Hey everyone! I've been playing one of my favorite civs and wanted to make a post outlining the strategy I go for when playing them. I always feel like this forum could use more civ-specific strategy talk so here goes!
Ashurbanipal - Assyria
Treasures of Nineveh
When you conquer a City, gain either a Technology already known by the owner or, if impossible, a large Science boost. All Great Works produce +3 Science.
Siege Tower.
May only be built by the Assyrians. Unique support unit. Nearby owned units gain +40% Combat Strength versus cities when ST is adjacent to city, and +20% when it is two tiles from city. Starts with Medic 1 & 2 and Extra Sight. May only have two active at a time.
Royal Library, replaces School of Philosophy.
5 Culture, 3 Science and, 1 Great Scientist Points.
+1 Science for every 2 Citizens in the city, and all Libraries produce +3 Science. Free Library. Every Great Work of Writing you control grants +5 XP to units created in any City (maximum of +45 XP). Has 3 slots for Great Works of Writing, comes with Flood Tablet, and is available earlier than the School of Philosophy. +3 Production if Themed.
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General Strategy
Assyria is all about conquest. Each part of their kit is either benefiting from conquest or making conquest easier to accomplish. Free techs or tech boosts from city capture is a REALLY strong UA so I think it is important to make city capture your central goal in a game as Assyria. In case it is relevant I play Standard/Standard/Immortal and just use VP.
Long-term I think the best victory conditions to shoot for are straight domination or science victory. Assyria can lean into a domination win using its highly experienced units and siege towers to win wars and take capitals while keeping competitive in science as a result of those city captures. They can also pivot off to a science victory by terrorizing their local neighbors for science boosts throughout the game- all of those free techs or science boosts can allow you to sling-shot ahead in science and hit the important end-game techs first.
While Assyria has some synergy with great works generation (science and, in the case of GW of Writing, unit experience) there isn't anything else in their kit that is going to help you generate tourism directly so I don't really see them as a culture victory candidate even if specifically targeting high culture neighbors for destruction can make culture victories easier to come by.
I don't see any real reason to pursue a diplomatic victory as Assyria. I prefer to eat CSs for science as Assyria rather than curry their favor for votes.
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Policy Choices
I like Assyria's synergy with Authority more than any other ancient era tree. The most important thing to do as Assyria is to take cities and Authority sets you up for that better than the other trees by making your military stronger and helping you benefit more from wining battles and taking cities. I can see arguments for Tradition/Progress as well. Tradition will net you great Writers sooner and can often warmonger initially quite well as the capital can pump out units faster early on. Progress could help you capitalize on all those cities you will eventually own and buy great Writers with faith in the Industrial age. However, if you plan to warmonger all game long then I think Authority is going to pay off the best.
For the renaissance trees I think the choice is just between Artistry and Fealty. Artistry will help you generate some more Writers for unit experience and hit the +45exp cap sooner while Fealty can help you benefit from the Holy city and religion you take from a neighbor (you shouldn't bother founding one yourself in my opinion as there is too much else to spend hammers on early game). I don't see any reason to go Statecraft- you should either be demanding tribute from CSs early game or conquering them later on.
Industrial branches are also relatively open to circumstances. I certainly tend to favor Imperialism for Assyria but I could see Rationalism being a good pick if you're realizing a science victory is the way to go or Industry being a solid choice all around especially for your economy. I think Imperialism is almost always a good pick for Assyria, though. You should never stop taking cities and fighting so Imperialism is more guaranteed to be of benefit.
Once you are picking your ideology I think you need to have figured out your victory condition. If you're going domination then Autocracy is likely the best way to put yourself over the top. If you've decided a science victory could be faster or safer then Order is likely the best route or possibly Freedom if geopolitics demand it.
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Early Game
In my games I pretty much commit to Authority as Assyria and that will largely dictate how I play early on.
I really like to tech Mining->Bronze Working right off the bat to both unlock spearmen and grab Statue of Zeus. Spearmen are a dominant unit in the very early game and only start to fall behind somewhat when Horsemen appear. They are really good for demanding early tribute from the immediate CS neighbors with their relatively high combat strength especially if the CS still has only warriors. Demanding tribute should be a big priority in the early game aside from grabbing barbarian camps ASAP as it is your main source of early culture. Statue of Zeus plays right in to helping you take cities and gives a free barracks and since I tech straight to it I find that I can pretty reliably get it (the main barrier to getting is if you can get the culture for unlocking 2 policies quickly enough and that largely depends on being able to tribute and/or get a few barbarian camps).
My initial build order is usually monument->shrine followed by warriors and spearmen as spearmen become available up to my initial unit cap (usually about 5 spearmen total right off the bat). I'll fit a worker in there as soon as I have tiles worth improving which just depends on your initial area. The shrine is just there to get me an early game pantheon- I have no intention of founding my own religion but pantheons can be quite strong for their yields anyway.
