience. Washington had several important qualities: his personal heroism and calm in the face of disaster allowed him to extract his army from almost certain destruction, and he also learned quickly from his mistakes. The Redcoats having failed to crush the Continental Army when it had the chance, the American Revolutionary War became a long, drawn-out, grinding war of wills. The British Army couldn't pin down the American forces long enough to defeat them, and as the years passed British war-weariness grew. In 1778 the French entered the war on the side of the United States, and in 1779 so did Spain. While unable to match the British Navy ship for ship the French were occasionally able to gain local superiority, and this proved decisive. In 1781 the Continental Army besieged the British Army at Yorktown, Virginia. With the French Navy off-shore the British were unable to escape, and British General Cornwallis surrendered to Washington on October 19, 1781. In 1787 the states convened a Constitutional Convention, and the new Constitution was ratified the next year. In 1789 George Washington was elected president. In 1803 the United States purchased 828,800 square miles of North American territory from France. This territory included most of the terrain in the Mississippi Valley, from the Rocky Mountains in the west to Ohio in the east. This deal, which doubled the size of the United States, cost around $15,000,000, a shockingly good deal for the US. It was also a good deal for France: France was at war with Great Britain (see below), and as the British controlled the seas, the French had no way to profit from or to protect this territory from the British. The French also saw it as a poke in Britain's eye. French leader Napoleon Bonaparte said of the deal, "This accession of territory affirms forever the power of the United States. I have given England a maritime rival who will sooner or later humble her pride." President Thomas Jefferson received a good deal of criticism for the purchase at the time, but historians tend to agree that he got one hell of a bargain. As the eighteenth century opened, France was convulsed in its own revolution. Many Americans believed that France would become a democracy, but instead Napoleon Bonaparte emerged as ruler and within a few years had himself declared emperor. As Napoleon extended his power across continental Europe, Great Britain countered with its unmatchable navy, imposing an embargo on trade with France and at times most of the rest of Europe. This hurt American commerce deeply. Further, British warships routinely stopped and searched American vessels looking for deserted British sailors. This was considered an intolerable breach of American sovereignty, and in 1812 the United States declared war on Great Britain. (Some historians believe that the US declared war primarily to justify a land-grab of British possession Canada.) The primary American weapon in this war was the commerce raiding vessel. Small to mid-sized American ships plied the oceans, snatching up British merchant ships, strangling British trade. On land the Americans launched an invasion of Canada, which the British and Canadian forces repelled without great difficulty. The British navy, stretched thin by the decade-old conflict with France, found it almost impossible to blockade the American coast or track down its commerce raiders. It was far more successful on land, and in fact a British army fought its way to Washington, DC, the American capital, and burned much of it to the ground. Despite this stinging blow to American pride, the British and American governments both realized that neither had much of a chance of winning the war, and that further conflict would merely expend valuable treasure and lives to no purpose. In December of 1814 the two countries signed the "Treaty of Ghent," which simply called for the cessation of hostilities: neither side gained or lost territory, and none of the root causes of the war were addressed. The war was a tie. In 1835, Mexican President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna abolished the Mexican constitution, replacing it with a new constitution that concentrated power in the Mexican central government. Several Mexican states revolted at that time, including the state of Coahuila y Tejas (which included the territory that would become Texas). Despite early successes (including the capture of the Alamo fort), eventually Santa Anna was defeated and captured. Bargaining from this position of extreme weakness, Santa Anna grudgingly agreed to Texan independence. The Mexican government deposed Santa Anna while he was captive and disavowed the treaty. Low-level fighting continued between the new "Republic of Texas" and Mexico, while parties in Texas and the United States schemed for ways to get Texas into the Union. In 1845 the American Congress passed a bill that would allow the US to annex Texas, and then president John Tyler signed it into law. At the same time, Mexico saw an influx of other American citizens into its northern territories (including California), some of whom openly avowed that they were going to take those into the US as well. Late in 1845 Texas was made into a state, and in 1846 American troops were occupying the disputed territory. When Mexican cavalry clashed with an American patrol, killing 11 soldiers, the US government used that as an excuse to declare war. The war was short and decisive. After