Broad Concept: Mesopotamia is most famous being the "Cradle of Civilization" (Although I think that term is inherently kind of pseudohistorical.) where literature, large-scale agriculture, and densely populated urban centers emerged earlier than pretty much anywhere else on Earth. (Although some other river valley civilizations are close seconds on all three.) As such, I think it would make the most sense to give a Mesopotamian civ like Babylon bonuses related to Great Works of Writing, science generation, and population growth. The other factor I wanted to consider is that there's already a Mesopotamian civilization in the game - Sumer - so I think it would be best to differentiate the Babylonians from them as much as possible. (I would also differentiate them from Sumer aesthetically as well - Hammurabi could be depicted as thin, somewhat stoic, and seated on his throne, visually contrasting him with the boisterous, muscular Gilgamesh.) Fortunately, Sumer's CA, LA, and UU are all geared towards early-game warfare, allowing Babylon to fill a niche as the designated peaceful Mesopotamian civ.
With those ideas in mind, my intent is that Babylon would focus on quickly growing carefully-placed cities to massive sizes and leveraging their high population to generate science and culture, setting them up for a tourism or science victory if they can exploit their early-game advantage to start snowballing before their abilities decline in relevance.
Additionally, I decided to distinguish this incarnation of Babylon from V's Babylon by basing it on the Old Babylonian Empire rather than the more famous Neo-Babylonian Empire.
Leader: Hammurabi
Capital: Babylon
Symbol: The mushussu (A mythical animal similar to a dragon, considered the sacred animal of the Babylonian tutelary god Marduk, and prominently depicted on the Ishtar Gate.)
Colours:
Civilization Ability - The Fertile Crescent: +1 food to all tiles adjacent to a source of Fresh Water, increasing to +2 if the tile has a farm or plantation built on it. Gain access to the "Alluvial Canal" Unique Improvement after researching Irrigation.
Leader Ability - The Code of Hammurabi: Start the game with the "Code of Laws" Civic already researched. Receive a free Great Work of Writing ("The Code of Hammurabi") in the palace after researching Writing, and a free Great Writer (Sin-leqi-unninni, who creates "The Epic of Gilgamesh" and "The Enuma Elish".) after building two Edubbas. Great Works of Writing generate +1 culture and +2 science.
Leader Agenda - King of the Four Corners of the Universe: Will seek to maximize the population of his cities. Hates leaders who have a city with more population than his capital.
Unique Building - Edubba: A replacement for the Library, the Edubba additionally has a slot for a Great Work of Writing, and provides 1 Great Writer point per turn.
Unique Unit - Amorite Warrior: A replacement for the Warrior, the Amorite Warrior pays no additional movement cost for moving through hill tiles, and receives +3 combat strength while standing on a hill. (This stacks with the usual +3 defensive combat strength from standing on a hill.)
Unique Improvement - Alluvial Canal: Unlocked with Irrigation. The Alluvial Canal initially produces +3 food, but once the world enters the Classical Era, its yield is reduced to +2 food, and once the world enters the Medieval Era, its yield is reduced to +1 food. An Alluvial Canal also acts as a source of Fresh Water for all adjacent tiles, synergizing with Babylon's Civilization Ability. (This bonus is not affected by the World Era, allowing the Alluvial Canal to remain useful past the Classical Era.) An Alluvial Canal may only be built on a flat tile which is adjacent to either a river or another Alluvial Canal.
New World Wonder - The Etemenanki: Unlocked with Masonry. Must be built on a Flood Plains tile adjacent to a city. Provides +4 science, +3 faith, and +1 Great Prophet points. Tiles within the borders of a city with the Etemenanki gain +1 science every time they are fertilized by a flood.
New Natural Wonder - Dilmun: A three-tile land wonder that always spawns adjacent to a coastline. Each tile provides +1 faith, +1 gold, and +1 food. Additionally, for every tile of Dilmun within a city's borders, that city receives +1 Amenities.
With those ideas in mind, my intent is that Babylon would focus on quickly growing carefully-placed cities to massive sizes and leveraging their high population to generate science and culture, setting them up for a tourism or science victory if they can exploit their early-game advantage to start snowballing before their abilities decline in relevance.
Additionally, I decided to distinguish this incarnation of Babylon from V's Babylon by basing it on the Old Babylonian Empire rather than the more famous Neo-Babylonian Empire.
Leader: Hammurabi
Capital: Babylon
Symbol: The mushussu (A mythical animal similar to a dragon, considered the sacred animal of the Babylonian tutelary god Marduk, and prominently depicted on the Ishtar Gate.)
Colours:
- White, turquoise
- Gold, turquoise
- Blue, green
- Blue, brown
Civilization Ability - The Fertile Crescent: +1 food to all tiles adjacent to a source of Fresh Water, increasing to +2 if the tile has a farm or plantation built on it. Gain access to the "Alluvial Canal" Unique Improvement after researching Irrigation.
Leader Ability - The Code of Hammurabi: Start the game with the "Code of Laws" Civic already researched. Receive a free Great Work of Writing ("The Code of Hammurabi") in the palace after researching Writing, and a free Great Writer (Sin-leqi-unninni, who creates "The Epic of Gilgamesh" and "The Enuma Elish".) after building two Edubbas. Great Works of Writing generate +1 culture and +2 science.
Leader Agenda - King of the Four Corners of the Universe: Will seek to maximize the population of his cities. Hates leaders who have a city with more population than his capital.
Unique Building - Edubba: A replacement for the Library, the Edubba additionally has a slot for a Great Work of Writing, and provides 1 Great Writer point per turn.
Unique Unit - Amorite Warrior: A replacement for the Warrior, the Amorite Warrior pays no additional movement cost for moving through hill tiles, and receives +3 combat strength while standing on a hill. (This stacks with the usual +3 defensive combat strength from standing on a hill.)
Unique Improvement - Alluvial Canal: Unlocked with Irrigation. The Alluvial Canal initially produces +3 food, but once the world enters the Classical Era, its yield is reduced to +2 food, and once the world enters the Medieval Era, its yield is reduced to +1 food. An Alluvial Canal also acts as a source of Fresh Water for all adjacent tiles, synergizing with Babylon's Civilization Ability. (This bonus is not affected by the World Era, allowing the Alluvial Canal to remain useful past the Classical Era.) An Alluvial Canal may only be built on a flat tile which is adjacent to either a river or another Alluvial Canal.
New World Wonder - The Etemenanki: Unlocked with Masonry. Must be built on a Flood Plains tile adjacent to a city. Provides +4 science, +3 faith, and +1 Great Prophet points. Tiles within the borders of a city with the Etemenanki gain +1 science every time they are fertilized by a flood.
New Natural Wonder - Dilmun: A three-tile land wonder that always spawns adjacent to a coastline. Each tile provides +1 faith, +1 gold, and +1 food. Additionally, for every tile of Dilmun within a city's borders, that city receives +1 Amenities.