Effectively using those initial 5 spearmen is key to the early game. They should be capable of getting tribute from nearby CSs (declare war and kill units of the CS if that is needed to lower their military and make them more reasonable to your demands) and grab any barbarian camps in your area. Both of those activities are key to getting culture and making your way through the authority tree in a timely fashion.
After Bronze Working, my next tech goal is typically whatever techs allow me to improve nearby resources or get important buildings. Trapping for camp resources or Calendar for plantations. Next is to grab Military Theory for both horsemen and for siege towers in the event that someone has been silly enough to provide me with a forward settled city to take. A siege tower along with a few spearmen will easily take down pre-wall cities- no catapults or archers required to whittle it down.
I don't prioritize Pottery for settlers very early on. I usually only plan to settle a few cities (probably 4ish total) in order to gain important strategic resources early on and secure my lux monopoly. After that I prefer that the AI settle more cities for me to conquer.
Next is Writing for a Royal Library to get that Great Writer experience bonus as well as make the libraries you build in any cities get their +3 science steroid. This will help you coast through the early game tech tree. I typically also reach for Drama and Poetry to get my Writer's guilds setup ASAP. After that I pretty much focus on the bottom of the tech tree the rest of the game for the big, impactful military techs. Unlocking some of the strongest units before your opponents (Knights, Musketmen/Gatling, Cannons, etc) can make a difficult war become a relatively easy one.
I should also mention that swordsmen/longswordsmen could also be honorary UUs for Assyria. That free Shock I coupled with Assyria's experience bonuses means that swordsmen/longswordsmen get a headstart on their way to March. March coupled with Siege Tower's Medic II creates a unit that is healing for +15hp every turn while in enemy territory (and more in neutral/owned territory). I typically build as many swordsmen/longswordsmen as I have iron at the expense of any other units. Having Medic II siege towers also means that ranged units (who are often saddled with going down the medic line as support units) or more free to pursue other promotion lines and potentially get to things like +1 range sooner. It is imperative to use your siege towers well and it is especially important to not allow your siege towers to die, ESPECIALLY once they obsolete and cannot be replaced. Be VERY careful with them as the AI will try to pick them off if left unguarded.
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Mid/Late Game
Target Alhambra and Brandenburg Gate if possible to stack even more free promotions/exp and have newly created units soon getting 3-4 promotions on creation.
Never stop warring and taking cities to keep the science engine chugging. Target the bottom portion of the tech tree to war faster/better and rely on spies/UA to back fill the top.
Decide on either domination or science victories at some point and run with it.
Ashurbanipal - Assyria
Treasures of Nineveh
When you conquer a City, gain either a Technology already known by the owner or, if impossible, a large Science boost. All Great Works produce +3 Science.
Siege Tower.
May only be built by the Assyrians. Unique support unit. Nearby owned units gain +40% Combat Strength versus cities when ST is adjacent to city, and +20% when it is two tiles from city. Starts with Medic 1 & 2 and Extra Sight. May only have two active at a time.
Royal Library, replaces School of Philosophy.
5 Culture, 3 Science and, 1 Great Scientist Points.
+1 Science for every 2 Citizens in the city, and all Libraries produce +3 Science. Free Library. Every Great Work of Writing you control grants +5 XP to units created in any City (maximum of +45 XP). Has 3 slots for Great Works of Writing, comes with Flood Tablet, and is available earlier than the School of Philosophy. +3 Production if Themed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
General Strategy
Assyria is all about conquest. Each part of their kit is either benefiting from conquest or making conquest easier to accomplish. Free techs or tech boosts from city capture is a REALLY strong UA so I think it is important to make city capture your central goal in a game as Assyria. In case it is relevant I play Standard/Standard/Immortal and just use VP.
Long-term I think the best victory conditions to shoot for are straight domination or science victory. Assyria can lean into a domination win using its highly experienced units and siege towers to win wars and take capitals while keeping competitive in science as a result of those city captures. They can also pivot off to a science victory by terrorizing their local neighbors for science boosts throughout the game- all of those free techs or science boosts can allow you to sling-shot ahead in science and hit the important end-game techs first.
While Assyria has some synergy with great works generation (science and, in the case of GW of Writing, unit experience) there isn't anything else in their kit that is going to help you generate tourism directly so I don't really see them as a culture victory candidate even if specifically targeting high culture neighbors for destruction can make culture victories easier to come by.
I don't see any real reason to pursue a diplomatic victory as Assyria. I prefer to eat CSs for science as Assyria rather than curry their favor for votes.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Policy Choices
I like Assyria's synergy with Authority more than any other ancient era tree. The most important thing to do as Assyria is to take cities and Authority sets you up for that better than the other trees by making your military stronger and helping you benefit more from wining battles and taking cities. I can see arguments for Tradition/Progress as well. Tradition will net you great Writers sooner and can often warmonger initially quite well as the capital can pump out units faster early on. Progress could help you capitalize on all those cities you will eventually own and buy great Writers with faith in the Industrial age. However, if you plan to warmonger all game long then I think Authority is going to pay off the best.