a few opening skirmishes in Texas and northern Mexico, an American army of some 12,000 soldiers landed at Veracruz, Mexico, and marched west. The Mexican army was defeated at every turn, and in short order United States troops occupied Mexico City. Defeated, the Mexican government signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ceding to the United States the land that would become the states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, and parts of Wyoming, Oklahoma and Colorado. In return the US paid Mexico $18,250,000, or roughly half a billion in today's dollars. In addition to stealing large chunks of valuable land from Mexico, the war had one other benefit: it taught a number of American soldiers their craft. These men would use these skills to great effect fifteen years later in the American Civil War. As the eighteenth century progressed, the United States was divided roughly in half between slave states in the south and free states in the north. The South, which had an agrarian economy, needed cheap labor to work the fields. Slaves were far less useful in the North, which had a growing industrial base and access to plenty of cheap labor from Europe. Further, slavery had woven itself into the fiber of Southern life to the extent that many found the concept of "abolition" abhorrent, inconceivable, and (by an extremely twisted interpretation of the Bible) a grave sin. By the same token, a lot of people in the North hated slavery, considering it totally evil - the country's original sin. (It should be noted that many in the South saw the issue in terms of "states rights" - the Federal government had no constitutional right to meddle in internal conditions in states, but it was the slavery issue that made this question so explosive.) By the 1850s the situation had become intolerable. Tensions between the North and South were at an extremely high point, and the 1860 election of the moderately anti-slavery candidate Abraham Lincoln started a sequence of events which led inexorably to Southern succession and civil war. The war started very badly for the Union (the North). The Rebels (South) had a stronger military tradition than the North, and most of the country's best officers came from southern states and felt bound to protect their homes from Northern invasion, no matter how they felt personally about the cause of the war. Further, the South was entirely on the defensive, and it's far more difficult for an untrained army to attack than it is to defend - and both sides began the fight with untrained armies. Many people believed that the war would be over after one big battle but they were shockingly wrong. The first big battle (Bull Run) was a Union defeat, but the Southern army was unable to follow up its victory. What ensured was four years of grinding warfare across the length and breadth of the country. Despite its victories the South was unable to break the North's morale (especially that of President Abraham Lincoln), and as the war continued the Northern generals became better at their craft, and the Northern advantage in numbers and industry began to dominate the battlefield. In 1865 the Southern capital fell, and shortly thereafter the remaining Southern armies laid down their arms. President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in April of 1865, shortly after the capture of the Southern capital and the surrender of the South's main army. The war had a number of major effects on the United States, the most important of which was the abolition of slavery across the country. Unfortunately, many of the gains made by blacks were steadily whittled away during the Reconstruction period following the war. As the 19th century progressed blacks could in no way be considered equal to whites anywhere in the country, but at least they were no longer subject to being bought and sold like cattle. The rest of the 19th century saw a steady migration of American citizens west, filling in the vast plains of the mid-west and along the Pacific coast. American engineers built train tracks across the steppes and through the mountains, and cities and towns sprang up in their wake. The surviving Native American populations were forced into smaller and smaller pockets of the least desirable land, but showing a remarkably stubborn refusal to die under the most extraordinarily desperate circumstances. Immigrants continued to pour into the country from all corners of the world, all looking for their piece of the American dream (and many finding it). In the late 19th century the United States fought another unfortunate war for territory, this time against the moribund Spanish "empire." Spurred on by the jingoistic cries of so-called "yellow journalists" like William Randolph Hearst, the US rapidly defeated the Spanish armed forces, gaining for its trouble the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Spain further lost the island of Cuba, which after a short period as a US protectorate, quickly gained its independence. While American industrial and economic power continued to grow, American military power did not. The United States possessed a large enough army and navy to beat up Spain (and to keep Canada and Mexico in line), but it was hardly a world military power in any sense of the word. Primarily it relied on the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, which were the domain of the incomparable British Navy, for protection. As Europe