Timbuktu's mountains and river valleys made for extensive food and hammers, making it a true powerhouse to start off with. I founded a mere 3 cities more, one one the West coast, one of the bit when Africa curves round, and the other above that.
By only 2215bc the Russians were destroyed by Barbarians. At 1400bc Huge Barbarian states in North America, Central Africa, South East Asia, and Northern Asia threaten most civilizations.
After this I fought a long battle to claim about half of the mighty barbarian nations that dominated central Africa. This was between 1200-900bc. To do this I let the Egyptian and Carthagian militaries exhaust themselves upon them until I took them for myself. I found the thing many have mentioned, the long period in between earliest game and alphabet led to huge military surplus that had to be expended on war, but it made it more realistic in my eyes of the time period. The African wars between Me and the barbs/Zulu/and Carthage were brutal affairs fought by the Axe and Sword by great hordes.
In any case, what I didn't expect was that the Zulus had the same idea, and now with the monetary difficulties that come with so many cities and my forces thinned out, it was increadibly difficult repelling them. I had still yet to take the last Barbarian city when they came. After burning a couple of minor cities they tried to build in amongst my conquests, I made peace. But Carthage followed suit and declared war upon me just as I brokered peace in the South. By this point the great Barbarian states had been smashed bar the South Pacific one. Meanwhile Brenus had downed Victoria to one city, and the Germans had been squeezed out of Europe by Caesar and Alexander. Asia was in continuous flux between warring states.
A long struggle (until 10bc) between our two nations employing many mercenaries took place, during with Shaka declared war upon me again around (10bc as well). I defeated Carthage and subsequently the Zulus who had thrown their armies uselessly against a General I had entrenched. By 480ad the Zulu like Carthage before them were brought to heel for their agression. The Germans likewise had been squashed by this time. At 620ad the English were likewise smooshed. The Mongols had by this time been squeezed out to the fringes of the artic North. The Americans having dealt to the Barbarian West saw fit to take the Celts down a notch, Gandhi having never been attacked had continued his powerful status building a few wonders (though not as wonderous as the eternal Mali), and China had taken the surrounding states as Vassals.
Spain of course saw fit to attack me in the North at around 1000AD. By this time my technological superiority had accelerated me far beyond anyone else and would remain so until the game became unplayable (me Modern Armour, them riflemen). 1124AD. The end of Gandhis glory as China and her vassals declare war. Meanwhile Capac having remained untroubled since the dawn of time had grown stong, and in a brief war took the Aztecs as Vassals, and subsequently the west of Americas barbarian cities. By 1436AD the Spanish like all before them were destroyed for their aggression. The USA was now a major contender. For the next 300 years a renaissance occured of peace and prosperity with numerous Great persons being born, but with peace comes arms consolodation. The Pacific was colonised, though Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia still remained mostly barbarian despite numerous assaults. The peace broke as all of Asia declared war upon Egypt.
Waiting for a short while for Egypts armies to vacate their nation to fight upon neutral Arab land, I having built my (advanced) forces rushed into the vaccum and quickly took Egypt in the short time between 1736-52. Unfortunately I never finished the job as they were taken as vassals, but were relegated to a loose confederation of Island states. Simultaneously I had taken every Barbarian city in the South Pacific to consolodate global power, however Capac declared war on me. This was the most difficult issue, perhaps even more so than the Zulu hordes or Carthagian mercenaries. I had no navy. They did. My coast was pillaged, and they even managed to land troops several times. My vastly superior cannons made wooden mince of their trebuchets, but it took some time, until I could get Ironclads to rid my coast of the menace. Few cities on the coast produced ships fast enough. My best shipbuilders were Mozambique on the wrong coast, and the Spanish cities in Spain.
China expanded at the expense of everyone around her, especially Gandhi, though the Koreans while smaller repelled incursions without loosing territory. Greece had become the European power with an 'Empire' stretching across what would have been Germany and Russia.
1913, full scale invasion of South America, by '36 they had no S.American lands left, leaving me to procede North into their (former) Vassal Montezuma who in the chaos had broken away though foolishly maintating war against me. The Aztecs were so technologically backward my Destroyers literally rolled over their canoe fleets. By 1954 both Capac and Montezuma were dead. Meanwhile I had become the largest Pacific nation, and Tokugawa had been reduced to one city (and would remain that way).
After a brief lull, I decided to bring the haughty Americans down in the middle of their Golden age and continued pushing out in all directions against America (and subsequently their vassal Brenus). Just prior I had taken Korea for a Vassal, so they dealt to the minor artic cities meaning I didn't have to traverse the mountains. The huge fleets they had amassed in their isolationist period were no match for my Destroyers, but there were so many of them it was ridiculous. By 2010 both the Americans and Celts were destroyed.
Even though it was now the age of 'World Wars' due to defence treaties, it was instead a case of China and her vassals (six nations including even mighty Greece), me, Ragnar and his vassal Tokugawa, Cyrus, and Napoleon. Continuing the good works, I declared war on France and quickly leveled it from history by 2031. There was no longer anyone I could declare war on easily, and this is where the story ends due to eternal loading syndrome.