For the renaissance trees I think the choice is just between Artistry and Fealty. Artistry will help you generate some more Writers for unit experience and hit the +45exp cap sooner while Fealty can help you benefit from the Holy city and religion you take from a neighbor (you shouldn't bother founding one yourself in my opinion as there is too much else to spend hammers on early game). I don't see any reason to go Statecraft- you should either be demanding tribute from CSs early game or conquering them later on.
Industrial branches are also relatively open to circumstances. I certainly tend to favor Imperialism for Assyria but I could see Rationalism being a good pick if you're realizing a science victory is the way to go or Industry being a solid choice all around especially for your economy. I think Imperialism is almost always a good pick for Assyria, though. You should never stop taking cities and fighting so Imperialism is more guaranteed to be of benefit.
Once you are picking your ideology I think you need to have figured out your victory condition. If you're going domination then Autocracy is likely the best way to put yourself over the top. If you've decided a science victory could be faster or safer then Order is likely the best route or possibly Freedom if geopolitics demand it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Early Game
In my games I pretty much commit to Authority as Assyria and that will largely dictate how I play early on.
I really like to tech Mining->Bronze Working right off the bat to both unlock spearmen and grab Statue of Zeus. Spearmen are a dominant unit in the very early game and only start to fall behind somewhat when Horsemen appear. They are really good for demanding early tribute from the immediate CS neighbors with their relatively high combat strength especially if the CS still has only warriors. Demanding tribute should be a big priority in the early game aside from grabbing barbarian camps ASAP as it is your main source of early culture. Statue of Zeus plays right in to helping you take cities and gives a free barracks and since I tech straight to it I find that I can pretty reliably get it (the main barrier to getting is if you can get the culture for unlocking 2 policies quickly enough and that largely depends on being able to tribute and/or get a few barbarian camps).
My initial build order is usually monument->shrine followed by warriors and spearmen as spearmen become available up to my initial unit cap (usually about 5 spearmen total right off the bat). I'll fit a worker in there as soon as I have tiles worth improving which just depends on your initial area. The shrine is just there to get me an early game pantheon- I have no intention of founding my own religion but pantheons can be quite strong for their yields anyway.
Effectively using those initial 5 spearmen is key to the early game. They should be capable of getting tribute from nearby CSs (declare war and kill units of the CS if that is needed to lower their military and make them more reasonable to your demands) and grab any barbarian camps in your area. Both of those activities are key to getting culture and making your way through the authority tree in a timely fashion.
After Bronze Working, my next tech goal is typically whatever techs allow me to improve nearby resources or get important buildings. Trapping for camp resources or Calendar for plantations. Next is to grab Military Theory for both horsemen and for siege towers in the event that someone has been silly enough to provide me with a forward settled city to take. A siege tower along with a few spearmen will easily take down pre-wall cities- no catapults or archers required to whittle it down.
I don't prioritize Pottery for settlers very early on. I usually only plan to settle a few cities (probably 4ish total) in order to gain important strategic resources early on and secure my lux monopoly. After that I prefer that the AI settle more cities for me to conquer.
Next is Writing for a Royal Library to get that Great Writer experience bonus as well as make the libraries you build in any cities get their +3 science steroid. This will help you coast through the early game tech tree. I typically also reach for Drama and Poetry to get my Writer's guilds setup ASAP. After that I pretty much focus on the bottom of the tech tree the rest of the game for the big, impactful military techs. Unlocking some of the strongest units before your opponents (Knights, Musketmen/Gatling, Cannons, etc) can make a difficult war become a relatively easy one.
I should also mention that swordsmen/longswordsmen could also be honorary UUs for Assyria. That free Shock I coupled with Assyria's experience bonuses means that swordsmen/longswordsmen get a headstart on their way to March. March coupled with Siege Tower's Medic II creates a unit that is healing for +15hp every turn while in enemy territory (and more in neutral/owned territory). I typically build as many swordsmen/longswordsmen as I have iron at the expense of any other units. Having Medic II siege towers also means that ranged units (who are often saddled with going down the medic line as support units) or more free to pursue other promotion lines and potentially get to things like +1 range sooner. It is imperative to use your siege towers well and it is especially important to not allow your siege towers to die, ESPECIALLY once they obsolete and cannot be replaced. Be VERY careful with them as the AI will try to pick them off if left unguarded.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mid/Late Game
Target Alhambra and Brandenburg Gate if possible to stack even more free promotions/exp and have newly created units soon getting 3-4 promotions on creation.
Never stop warring and taking cities to keep the science engine chugging. Target the bottom portion of the tech tree to war faster/better and rely on spies/UA to back fill the top.
Decide on either domination or science victories at some point and run with it.
+50%
translated to 
) provides less science than a more patient approach.
+50%
translated to 
) provides less science than a more patient approach.
... Or at least you need fast units to kill (horseman, skirmisher) rather than tanking units which good for taking damage but not very strong on offensive (spearman).