stumbled its way into World War I, most Americans wanted nothing to do with the conflict. (In fact, many had immigrated to the United States to avoid Europe's endless wars.) Americans came from all parts of Europe, including Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Russia and the UK - so no matter which side the US came in on, they'd be fighting somebody's cousin. Whatever American politicians felt privately, the American government declared neutrality. In actuality American neutrality greatly favored the British and French, since Britain's dominance of the sea meant that the US could only trade with the UK and her allies. This was bad for the Germans, since they needed to cut Great Britain's supply lines to achieve victory. In 1917 a German "U-boat" (submarine) sank the ocean liner Lusitania, then Germany declared unrestricted submarine warfare against neutral shipping. The American declaration of war against Germany and her allies followed shortly thereafter. At the start of the war the United States had just a small professional army, but by 1918 the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) had over 1,000,000 men in Europe. This huge influx of fresh soldiers made a substantial difference on the battlefield, and also on enemy morale. The war was over by year's end. During its brief stint in France the AEF saw significant combat, suffering some 50,000 deaths and 300,000 injuries. After the war US President Woodrow Wilson attempted to mediate what he considered a "just peace" and create a League of Nations, but the victorious European nations were more interested in imposing heavy penalties on the losers, understandable given the amount of damage they had suffered, but not conductive to future comity between nations. As a result American public opinion turned against Europe and especially against any further military adventures there. This would have grave consequences some two decades later. The aptly-named "Great Depression" is indeed depressing, and so will be covered quickly. The Depression was triggered by the US stock market crash of 1929, and rapidly spread across the country and the world. Banks collapsed, American unemployment rose to 25%, crop prices fell by some 60%. There were bread lines in all major cities. The Depression dragged on for years. The US economy began to revive in the mid-thirties, but did not fully recover until World War II. During the Great Depression the political doctrine of fascism gained popularity around the world, particularly in Europe. Mussolini came to power in Italy, Francisco Franco in Spain, and Adolf Hitler in Germany. Crippled and exhausted by the twin blows of World War I and the Depression and distracted by an excessive fear of Communism, the democracies watched as Germany rebuilt its army, navy and air force and gobbled up the smaller countries around it. It wasn't until Germany (and the Soviet Union) invaded Poland in 1939 that France and the United Kingdom declared war on Germany. Meanwhile, Japanese forces were carving up China and menacing European interests in the Pacific. Isolationist sentiment kept the United States officially "neutral" through 1940 and 1941, as France was conquered and German troops ground through the Soviet Union. However, as in World War I, American neutrality heavily favored the British, whose navy still controlled the Atlantic. At home President Franklin Roosevelt built up the American armed forces as quickly as possible, while trying to turn public sentiment towards active military intervention and war with Germany. In the Pacific an American oil embargo on Japan was a crushing military and economic burden and a deep insult to Japanese pride. In response to the growing American pressure, the Empire of the Rising Sun made one of the most catastrophic military and political blunders in modern history. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed the American Pacific fleet in Pearl Harbor, in the American territory of Hawaii. While many of the nation's battleships were destroyed, its aircraft carriers were not in port at the time of the attack. This would prove to be of decisive importance in the war in the Pacific. Shortly after Pearl Harbor, Germany also declared war on the United States. This too was a colossal error, as it allowed the United States to intervene heavily in Europe, which President Roosevelt might not have been able to do in the face of "Japan First" sentiment in the US. World War II was an astonishingly complex military, industrial and political challenge for the United States. Although the US had been building up its military forces for some years, it was still woefully underprepared in all areas: manpower, arms, ships, planes, tanks and so forth. The government had to balance the need for manpower with the need for workers to construct arms and vehicles for itself and its increasingly desperate allies. Further, it had to maintain an extremely difficult alliance with the United Kingdom, its possessions and the Soviet Union, each of which had differing political and military objectives. This was especially tough because before the war the US and UK had been implacable enemies of Communism and the USSR. And finally, its largely untested military had to face two superb opponents in battle: the triumphant Japanese Navy and the deadly German Army. As the US entered the war it found itself on the defensive in all theatres. The Japanese Navy captured Allied