What leaders and/or nations do you want in Civilization VII?

[Bonyduck Campersang]

It's already strange to have Mongols and Mughals and the same game

The Mughals and Mongols are completely different!!!

 

[Henri Christophe]

there was no "underflow" or "overflow" glitch.

Oh rly!?
I discover this game because my teacher of programing was trying to explain what is underflow and gave the example of civilization Gandhi.

The Mughals and Mongols are completely different!!!

I guess Barbur is descendent of Genghis Khan.

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

I hope they don't do that, It's already strange to have Mongols and Mughals and the same game, but have also India? No! I hope they put the Mughals and others Indians empires.

I guess Barbur is descendent of Genghis Khan.

First of all the Mongols and Mughals are not the same. Even though they claimed to descend from Genghis Khan they were actually Persianized Turks.
I see it as no difference from Macedon being separate from the Greeks, considering the Mughals were foreign invaders. Either way you could still call a civ India but let the leader be Ashoka anyways. But sure a separate Mughal, Maurya, and Chola civ etc. could work too. I just don't see that officially happening, at least for Civ 7.

 

[pokiehl]

Oh rly!?
I discover this game because my teacher of programing was trying to explain what is underflow and gave the example of civilization Gandhi.

Yep, it never happened. Even the Wikipedia article starts off with this: "Nuclear Gandhi is a video game hoax..."

The first actual instance of a Nuclear Gandhi was in 2010 in Civ 5 (nearly 20 years after Civ 1). Jon Shafer has publicly stated he just did it as a joke, based on the funny irony of having Gandhi be aggressive. The first actual mention of a "glitch" is from a fraudulent post on TvTropes.org in 2012. From there, the hoax spread like wildfire.

 

[cain3456]

Except that the Frankish Empire had no real resemblence to the Medieval or Modern nations of France or Germany. So, I'd say, no he couldn't, with any credibility.

This is why I want the HRE separated from Germany.

 

[Evie]

The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, whose rulers’ chief non-imperial title was king of Germany, is VERY much part of the German civilization.

Short of a game that split civilizations down according to different eras, the HRE should absolutely be part of the German civilization.

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

This is why I want the HRE separated from Germany.

The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, whose rulers’ chief non-imperial title was king of Germany, is VERY much part of the German civilization.

Short of a game that split civilizations down according to different eras, the HRE should absolutely be part of the German civilization.

I think there's a difference between the "HRE" of Charlemagne and the "HRE" of Otto I and beyond.
I'd argue the HRE of Charlemagne is different enough to be separate civ from Germany, and even France, but not the HRE of Otto I, Frederick Barbarossa etc., at least until Prussia comes up. But then I'd just make them a separate Austrian civ.

 

[Bonyduck Campersang]

Charlemagne's HRE was sort of like Gran Colombia. One-man country-straddling short-lived phenomenon

 

[Henri Christophe]

Charlemagne is different enough to be separate civ from Germany, and even France, but not the HRE of Otto I, Frederick Barbarossa etc.

Charlemagne could be leader of France meanwhile Germany stick with Barbarrosa.

Or Germany concept can push even further and took some leader of barbarians tribes as Ostrogoths

 

[Evie]

Oh yeah the Frankish empire I can see a case for - but it should be called that. The term HRE as applied to Charlemagne’s empire is decidedly dubious.

 

[pineappledan]

Chandragupta’s achievement in civ 6 is called “Isn’t this getting a bit old, you guys?”, so I think there probably is a contingent of firaxis devs that are sympathetic to dropping Gandhi and splitting India. They recognize Gandhi is sort of like the series mascot at this point, but they’re probably a bit tired of him.

 

[pokiehl]

Actually, the achievement is "I Thought We'd Moved Past This Joke" and it is specifically for using a nuke as Chandragupta. I don't think it tells us anything meaningful except that they are self-referential to memes, which we already know very well from their social media activity. It's quite a stretch to say that forecasts a split in India.

If it says anything at all, maybe it says that the "nuclear" aspect of Gandhi will be less emphasized, but again I doubt that as well.

 

[pineappledan]

It probably didn’t help the India splitter’s case that Chandragupta currently stands as the least-played leader in the series, at least going by steam achievements. This is despite multiple expansions and DLCs being released after him.

Unless everyone made a secret pact to play Chandragupta in offline mode, he seems to have been pretty unpopular.

