I can honestly say that I am playing one of the most enjoyable games of Civ ever. My Civilization is the Israelites in the TETurkhan City Version.
Details of the Game:
Zion Ambition I
In the beginning I only had two cities, Jerusalem and Damascus. The city version TETurkhan mod doesnt start every Civ on equal ground. The Chinese, Indians and a number of other ones have numerous cities giving them a huge advantage over others.
To the west of Israel laid the Egyptians, to the south the Arabs, in the East the Persians and to the North the Greeks. With hardly any land near by to settle, I knew I had to conquer to survive. The problem was all the Civs around Israel were much more powerful, and it was clear that only with a dynamic expansion oriented strategy could I expect to subdue them.
Playing Israel I knew with the discovery of Philosophy, I would be able to build powerful Shofar Warriors. They would be able to fight on equal ground with the best my enemies could put on the field such as the Hoplites and Immortals.
But until the discovery of Philosophy I decided to concentrate my efforts on improving my land, and advancing my technology. I maximized the resources of my two cities; and though Damascus stayed relatively small, Jerusalem grew to be a magnificent city. My people were amongst the most happy and content in the world.
Once my scholars discovered Philosophy, one piece of the Ark of the Covenant (the Ark is broken into two separate pieces) appeared besides Jerusalem. As I looked for the 2nd one, I saw in the land of the Egyptians, around the Sinai Peninsula. There was little question what needed to be done war was inevitable. The Jews were going back to Egypt but this time not as slaves but as conquerors!
I built up a huge army; all resources were spent to this end. So much so that my economy was on the verge of complete collapse. I mobilized my men, moving them along the border with Egypt. The moment had come, David was about to take on Goliath. I declared war and my armies thrust forward into my enemys lands.
Though the Egyptians were powerful, they were caught unprepared. Suez City fell with great ease. The question was would I be able to hold on to it. I knew in time the Egyptians could draw upon their vast wealth and resources and come back to crush me. Therefore I decided to move onwards, while still having the element of surprise.
My armies moved forward, Cairo was next to fall then I besieged Alexandria. The defenders of the great city offered stubborn resistance, and many of my men were lost. From the south, Egyptians were sending reinforcements - with my southern flank exposed, plus the loss of so many men the situation became dire. Cairo & Suez were besieged by the Egyptians; if they fell I would be cut off and isolated deep in Egyptian territory.
The heroic defence of Alexandria finally ended, and not a moment too soon. Leaving a small garrison there, I moved the bulk of my army southward to meet the challenge of the oncoming Egyptians. The war raged on, with great casualties on both sides. The Egyptians however were replenishing their losses at much higher rate than I. The longer the war went on, the worse my situation became.
I knew had to sue for peace, but would the Egyptians accept? They clearly had the upper hand I had to give them a reason, an incentive for peace. Their capital city of Thebes lay near by, if I could bring my men within the city limits, this could cause Queen Cleopatra to panic and capitulate.
I moved 5 powerful units within the city limits, and then offered peace. My intuition was right; the Queen not only agreed to all my terms but also surrendered the city of Benghazi.
In a short time, I had conquered 4 cities, more than doubling the size of my lands. Most importantly I had acquired the 2nd piece of the Ark of the Covenant and was now able to build Mighty Shofar Warriors.
Once again all effort, resources and manpower were spent on enlarging the army. Soon it was one of the largest and most powerful in the region, but this came at a price. Land development was suffering, research was stagnate, and few wonders or improvements were built. My empire was a geared toward one end War.
My aim was to control the Eastern Mediterranean. Only one port city remained between me and this realization. The Greek city of Antioch. The Greeks were more powerful than the Egyptians, their empire stretched from Greece, through out Anatolia, with a number of ports along the Black Sea. I mobilized my men to Damascus, a total of 25 Shofar Warriors. Declared war, and my troops poured over the border onto Antioch. The city fell after a brief resistance, giving me confidence to move forward towards Smyrna & Trabzon.
The Greeks however were much faster to respond to this invasion than the Egyptians. My troops didnt even make it their destinations, and were stopped dead in their tracks half way to their objective. The war ensued in the mountains of Anatolia, the Hoplites wreaked havoc on my attacking Shofar Warriors. The Greeks replaced their losses, putting two men on the field where they had lost one. Soon my troops were vastly outnumbered. My ambition had got the best of me, and now my once great invasion looked to be turning into a route. Beaten on the battlefield I sued for peace. The Greeks demanded war reparations; I conceded giving them many workers and all the gold I had. To my surprise however I was able to keep Antioch, which was after all my primary goal.