bases across the Pacific, drawing ever closer to Australia and New Zealand. The German U-boats destroyed hundreds of thousands of tons of Allied shipping in the Atlantic, nearly starving Great Britain right out of the war. But the incomparable American industrial base roared into action, building warships, planes, and tanks at an astonishing rate. As it fought the US military learned from its early mistakes and with its allies stopped the enemies' advances on all fronts. By 1942 the US was on the offensive in North Africa and the Pacific. By 1944 American and British troops were in France, and, caught between this new peril and the Russian juggernaut grinding from the East, Germany collapsed in May of 1945. Japan held on for several months longer, fighting bitter rearguard actions on islands across the Pacific until the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The US had learned two important lessons from World Wars I and II: first, that it ignored the world at its peril. It was clear that while the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans provided enormous security for the American mainland, American security was inexorably bound up in events across the world, if for no other reason than that it needed foreign markets in which to sell its goods. The second lesson it learned was that it was a bad idea to harshly punish a defeated enemy. It was better to help rebuild the enemy so that it would become an ally and buy your industrial output. Thus at the end of the war the United States spent billions rebuilding Europe and Japan, former allies and enemies alike (with one important exception, the USSR). At the end of World War II the United States found itself the most powerful country in the world. The US mainland had not been invaded or bombed during the war, and its industrial base was bigger and better than ever. Its military was battle-tested and equipped with the best weapons in the world, and it had sole possession of the Atom bomb. On the other hand, the Soviet Union's army was the strongest military force in Europe. In the US there was little appetite for further conflict with the Soviet Union; people just wanted the troops to come home. As World War II ended, the latent hostilities between the US and UK and the Soviet Union became a lot less latent. There were plenty of good reasons for this. The US feared that International Communism backed by the Soviet Union (and later, China) would if unchecked overrun Europe and the world. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, wanted to make it absolutely clear to everyone that it was sick and tired of being overrun by foreign troops every twenty years or so, and it would be as tough and ruthless as necessary to make sure it didn't happen again. (It also despised American-style capitalism and wanted to spread International Communism across the world as well.) Over the next fifty years the US and the Soviet Union and later China spent huge amounts of energy and treasure building weapons, subverting foreign governments, and engaging in proxy wars around the world. The US fought International Communism in Korea (a tie), and later on in Vietnam (a loss). The Soviet Union took over much of Eastern Europe (a win), and later on invaded Afghanistan (a huge loss). By the late 1980s its many internal flaws (corruption, greed, incompetence and so forth) and excessive military expenditures had virtually bankrupted the USSR. By the 1990s the Soviet Union was no more and the US was trading freely with China. The Cold War was ended. By any reasonable measurement the Cold War was a colossal, expensive blunder for everyone concerned. If the US had convinced the USSR that it wasn't its implacable foe, the USSR might have been able to relax its massive overwhelming paranoia and perhaps stop oppressing and killing huge numbers of its own people. The US might have been able to devote its wealth to something other than building more and more dangerous and exotic weapons and supporting foreign despots around the world. On the other hand, the Cold War drove both sides into outer space for both military reasons and for national prestige. This has led to many critical technological innovations such as communications satellites and Tang�, as well as a moon landing, perhaps the most important and coolest accomplishment in all history. The end of the Cold War brought a new era of peace and happiness to the United States. For maybe a couple of years. On September 11, 2001, a group of terrorists hijacked four jet planes and drove them into the World Trade Towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, DC. A fourth attack was spoiled by the heroic actions of a group of passengers aboard another jet plane. The attacks were traced to an organization named "al-Qaeda," a Muslim extremist group based in Afghanistan dedicated to driving foreigners out of the Middle East and to destroying the United States, which they saw as the "Great Satan." The United States responded by invading Afghanistan and driving its fundamentalist leaders who supported al-Qaeda out of power. Then, in an extremely controversial move, it invaded Iraq, home of its long-time enemy Saddam Hussein. At present the US is attempting to repair its international image, recruit allies in its war against terrorism, and extricate itself from Iraq. Afghanistan remains an incredibly difficult challenge, and it is by no means certain that the US will emerge