 

[pokiehl]

The steam achievements are for winning games specifically, and Chandragupta is ahead of Kublai, Ba Trieu, and Menelik, and has an extremely similar percentage to Lautaro and Tamar who are from the same expansion. No one has a particularly high rate for these achievements, actually. The biggest is Qin at just 10%. I don't think these rates say much of anything, especially considering Civ 6 is not on just Steam, but also on multiple consoles, iOS, and Epic.

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

Chandragupta’s achievement in civ 6 is called “Isn’t this getting a bit old, you guys?”, so I think there probably is a contingent of firaxis devs that are sympathetic to dropping Gandhi and splitting India. They recognize Gandhi is sort of like the series mascot at this point, but they’re probably a bit tired of him.

Or they recognize that India is one civ that could always use multiple leaders?

It probably didn’t help the India splitter’s case that Chandragupta currently stands as the least-played leader in the series, at least going by steam achievements. This is despite multiple expansions and DLCs being released after him.

Unless everyone made a secret pact to play Chandragupta in offline mode, he seems to have been pretty unpopular.

Probably doesn't help that he got one of the "declare this kind of war early and bonus movement and combat strength for several turns after declaring that kind of war" leader abilities.

 

[Kimiimaro]

Very well, let's take a look.

For the base game, I think I'll work with 20 civs + 1 preorder bonus one.

Not many newcomers at the starting point - I imagine for the base game to sell, it'll have to introduce an expected base of staples that most people desire to see. If there is innovation, it's going to be mostly among leaders.