The Greeks taught me a valuable lesson exposing my flawed calculations. In giving little attention to the economy and building a huge army I made certain that I would never be able sustain a prolonged war. My wars would have to be over quickly, but what if they didnt end this way? If the Greeks hadnt of accepted peace, I would have surely been doomed.
Zion Ambition II
My empire now stretched from Benghazi all the way along the coast to Antioch. The Eastern Mediterranean was becoming an Israeli Lake, but I still had to deal with those pesky Berbers (Pirates), in particular the infamous Barbarossa brothers. A plan to build a powerful fleet was put into the works, but before implemented my attention was drawn elsewhere.
From the East emerged a new threat. An envoy from the Persians came, demanding tribute. Pompous Persians, who did they think they were? I was not some petty power they could push around. My thoughts were that they were bluffing, merely trying to scare me into handing over my Gold. I refused their demands, and they immediately declared war.
This was unexpected, obviously they were relying on their military might that or they were just plain stupid. This mattered not now though, fore it was not a time of thought but one that demanded action. It was time to let loose the dogs of war.
The Persian Empire was huge, from the Caucus Mountains through modern day Iran. To the immediate East however lay the famous Arab city of Baghdad, unless I could get a right of passage agreement from the Arabs I would have to go around them to the North. Many Arab units were within my borders so it made sense to have a formal agreement between us. I sent envoys to them requesting free passage but much to my dismay I was denied. There was no way I would allow their troops to remain within my borders if I couldnt pass through theirs. I demanded they remove their men and the Arabs declared war.
Now my war was against two enemies, the Persians and the Arabs. So be it, the Arabs would be first to feel the brunt of my forces since Baghdad was right in my path. In a single turn over 30 units were in position to assault the city. Baghdad was a huge, much larger than any other in my realm. Only after the 20th unit had attacked did the great city fall and even then fighting went on into the streets forcing me to garrison 15 units to maintain the order.
In a single turn, I had broken the back of the Arab Empire, took away its most prized city. Arab resistance after this waned, and my focus shifted primarily on the Persians.
My troops poured into Persian territory. Susa fell to me due mostly to the Persians terribly slow mobilization. Immortals came from the North (Caucus), and from the East. Shofar Warrior stats are 3A-3D, while the Immortals are 4A-2D, the key was to initiate the attack, whoever attacked first could expect to win. To this end I moderately successful, but after much time our forces were locked into a stalemate.
Every time I would try to put an end to it by requesting peace the Persians would demand Susa back. That however was an impossibility, there was no way I engaged in this costly war to walk away empty handed. I tried to scare Emperor Xerxes as I had done with Cleopatra, by moving a number of men within range of his capital. He did not even flinch, instead laughed at me saying that time was on his side. He might have been right, but luck was on mine.
The Emperor personality or lack of had made him many enemies. The Turks from Central Asia and the Indians both on his Eastern Flank attacked him. He now had to fight a two front war, and I could see his men moving away from the western front with me towards the East. His once impenetrable lines of defence became weak, and my men broke through. The beautiful city of Isfahan fell. Knowing the Persians situation was desperate I initiated peace talks but the stubborn old mule was defiant, still laughing at me saying I did not have what it took to stomach a long tough war. Though my lines were overextended I pushed on, this time for his capital. After much fighting I conquered the Persian capital of Persepolis and it was now the Persians who came crawling back asking for peace, which I of course accepted on very favourable terms to myself.
Peace with the Persians was long in coming, I threw everything I had at them, and only the Turks and Indians coming into the war tipped the scales in my favour. Settled up with the Persians I would now finally be able to deal with the Arabs, who though quite silent since the fall of Baghdad were still carrying out guerrilla style warfare against me. I regrouped a large force in Baghdad, then moved southward to Basra, and though they resisted it was futile, the city fell without a single loss to my forces.
I pondered my next move. Much time had elapsed since the start of this Great War; my empire was very large, stretching from Egypt to Persia. The smart thing to do would be to consolidate my gains. Peace was sought with the Arabs who promptly & gratefully accepted.
Finally I would be able to rest, build improvements, work the land, and make my people happy. War would find me soon enough, but for now there would be peace in the Middle East.