victorious in either of its current conflicts. The United States is no longer the sole superpower in the world. It shares that dubious title with China, at least. Internally it's struggling to recover from economic excesses of the late 20th century, as well as trying to finally banish the ghost of slavery and racism that still haunts it. The US is somewhat battered but is by no means broken. It still possesses the resources, drive and human capitol to be a vital and important civilization in the coming century." The United States, probably the biggest influence any nation has on modern society today, deserves the biggest history section. Anyway, the US have on of the best powers, the Manifest Destiny allows them to increase sight, which is invaluable early on for scouting new lands, and purchasing tiles at a discount, reflective of the Louisana Purchase and annexing of lands belonging to Mexico, is a nice boost as well, especially useful when fighting proxy wars with other nations. The B17 is the unit that replaces the bomber, talking only half the normal amount of damage that is dished out by enemy interceptors and fighters, as well as getting a nice boost against enemy cities. There is also the iconic Minuteman, which replaces the Musketman, where all terrain types will only cost 1 movement point, so no penalties moving up hills or through forest tiles. George Washington ~ History "George Washington was one of a group of remarkable men who lived in the American Colonies in the late eighteenth century. Although not as pugnacious as John Adams, as imaginative as Benjamin Franklin or as brilliant as Thomas Jefferson, Washington had the capacity to lead, in war and in peace. He led the Continental Army to victory against extraordinary odds, and by so doing he led his country to independence. The descendent of English colonists who migrated to Virginia in 1657, George Washington was born into a family of wealth and privilege - or as much wealth and privilege as could be found in the Colonies in the early eighteenth century. As a young man Washington studied mathematics, writing, geography, and probably Latin, but he never attended college. Instead he concentrated upon learning how to raise stock, farm, and manage his family's growing estates. Washington was also trained as a surveyor and spent several years scouting and mapping the lands in and around the colony of Virginia. In 1754 war broke out between England (and her colonies) and the French and their allies the Indians. Washington fought in several engagements during this war, showing a great deal of courage and coolness under fire, but of no especial strategic or tactical brilliance. Eventually the war ended with the English victorious, and Washington resigned from the Colonial forces with the honorary rank of Brigadier General. After the war Washington married and devoted himself to his growing estates. He apparently greatly enjoyed managing his farms and plantations and was not above shedding his coat and helping with manual labor. He also sat in the House of Burgesses in Williamsburg, the mostly-impotent local governing body of Virginia (real power definitely resided with the Royal Governor of the colony and with King and Parliament back in England). Although a loyalist, Washington too chafed under the growing burden of taxation placed on the Colonies by Parliament (largely imposed to help pay off debts from the recent French and Indian War). As tensions grew and England ratcheted up the pressure on the Colonies, Washington's position grew more radical, and by 1768 he declared himself ready to take up arms against England whenever his country called him. By 1774 Washington was a member of the Continental Congress, the first truly national organization of the nascent country. When actual fighting broke out in and around Boston in 1775, Washington was named as commander of the military forces of all of the Colonies, a post he maintained once actual independence was declared in 1776. As military commander of the Revolutionary forces, Washington displayed the same strengths and weaknesses he had years before when fighting for England against France. He was personally courageous, almost to the point of foolhardiness. Early in the war he tended to favor overly-complex military actions beyond the capabilities of his volunteer soldiers, resulting in a series of near-catastrophic defeats at the hands of the professional British forces. But almost by force of will alone - through long, discouraging years of privation and defeat - he kept his army alive and in the field, and by so doing kept the revolution alive in the Colonies. Eventually, the sheer tenacity and growing skill of the Colonial Army and its general would win it the grudging admiration of even its fiercest enemies. The entrance of France into the war on the side of the Colonies and increasing Colonial power and success on the battlefield led to growing anti-war sentiment of the British people. In 1781 Washington led his troops on a daring forced march into Virginia, where he (with the aid of a large contingent of French soldiers) besieged an entire British army on the peninsula of Yorktown. The French naval maneuvers having given them temporary command of the sea, the British general was unable to escape his predicament and surrendered his command. Although sporadic fighting continued for some months, the war was essentially over: America had won her independence. After