Arabia - I imagine a design focused on the golden age of Islam, which leads us to the Abbasid Caliphate. Umayyads I'd rather save for a potential Moorish Civ. A religious-commercial, scientific-commercial or religious-scientific design should suit Arabia, though I suppose the last of the named options is kinda what Civ VI does, so I'd rather pick one of the other two named. I don't know Abbasid Caliphs closely, so I suppose a return of Harun al-Rashid is something I can live with - especially since he's appeared only once in Civ so far.
Babylon - We can't miss an ancient Mesopotamian civilisation. I guess they will be scientific the next time, too, but I can hope they add a bit of a builder flavour into the ability mix. For their leader, I wouldn't mind seeing Nabopolassar, but I would also be content with the return of Nabuchadnezzar II. Perhaps with him, we could get some nice builder ability - he is known for massive building projects in the city od Babylon. Hopefully, if he gets chosen, he'll crawl out of the cave he sat in in Civ V...
Benin - A newcomer from the Western African coast. I can't tell you much more - I am not that well acquainted with the region's history, but I'd love to learn through the game. I suppose queen Idia could work.
China - Methinks reusing leaders for a civilisation as ancient as China is a humongous waste. Thousands upon thousands years of history, numerous imperial dynasties, yet so little leader variety across the games. So I say preemptive no to the return of Wu, Kublai and Qin. And absolute no to Mao. I'll be slightly more lenient towards Yongle here - the next game could still lean into his encyclopedia or his treasure voyages and make abiliities out of those, so his return with such a new flavour I wouldn't mind. But, generally speaking, I'd still prefer a new leader altogether over him. And a new dynasty, too. To fulfil that, I suppose we have three major choices here - Han, Song and Qing. I'll be honest, I know almost nothing about the Han Dynasty. Only the fact that it's considered the golden age of China. I'll be happy to learn should Firaxis go with a Han leader and flavour, but considering my current lack of knowledge, it's hard for me to get excited about them. With Qing I am more knowledgeable, and I wouldn't necessarily mind seeing them. They have some interesting leader options - namely Kangxi and Qianlong (I suppose one could also go with Cixi for a big name and a female leader, though I am not particualrly fond of going with her, considering the disastrous era she presided over). I suppose a Qing design might end up being a bit militaristic though, and it's not exactly my preferred design here. This makes Song flavour the one I would like to see the most. From what I've read, it feels like a fascinating era offering a lot of potential for designs. A well-rounded populous empire playing similarly to current Yongle, or perhaps a civ leaning a bit more into being a scientific-commercial power... No leader recommendation on my side here though - I don't know any Song emperor well enough to pick here.
Egypt - My knowledge of Ancient Egyptian history is fairly surface, I don't know many Pharaohs, let alone closely. I'd prefer seeing another leader after three consecutive games with Ramesses II, and I'd rather it not have a Ptolemaic Pharaoh. I would kinda like to see a return of queen Hatshepsut. A design centered around her reign could make Egypt into a fun economic-monument builder hybrid civ (a playstyle right up my alley!). Should we go with a previously unseen leader though, I wouldn't mind seeing what they can do with Ahmose I. Or they can try Thutmose III to give Egypt an interesting militaristic twist.
England - I'd be perfectly content if Elizabeth I found her way into Civ VII, too. A naval-cultural hybrid design would come with that, I suppose. But if we are to go with a newcomer leader, I'd be interested in king Henry V... And I must admit, reading this thread did spark some interest in me regarding queen Anne.
France - I would like to see Cardinal Richelieu leading France, leaning into spying and diplomacy. If we're to lean into a bit more straightforward militaristic approach and want to avoid Napoleon (though I'm not one of the folks saying preemptive no to him), I can propose king Philippe Auguste. He has the nice advantage of coming with medieval French design - and I would absolutely love to see a depiction of a king draped in a magnificent blue robe with golden lilies. And as third possibility, I am going to unironically present the option of Napoleon III. The man has left behind stunning infrastructural work in France, which is a bit unfairly forgotten in face of his foolish adventure in Mexico and ultimate defeat by the Prussians. I imagine an ability besed off the renovation of Paris he ordered could lead to interesting results.
Germany - While I'm generally for trying out some fresh things, here, I am going to be conservative and will say that a return of Otto von Bismarck is fine by me, because a) I am not particularly fond of using Holy Roman Emperors for Germany (except maybe some earlier ones - Barbarossa was an okay choice by me), and b) I love the industrial era. With him, I picture an industrial-military German design. Boring, uninspired, but effective.
Greece - I like the city state league design they went with in Civ VI. I say we ditch Alexander and go with this again. If they can keep the design grounded, without overuse of cringey references of 300 (I suppose I'll survive it if they make such a reference in the game's achievements, I guess), I am not against the usage of king Leonidas of Sparta as such a city state leader. If they can't do that, I'd rather turn to Athenian leadership under, say, Themistocles or Solon. But I'm also willing to accept Philip II of Macedon to lead a united Greece.
Inca - The Civ VI Incan design was pretty good. Due to it though, I can't come up with a design that would stray from it. As such, I'll only suggest a leader. I suppose after two consecutive Pachacutis, we can get Huayna Capac for Civ VII.
Japan - I am partial to Emperor Meiji, with whom Japan can become an adaptive industrial beast. I am however also perfectly willing to accept a daimyo or shogun - but I don't know any notable ones outside of the ones I know from Civ (and outside of Toyotomi Hideyoshi) to propose. As a side note for alternate design from Meiji's Empire - Tokugawa's isolantionism in Civ VI is a nice design, I wouldn't mind a repeat of that.
Mauryas - I believe the time has come for the Indian blob to perish and be split. I picture a threefold split into the Mughals, Mauryas and Cholas. Three Indian realms, different in religion and in time they existed in at their peak. With the Mauryas, we'll be receiving the most "standard" depiction of historical India - war elephants and all that - and so they get into base game. A return of emperor Ashoka could be nice, but I wouldn't be too upset if we see Chandragupta Maurya for the second time instead. I imagine a military-religious design could work.
Maya - My knowledge of the Maya is very surface, so I'm not going to propose any design here. I don't know any Maya leaders outside of those introduced to us in Civ, so I'm not proposing anyone, either.
Native North American Civ - NOT THE CIV IV BLOB - READ FURTHER! - I'll be brutally honest here - Native Americans are on the very periphery of my historical interest. I recognise a need of them in the games, and I'm all for giving them space both in the base game and in the expansion packs, but I simply can't get myself to be excited about them, and I am more or less apathetic towards which peoples we end with in in this field. Pick whichever native people you'd like to see here. If I were forced to pick some, I suppose I'd say the Iroquois.
Ottoman Empire - Three (or four?) consecutive Suleimans warrant a bit of a change, but I suppose keeping the Ottoman Empire an expansionist one is fine. The empire existed for over six centuries and had several notable sultans, so I imagine a return to Mehmed II isn't necessary, though I wouldn't particularly object to him either - we haven't seen him for two games, and his greatest achievement - the fall of Constantinople - transformed into an ability could be interesting. The guns of Orban as a unique unit could be fun to see, too. But the primary candidate for militaristic Ottomans on my mind was Selim I, who in brief eight years of his reign tripled the extent of the empire. An alternate design, leaning a bit into culture, could be interesting, too. For such a design, I believe Ahmed III and the Tulip period would be the perfect choice. And if Japan and France weren't telling enough, I am in love with the 19th Century, and I think the Ottomans have something to offer here, too. I feel like Mahmud II designed around the disbandment of the Janissaries or Abdülmecid I with a design focused on the Tanzimat could provide some interesting gameplay opportunities - but I suppose those two are only realistic as emergency options in case no other great industrial era reformer gets included.
Parthia - We can't be left without a expansionist cavalry-heavy realm, and the Parthians seems like a good choice for that role. I don't know their rulers well enough to choose among them though.
Rome - As a law student (from a country that built its legal system upon the principles of civil law) that went through Roman civil law in the first year as a mandatory part of my studies, I must state that Roman law is an immensely fascinating aspect of the Roman society, and what is even more impressive - it's largely timeless. You'd be surprised how much the law in civil code countries builds upon the foundations left to us by the Romans! But enough about my little legal gushing - I concede that won't make exactly a fun ability . So instead, I imagine the Roman design for Civ VII to be something similar to the one from Civ VI - a moderately expansionist infrastructure-building realm. I don't particularly care whether we end up with Rome portrayed as the republic or as the empire, but I don't know many republican leaders, so I'll only propose some emperors. I can stomach a return of Augustus, though I wouldn't necessarily mind a new emperor, either. I am partial to Marcus Aurelius and Diocletian as potential new faces - and if I were to pick from the two, I'd probably choose the latter. I have a thing for reformers.
Russia - I imagine the recent unfortunate events in Ukraine might make the representation of Russia in the form the Romanov Russian Empire a bit undesirable at the moment, considering that it was Romanovs who historically conquered the area. Though I had some relatively harmless designs for the Tsars Alexander I and Alexander II on my mind, I'll let them go for now. The current situation is naturally a no to Soviet representation as well (though it would have been a no for me nevertheless even if no war was going on). I imagine the Grand Duchy of Muscovy or Rurikid Tsardom of Russia representation should be okay instead. It would be a breath of fresh air, too. Great leaders to pick from that period would be Grand Duke Ivan III or Tsar Ivan IV.
Siam - I picture a Siamese civ under king Narai. I believe he could be an interesting choice with abilities leaning towards diplomacy. However, I won't shut up about my love of the industrial age yet, and apart from him, I'm also going to propose Rama IV or Rama V. One paved the way for the country's modernisation, the other conducted it brilliantly and saved Siam from ending colonised. If I were to pick one of the two, I suppose I would be leaning towards Rama V.
United States - I don't really have any designs to propose here. I can more or less accept anything, from the newly-independent States with an exploration-settling focus, to the rising power of the industrial age with a builder focus, to the modern superpower era, which can work with more or less any abilities - scientific, cultural, you name it. I lean slightly towards the second named design, but, you know it by now, that's just my industrial era bias. Anyway, outside of that, I have no particular leader preference.

