... So few messages!
CHALLENGER
Where did you settle and why?
For Aksum, I picked the fish location (on top of the Oil, as it would appear later). I didn't want to be landlocked for a long time, but also this was the best and easiest food. But, it was not on a river, and not very central as soon became clear. Therefore, this was to be a temporary arrangement only; after aggressive chopping Gondar was to become the new capital.
We settled Gondar on the plains forest one west of the later Coal. The future centre of the empire should not suffer from an unusable desert tile.
More importantly, this gave sufficient room for a mature city between the two, although as the game went that location wasn't settled yet at the cut-off point for this spoiler thread.
What initial civic choices did you make and why?
Hereditary Rule, Bureaucracy, Serfdom, Mercantilism, Pacifism.
I did some calculations and there was no way that we could do better with temporary Slavery and/or Organized Teligion. The fast hammers from a single whip do not make up for the population loss and the lack of worker speed. Caste System is no option because early tile improvement far outweighs a quick Great Scientist; also we wanted Great Engineers instead for our pick of wonders
How did you choose to climb the tech tree?
With hand and feet.
I chose my usual branch and started with Printing Press on the b-line to Replaceable Parts. Both have low priority with the AI and are therefore excellent trade material, while the benefits of RP are hard to ignore.
Liberalism anyone? Not interested. I have no use for free Astronomy that early in the game. Let the AI get it and maybe trade with me, or else I will spend the mere 3 turns or so that it would cost later.
Did the assignment of religions, a different one to each AI civ, change your strategy?
Hardly. When I found the Holy Roman Empire on my doorstep I knew they had to go, and soon, different religion or not.
How does the starting era affect your choice of victory condition?
Not at all. I decided on a Spacerace regardless.
BUILDING STRATEGY
In the pregame thread I announced that a bank in the capital would be top priority. It is what happened, but as we quickly found Aachen we took a small detour and first built a group of Warriors and Trebuchets.
Warriors against Longbowmen? Not really - they were quickly promoted to Macemen, using the intial cashflow. Our workers laid a road, the army marched, and found the HRE capital defended by a singe unit. That is, they also had a catapult, but they moved that outside their city when we arrived! The army moved on and took Prague as well, and the Holy Roman Empire was no more.
So there we are with some well promoted maces, some surviving trebs, and nothing to do with them... Nothing? Is that not Persia on the horizon? They have Horsemen, surely we can handle that.
Thus, from 1620 ad the entire continent is ours, barring some roaming barbarians. That year was the most remarkable in our short history, as we finally discovered Printing Press and were able to trade it and our world map to Russia immediately for Education.
Our exploring caravel met everyone else, but lost the circumnavigation race by one turn to Russia.
We now have some highly promoted maces that are idle...
By the way, the lottery gave us Taoism.
Cities
1260ad Aksum (fish, cow, pig)
1280ad Gondar (iron, gold, floodplains)
1505ad Lalibela (nw of Gondar; pig, wine)
1510ad Aachen (Holy Roman Empire: academy; fish, rice, banana, 2 dye, copper)
1520ad Aryan (barbarian; west coast; cow, corn, copper)
1540ad Prague (Holy Roman Empire; cow, rice, copper)
1575ad Pasargadae (Persia: Shwedagon Paya; ugly location; rice, wine, horse)
1580ad Addis Ababa (ssw of Aksum on the river; silk)
1585ad Zapotec (barbarian; far west coast nnw of Aryan; rice, 3 dye)
1620ad Persepolis (Persia: academy; clam, corn, 2 incense)
1635ad Yeha (nee of Aachen; fish, gems, marble)
Aksum
1280ad worker
1300ad workboat
1310ad worker
1350ad worker
1360ad Barracks
1370ad warrior
1380ad trebuchet
1390ad warrior
1400ad warrior
1420ad warrior
1430ad trebuchet
1440ad warrior
1460ad maceman
1490ad Taoism (missionary from Gondar)
1500ad settler
1505ad Temple
1510ad Monastery
1525ad Bank
1535ad Grocer
1550ad HEROIC EPIC
, Great Engineer
1555ad caravel
1560ad Library
1570ad longbowman
1580ad settler
1590ad galley
1595ad worker
1610ad longbowman
1620ad settler
1625ad workboat
1645ad University
Elsewhere
1460ad Great Engineer (Gondar)
1470ad APOSTOLIC PALACE (Gondar, GE)
1560ad SPIRAL MINARET (Gondar, GE)
1590ad Great Prophet (Gondar) -- DAI MIAO (Gondar)
Technology
1620ad Printing Press; Education (Russia)
1650ad stats
11 cities, 88 pop, 147 sustainable bpt, 45.60% pop, 23.19% land
When the religions were assigned, Pacifism took over in City #2 and it produced a GEngineer first. OK, no problem, used him to hurry The Sistine Chapel in City #2. Then the Capitol produced a GEngineer instead of a GScientist. OK, University of Sankore in Capitol to help with Research. Then City #2 produces a GArtist, thanks to Sistine Chapel. Capitol finally produces a GScientist, but by this time, I've completed Education without the help of a light bulb, so he builds Academy in Capitol. I've got 1 turn into research of Liberalism when Darius beats me to it. 
bulb or two on the way to PPr and RepP