the war, Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention, which determined the form of the new nation's government, and later served as its first President. As President, Washington sought to keep the country free from foreign entanglements, resisting close alliances or wars with any. He attempted (with little success) to keep the country free from political party rivalry and strife. Washington served two four-year terms as President, and then retired back to his home in Mount Vernon, Virginia, where he died two years later in 1797. George Washington is known for good reason as the "Father of the United States of America." While not the greatest general in world history, nor the greatest statesman, Washington had a great steadiness and courage in the face of adversity, and he was able to get men to willingly die for him. Without Washington, it's unlikely that the United States would have been born." Leader Scales Victory Competitiveness - 4/10 Wonder Competitiveness - 3/10 City State Competitiveness - 5/10 Boldness - 7/10 Washington is a nice powerful leader, he won't be too in your way in terms of competing with your directly, but he is rather daring when it comes to attacking, and he will make threats when you are weak, so just make sure your forces are ready. Diplomacy Scales War - 5/10 Hostile - 3/10 Deceptive - 7/10 Guarded - 6/10 Afraid - 4/10 Friendly - 7/10 Neutral - 5/10 Washington is a friendly chap, he won't straight out declare war, but if you are weak, then that is something he won't hesitate doing. Like all leaders, they always have their hidden agendas, so just make sure that you defend yourself, less you want US forces inside your borders. City State Scales Ignore Others - 6/10 Friendly - 7/10 Protective - 5/10 Conquest - 4/10 Washington is there to protect his empire, and he will generally not be busy talking to city states. He will be generally friendly to get the good benefits, but he will ignore what others are doing. So if Siam is protecting a city state, good old George won't care if they are in his way. Ground Military Scales Offensive - 6/10 Defensive - 8/10 City Defence - 5/10 Military Training - 5/10 Reconnaissance - 8/10 Ranged - 5/10 Mounted - 5/10 Washington will focus heavily on recon, sending out scouts to know exactly what is going on. He will then focus on playing defensive, he won't normally go on the attack, he will keep his forces to defend his land. And that does make most pushes harder, you will be sending unit after unit against counter after counter. Naval Scales Naval - 5/10 Naval Reconnaissance - 4/10 Naval Growth - 5/10 Naval Tile Improvement - 5/10 Washington won't concentrate on his navy too much, he may have a few ships here and there, just to make sure no one will blockage him, but other than that, he will not be that much of a threat on the seven seas. It could be worse, he could have a flotilla of aircraft carriers outside your capital. Air Scale Air Power - 6/10 Washington will tend to use air units more often than not, given that one of their best units is the B17, and that is a powerful force in the air. So don't think that your helicopters will have an easy time, they will be shot down. Growth Scales Expansion - 7/10 Growth - 3/10 Tile Improvement - 5/10 Infrastructure - 5/10 Production - 5/10 Gold - 6/10 Science - 6/10 Culture - 6/10 Although Washington isn't warlike at all, but he will expand pretty damn quickly. He will settle and probably end up with a lot of land, and a lot of well defended land. That does make things easy for you though, most of the time, his front will be large, and defences thin, so a breach somewhere along the line, will pretty much seal his fate. Civilisation Scales Happiness - 7/10 Great People - 6/10 Wonder - 5/10 Diplomacy - 5/10 Spaceship - 8/10 Again, the bias for the space victory, however, Washington is all about keeping his people happy, and that means relatively good growth in his cities, which then leads to higher production, gold, etc. Just keep a little eye on him, he is dangerous if he advances quickly. *~~~~~~~~~~Save your tears for the day when the pain is far behind~~~~~~~~~~~* [A] Contact Information APPEARS IN g,a,m,e,f,a,q,s.c,o,m always. Remove the commas. Never on that c,h,e,a,t,c,c.c,o,m. Remove the commas. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !Before you Email me, read everything in this Contact Information section and! !check the guide. If the information is already listed, your email will be ! !promptly deleted. ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! E-Mail Me, and for the love of all that isn't sacred, make sure that the title of the game is smacked into place. IF THERE IS NO TITLE ON THE MESSAGE, IT WILL NOT BE READ, AND PROMPTLY DELETED. Also, email with courtesy. If you just hurl abuse, I will promptly hurl more abuse back, and save it so the entire world can abuse you and see your stupidity. When you write the Email, you have to do so in English, and English only. No foreign languages allowed, Chinese, French, Spanish, Antarctic Penguin and so forth, mainly because I won't be able to understand it. There will be absolutely NO INTERNET SPEAK IN ANY EMAILS. Seriously, I will not read emails full of lols, rofls or the like. No lazy English either. I won't read crap like "Hw Tis in Gme" because it is lazy and inconsiderate. But that doesn't mean you send me a business letter detailing what information you want to know either. Finally, if