Preorder:
Denmark - The inevitable viking civ. The vikings don't interest me at all, but I guess they can't be omitted. I suppose the preorder bonus civ should be big enough name to motivate the players to make the preorder purchase, and I think the vikings should work just fine for that purpose. King Cnut should do as their leader.

The post is long enough as it is, so ideas for DLCs and expansion packs I'll save for potential later posts.

I've found myself with a bit of free time to design more! This time, it'll be pre-expansion DLCs. I'll work with them including 10 Civs, and I'll try to have them form geographical pairs. I'll be following a pattern of a new civ and a staple civ in each pack.

DLC 1 - European pack
Ireland - A medieval Celtic realm, as opposed to the ancient Gaul (that I'm saving for an exansion pack). I haven't much idea what they could do (a religious bonus, I guess?), nor do I know any suitable leader - I don't have much of an interest in Irish culture nor history - though I've heard the High King Brian Boru could be a fairly good choice.
Spain - In terms of global impact, a Civ that definitely cannot be omitted. I suppose a religious-colonial design is probably going to be inevitable. I believe Charles V should fit that design nicely.

DLC 2 - African pack
Kilwa - A newcomer from the Swahili Coast. I am not particularly familiar with their history, but I believe a mercantile orientation should suit them. I know no leader to recommend though.
Zulu - The usual - a military design with the impi. As for the leader, it would be Shaka, naturally.