To Be Continued
Details of the Game:
Zion Ambition I
In the beginning I only had two cities, Jerusalem and Damascus. The city version TETurkhan mod doesnt start every Civ on equal ground. The Chinese, Indians and a number of other ones have numerous cities giving them a huge advantage over others.
To the west of Israel laid the Egyptians, to the south the Arabs, in the East the Persians and to the North the Greeks. With hardly any land near by to settle, I knew I had to conquer to survive. The problem was all the Civs around Israel were much more powerful, and it was clear that only with a dynamic expansion oriented strategy could I expect to subdue them.
Playing Israel I knew with the discovery of Philosophy, I would be able to build powerful Shofar Warriors. They would be able to fight on equal ground with the best my enemies could put on the field such as the Hoplites and Immortals.
But until the discovery of Philosophy I decided to concentrate my efforts on improving my land, and advancing my technology. I maximized the resources of my two cities; and though Damascus stayed relatively small, Jerusalem grew to be a magnificent city. My people were amongst the most happy and content in the world.
Once my scholars discovered Philosophy, one piece of the Ark of the Covenant (the Ark is broken into two separate pieces) appeared besides Jerusalem. As I looked for the 2nd one, I saw in the land of the Egyptians, around the Sinai Peninsula. There was little question what needed to be done war was inevitable. The Jews were going back to Egypt but this time not as slaves but as conquerors!
I built up a huge army; all resources were spent to this end. So much so that my economy was on the verge of complete collapse. I mobilized my men, moving them along the border with Egypt. The moment had come, David was about to take on Goliath. I declared war and my armies thrust forward into my enemys lands.
Though the Egyptians were powerful, they were caught unprepared. Suez City fell with great ease. The question was would I be able to hold on to it. I knew in time the Egyptians could draw upon their vast wealth and resources and come back to crush me. Therefore I decided to move onwards, while still having the element of surprise.
My armies moved forward, Cairo was next to fall then I besieged Alexandria. The defenders of the great city offered stubborn resistance, and many of my men were lost. From the south, Egyptians were sending reinforcements - with my southern flank exposed, plus the loss of so many men the situation became dire. Cairo & Suez were besieged by the Egyptians; if they fell I would be cut off and isolated deep in Egyptian territory.
The heroic defence of Alexandria finally ended, and not a moment too soon. Leaving a small garrison there, I moved the bulk of my army southward to meet the challenge of the oncoming Egyptians. The war raged on, with great casualties on both sides. The Egyptians however were replenishing their losses at much higher rate than I. The longer the war went on, the worse my situation became.
I knew had to sue for peace, but would the Egyptians accept? They clearly had the upper hand I had to give them a reason, an incentive for peace. Their capital city of Thebes lay near by, if I could bring my men within the city limits, this could cause Queen Cleopatra to panic and capitulate.
I moved 5 powerful units within the city limits, and then offered peace. My intuition was right; the Queen not only agreed to all my terms but also surrendered the city of Benghazi.
In a short time, I had conquered 4 cities, more than doubling the size of my lands. Most importantly I had acquired the 2nd piece of the Ark of the Covenant and was now able to build Mighty Shofar Warriors.
Once again all effort, resources and manpower were spent on enlarging the army. Soon it was one of the largest and most powerful in the region, but this came at a price. Land development was suffering, research was stagnate, and few wonders or improvements were built. My empire was a geared toward one end War.
My aim was to control the Eastern Mediterranean. Only one port city remained between me and this realization. The Greek city of Antioch. The Greeks were more powerful than the Egyptians, their empire stretched from Greece, through out Anatolia, with a number of ports along the Black Sea. I mobilized my men to Damascus, a total of 25 Shofar Warriors. Declared war, and my troops poured over the border onto Antioch. The city fell after a brief resistance, giving me confidence to move forward towards Smyrna & Trabzon.
The Greeks however were much faster to respond to this invasion than the Egyptians. My troops didnt even make it their destinations, and were stopped dead in their tracks half way to their objective. The war ensued in the mountains of Anatolia, the Hoplites wreaked havoc on my attacking Shofar Warriors. The Greeks replaced their losses, putting two men on the field where they had lost one. Soon my troops were vastly outnumbered. My ambition had got the best of me, and now my once great invasion looked to be turning into a route. Beaten on the battlefield I sued for peace. The Greeks demanded war reparations; I conceded giving them many workers and all the gold I had. To my surprise however I was able to keep Antioch, which was after all my primary goal.