you see that there is something wrong in this FAQ, or something that you think should be included in it, please send it in, the worse you can do is to have it rejected, but if I think it is a good addition, I'll add it with the next update as well as give you credit for the addition. Corrections are always welcome. I will also NOT RESPOND to the following: * Phishing Sites * Attempted Scams * Mass Spamming * Forward Messages * Advertising * Technical Issues * Illegal Activities * Unrelated Emails to the Game * Emails about Another Game All problems with technical issues to do with the gameplay such as bugs and glitches should be sent to the developer or publisher, or look for fixes or ways to avoid it. All technical issues with hardware should be sent to the manufacturer of the piece of hardware in question. The secret email address is: hillsdragon13 [at] [ho.tm.ail] [dot] [co.m] Now, the legend: [at] = @ [ho.tm.ail] = Remove the .'s [dot] = . [co.m] = Remove the .'s If you feel generous, you can send money via Paypal to that address. It is completely optional, but I'm curious to see how much I can milk, I mean make out of this. All donations are appreciated, seeing I have to pay for the game this guide is for, and that does cost money, more since I'm faced with the outrageous prices found in Australia. It may be a pain in the ass, but most smart people could figure out the real email address. The problem is that people would normally Ctrl+F to find the email address without reading the relevant guidelines, as well spamming sites which always find their way to my inbox. Also, do not add me to your MSN, Yahoo or any other instant messaging system because you will be blocked and deleted permanently. Also, I will not accept invites to be your Facebook friend, or join any other social networking site because all invites will be rejected. *~~~~~~~~~~On your feet come with me. We are soldiers, stand or die~~~~~~~~~~* [B] Credits The credits section is where all the credits for the guides go. Anyone or anything that remotely helped out with this guide goes here, and that goes for all those people out there who have interesting information to send in. You know, your name could be on this list as well. CJayC, The Creator of GameFAQs, thanks for all the memories SBAllen for administrating GameFAQs, keep up the good work You, no point of writing if no one is reading 2K Games for the distribution of the game Sid Meier and Firaxis for developing the game ASCGen for their program making ASCII Art Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex, for all those little sayings Me, for a shameless piece of self promotion *~~~~~~~~Save your tears, take your place. Save them for Judgment Day~~~~~~~~~* [C] Webmaster Information This is where all the sites that this guide can appear on are listed. If the site name is not on this list, that means that either they are accepted by me but not listed, due to logistical reasons (this is the same copyright section as all the other guides, and no point listing a Civ 4 site on a Sims game), or they are not allowed outright. Anyway, POINT OUT ALL SITES NOT LISTED HERE. It will be up to me what site is allowed or disallowed. www.GameFAQs.com <Master Copy> www.NeoSeeker.com www.SuperCheats.com NeoSeeker and SuperCheats will have the guides a full day after it appears on GameFAQs. This is because those two sites grab any new update from me from GameFAQs itself, so if you are itching for the newest version, please check www.GameFAQs.com first. It will NEVER BE ALLOWED TO APPEAR ON www.cheatcc.com Why? Because they stole some of my works before, and I will not forget that. No amount of goodwill will be able to repair what you have done. *~~~~~~~~~~~~Fast and free, follow me. Time to make the sacrifice~~~~~~~~~~~~* [D] Copyright Notice This game is Copyright 2010 2K Games and Firaxis. All Copyrights are held by their rightful owners as well as any Trademarks used. This document is protected by copyright laws in many countries, so please don't steal. This FAQ can be used for personal use, which means you can store a copy on your home PC, your IPod, USB Drive, etc. You cannot use this FAQ to sell for your own financial gain. Doing so is fraud, and I will promptly have all the money gained wired for directly to me. If you do sell it, and you are caught, I will launch court proceedings if necessary. If a website steals this, I will have your site shut down, either through talking to your server, Internet Service Provider, and if you are a big site, through your advertisers. It might start with a small email of request, but I can snowball it. In fact, I will. You also cannot claim this guide as your own. You are not allowed to use this guide and submit this to another website, claiming it as your own work. I will google search random phrases from my own FAQ just to ensure that it hasn't been stolen or hijacked by other people. I am also not affiliated with any corporation, and I was not paid by any developer, publisher or distributor for the production of this guide. This was done solely out of my own free time and will, a dedication to the video gaming industry in general. This document is Copyright 2010. All Rights were not conquered by barbarians. This FAQ uses the V2.06 Template. <('.'<)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(>'.'<)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(>'.')> END OF FILE Watch In Awe, Aeria Gloris END OF FILE