DLC 3 - Far Eastern pack
Philippines - I am not familiar with the Filipino history at all, so I don't have any idea how to design their abilities or who their leader should be. I only reckon there exist some pre-Spanish realms that a Filipino civilisation could be modelled on.
Vietnam - I suppose a defence focus could work. I don't know many Vietnamese leaders, but I suppose Le Loi could be a decent one.

DLC 4 - American pack
Argentina - I am not a particular fan of post-colonial civilisations, but I don't think representing hispanophone Latin American nations is necessarily a bad thing either. One civ should suffice for such representation, and I believe Argentina is a decent option. I don't have much of an idea regarding abilities or a leader to offer. I'll love to hear the tango-inspired themes though.
Aztecs - Military design, I suppose. Perhaps some work with the city states. I do not know any leader outside the usual Montezuma I to recommend here though.

DLC 5 - Middle Eastern/Caucasian pack
Armenia - I suppose a religious design? I'm not very familiar with Armenian history, but I'd love to see them nevertheless (Scythian themes made me addicted to duduk). I believe Tigranes the Great should be a good leader choice, I suppose with military orientation. That or Tiridates III, who could play around religion.
Persia - The inclusion of Nader Shah finally showed us that we can have a non-Achaemenid Persian leader in Civ. I would like to build upon that and go with s Sassanid, Safavid or Afsharid representation this time. With the Afsharids, we could have a more militaristic design centered around Nader Shah again - I believe the Sack of Delhi could make an interesting ability for him in this iteration. I picture him being capable of looting pieces of art, for example. Then there is the Sassanids, which I imagine as a culture-military oriented kingdom. For their leader, I would accept Khosrow I, Khosrow II, Shapur I or Shapur II. All fairly interesting and accomplished leaders. Safavid design I imagine as cultural-military again. Their leader should be Abbas the Great. His bonuses I picture designed around his massive building works in Isfahan.

 

[Patine]

I've found myself with a bit of free time to design more! This time, it'll be pre-expansion DLCs. I'll work with them including 10 Civs, and I'll try to have them form geographical pairs. I'll be following a pattern of a new civ and a staple civ in each pack.

DLC 1 - European pack
Ireland - A medieval Celtic realm, as opposed to the ancient Gaul (that I'm saving for an exansion pack). I haven't much idea what they could do (a religious bonus, I guess?), nor do I know any suitable leader - I don't have much of an interest in Irish culture nor history - though I've heard the High King Brian Boru could be a fairly good choice.
Spain - In terms of global impact, a Civ that definitely cannot be omitted. I suppose a religious-colonial design is probably going to be inevitable. I believe Charles V should fit that design nicely.

DLC 2 - African pack
Kilwa - A newcomer from the Swahili Coast. I am not particularly familiar with their history, but I believe a mercantile orientation should suit them. I know no leader to recommend though.
Zulu - The usual - a military design with the impi. As for the leader, it would be Shaka, naturally.

DLC 3 - Far Eastern pack
Philippines - I am not familiar with the Filipino history at all, so I don't have any idea how to design their abilities or who their leader should be. I only reckon there exist some pre-Spanish realms that a Filipino civilisation could be modelled on.
Vietnam - I suppose a defence focus could work. I don't know many Vietnamese leaders, but I suppose Le Loi could be a decent one.

DLC 4 - American pack
Argentina - I am not a particular fan of post-colonial civilisations, but I don't think representing hispanophone Latin American nations is necessarily a bad thing either. One civ should suffice for such representation, and I believe Argentina is a decent option. I don't have much of an idea regarding abilities or a leader to offer. I'll love to hear the tango-inspired themes though.
Aztecs - Military design, I suppose. Perhaps some work with the city states. I do not know any leader outside the usual Montezuma I to recommend here though.

DLC 5 - Middle Eastern/Caucasian pack
Armenia - I suppose a religious design? I'm not very familiar with Armenian history, but I'd love to see them nevertheless (Scythian themes made me addicted to duduk). I believe Tigranes the Great should be a good leader choice, I suppose with military orientation. That or Tiridates III, who could play around religion.
Persia - The inclusion of Nader Shah finally showed us that we can have a non-Achaemenid Persian leader in Civ. I would like to build upon that and go with s Sassanid, Safavid or Afsharid representation this time. With the Afsharids, we could have a more militaristic design centered around Nader Shah again - I believe the Sack of Delhi could make an interesting ability for him in this iteration. I picture him being capable of looting pieces of art, for example. Then there is the Sassanids, which I imagine as a culture-military oriented kingdom. For their leader, I would accept Khosrow I, Khosrow II, Shapur I or Shapur II. All fairly interesting and accomplished leaders. Safavid design I imagine as cultural-military again. Their leader should be Abbas the Great. His bonuses I picture designed around his massive building works in Isfahan.