The Greeks taught me a valuable lesson exposing my flawed calculations. In giving little attention to the economy and building a huge army I made certain that I would never be able sustain a prolonged war. My wars would have to be over quickly, but what if they didnt end this way? If the Greeks hadnt of accepted peace, I would have surely been doomed.
Zion Ambition II
My empire now stretched from Benghazi all the way along the coast to Antioch. The Eastern Mediterranean was becoming an Israeli Lake, but I still had to deal with those pesky Berbers (Pirates), in particular the infamous Barbarossa brothers. A plan to build a powerful fleet was put into the works, but before implemented my attention was drawn elsewhere.
From the East emerged a new threat. An envoy from the Persians came, demanding tribute. Pompous Persians, who did they think they were? I was not some petty power they could push around. My thoughts were that they were bluffing, merely trying to scare me into handing over my Gold. I refused their demands, and they immediately declared war.
This was unexpected, obviously they were relying on their military might that or they were just plain stupid. This mattered not now though, fore it was not a time of thought but one that demanded action. It was time to let loose the dogs of war.
The Persian Empire was huge, from the Caucus Mountains through modern day Iran. To the immediate East however lay the famous Arab city of Baghdad, unless I could get a right of passage agreement from the Arabs I would have to go around them to the North. Many Arab units were within my borders so it made sense to have a formal agreement between us. I sent envoys to them requesting free passage but much to my dismay I was denied. There was no way I would allow their troops to remain within my borders if I couldnt pass through theirs. I demanded they remove their men and the Arabs declared war.
Now my war was against two enemies, the Persians and the Arabs. So be it, the Arabs would be first to feel the brunt of my forces since Baghdad was right in my path. In a single turn over 30 units were in position to assault the city. Baghdad was a huge, much larger than any other in my realm. Only after the 20th unit had attacked did the great city fall and even then fighting went on into the streets forcing me to garrison 15 units to maintain the order.
In a single turn, I had broken the back of the Arab Empire, took away its most prized city. Arab resistance after this waned, and my focus shifted primarily on the Persians.
My troops poured into Persian territory. Susa fell to me due mostly to the Persians terribly slow mobilization. Immortals came from the North (Caucus), and from the East. Shofar Warrior stats are 3A-3D, while the Immortals are 4A-2D, the key was to initiate the attack, whoever attacked first could expect to win. To this end I moderately successful, but after much time our forces were locked into a stalemate.
Every time I would try to put an end to it by requesting peace the Persians would demand Susa back. That however was an impossibility, there was no way I engaged in this costly war to walk away empty handed. I tried to scare Emperor Xerxes as I had done with Cleopatra, by moving a number of men within range of his capital. He did not even flinch, instead laughed at me saying that time was on his side. He might have been right, but luck was on mine.
The Emperor personality or lack of had made him many enemies. The Turks from Central Asia and the Indians both on his Eastern Flank attacked him. He now had to fight a two front war, and I could see his men moving away from the western front with me towards the East. His once impenetrable lines of defence became weak, and my men broke through. The beautiful city of Isfahan fell. Knowing the Persians situation was desperate I initiated peace talks but the stubborn old mule was defiant, still laughing at me saying I did not have what it took to stomach a long tough war. Though my lines were overextended I pushed on, this time for his capital. After much fighting I conquered the Persian capital of Persepolis and it was now the Persians who came crawling back asking for peace, which I of course accepted on very favourable terms to myself.
Peace with the Persians was long in coming, I threw everything I had at them, and only the Turks and Indians coming into the war tipped the scales in my favour. Settled up with the Persians I would now finally be able to deal with the Arabs, who though quite silent since the fall of Baghdad were still carrying out guerrilla style warfare against me. I regrouped a large force in Baghdad, then moved southward to Basra, and though they resisted it was futile, the city fell without a single loss to my forces.
I pondered my next move. Much time had elapsed since the start of this Great War; my empire was very large, stretching from Egypt to Persia. The smart thing to do would be to consolidate my gains. Peace was sought with the Arabs who promptly & gratefully accepted.
Finally I would be able to rest, build improvements, work the land, and make my people happy. War would find me soon enough, but for now there would be peace in the Middle East.
To Be Continued
Nice story! Please continue soon