I think you might get a lot of consternation from fans about regional modpacks based around what order they came out in...

 

[Kimiimaro]

I think you might get a lot of consternation from fans about regional modpacks based around what order they came out in...

I don't recall there being much of an uproar when geographical packs came out in New Frontier Pass though?

Naturally, the geographical intent can be easily masked by calling them the usual "Civ 1 + Civ 2 pack". And if there is something wrong with the particular order I wrote in the post, I assure you, there was no mean intent on my side, they can easily be shuffled. I'm not dead-set on the order I wrote them in

 

[Caesar of Bread]

I've found myself with a bit of free time to design more! This time, it'll be pre-expansion DLCs. I'll work with them including 10 Civs, and I'll try to have them form geographical pairs. I'll be following a pattern of a new civ and a staple civ in each pack.

DLC 1 - European pack
Ireland - A medieval Celtic realm, as opposed to the ancient Gaul (that I'm saving for an exansion pack). I haven't much idea what they could do (a religious bonus, I guess?), nor do I know any suitable leader - I don't have much of an interest in Irish culture nor history - though I've heard the High King Brian Boru could be a fairly good choice.
Spain - In terms of global impact, a Civ that definitely cannot be omitted. I suppose a religious-colonial design is probably going to be inevitable. I believe Charles V should fit that design nicely.

DLC 2 - African pack
Kilwa - A newcomer from the Swahili Coast. I am not particularly familiar with their history, but I believe a mercantile orientation should suit them. I know no leader to recommend though.
Zulu - The usual - a military design with the impi. As for the leader, it would be Shaka, naturally.

DLC 3 - Far Eastern pack
Philippines - I am not familiar with the Filipino history at all, so I don't have any idea how to design their abilities or who their leader should be. I only reckon there exist some pre-Spanish realms that a Filipino civilisation could be modelled on.
Vietnam - I suppose a defence focus could work. I don't know many Vietnamese leaders, but I suppose Le Loi could be a decent one.

DLC 4 - American pack
Argentina - I am not a particular fan of post-colonial civilisations, but I don't think representing hispanophone Latin American nations is necessarily a bad thing either. One civ should suffice for such representation, and I believe Argentina is a decent option. I don't have much of an idea regarding abilities or a leader to offer. I'll love to hear the tango-inspired themes though.
Aztecs - Military design, I suppose. Perhaps some work with the city states. I do not know any leader outside the usual Montezuma I to recommend here though.

DLC 5 - Middle Eastern/Caucasian pack
Armenia - I suppose a religious design? I'm not very familiar with Armenian history, but I'd love to see them nevertheless (Scythian themes made me addicted to duduk). I believe Tigranes the Great should be a good leader choice, I suppose with military orientation. That or Tiridates III, who could play around religion.
Persia - The inclusion of Nader Shah finally showed us that we can have a non-Achaemenid Persian leader in Civ. I would like to build upon that and go with s Sassanid, Safavid or Afsharid representation this time. With the Afsharids, we could have a more militaristic design centered around Nader Shah again - I believe the Sack of Delhi could make an interesting ability for him in this iteration. I picture him being capable of looting pieces of art, for example. Then there is the Sassanids, which I imagine as a culture-military oriented kingdom. For their leader, I would accept Khosrow I, Khosrow II, Shapur I or Shapur II. All fairly interesting and accomplished leaders. Safavid design I imagine as cultural-military again. Their leader should be Abbas the Great. His bonuses I picture designed around his massive building works in Isfahan.

Only thing wrong - please replace Charles V with someone else. And maybe Itzcoatl or Ahuizotl for Aztecs. But otherwise great!

 

[Bonyduck Campersang]

Philippines - I only reckon there exist some pre-Spanish realms that a Filipino civilisation could be modelled on.

There were, but unfortunately not so closely related to one another that they could be gathered under a single civilization, from what I understand.

There's an excellent Philippines mod for Civ6 by Civitas which does just that, by the way.