Byzantine: I need your opinion in my first VP game

[AThANa]

Hello there, I've playing CIV 5 offline for 10 years now. After playing deity for 6 years on and off,
I found VP this December and decided to switch to it immediately.
Everything seem new to me, so I decided to watching youtube (deity playthrough) and reading information
about tech, policy, religion and happiness before playing myself.
Then, I've realized that I really still suck at this mod. So this time please help me with your opinion in this dilemma.
Please excuse my poor English.

I've stepped down to byzantine King Epic (Community map No ruin Event) as my first game.
I like my starting location so don't move my settler.

Tech: The Wheel Pottery trapping (then I'll decide whether to choose Calendar or Trading)
Building: Monument Shine Council (money: working and unit)

I choose Pottery as 2nd tech since this place has around 3 tiles that have production,
I thought that expand at 4 population would be a nice idea.
(I planned to have 4 population and enough food to regain population before finishing settler)

As I was discovered by Assyria at turn 5th and Shoshone did not have good place at south,
I decided to rush settler to place (after finished my first three building) city between them.
(even though my first expansion's location has not decided yet)
Then training and buying some warrior next.

At T35, I selected Authority left branch as my policy to get more production and free settler.
With low population and no granary or stonework, I thought that Petra was not worth it.
That why I've deiced choosing Calendar (For luxury and Temple of Artemis) then Animal Husbandry.

For Expansion I think on the hill between 2 sugar tiles (first picture) or on desert tile with river between this tile and sugar tile. (second picture)
The desert tile north of salt is really good tile, but it's too far and Shoshone more likely have it first.
After that I will go north to expand at the warrior tile. (With tradition Brazil, may be they expand slowly and there more better place at they left side.

Around T55-60,
After that I've been friend with everyone except Assyria whom I decline.
I expanded at the hill between 2 sugar, Assyria ask me to not expand aroud his (I also decline)
At the same time Shoshone ask me to declare war with Assyria. (I choose wait for 10 turns)
Next turn Assyria denounce me and declare war at me, Shoshone declare war with Assyria.
Then I've got 2 dilemmas,

The First one is pantheon. If I choose desert. spirit I'll get around 6 production gold and faith per turn for now.
I may get some for If I discover horse or sheep and one more form third city which I planned to place them on desert tile,
north of the great lake and left side of the sugar.
The fouth and fifth city will be place on the north which not be get benefit from this pantheon.
Assyria capital and Shoshone second city have some good resource on desert tiles.
This mean I could get 40% more production at capital, more archer more culture and science (from Authority right branch).
But I plan to play domination and if I pick Goddess of war I should have more faith in the future, meaning more building (From religion and Fealty), more unit, etc.
Should I invest now or for the future?

The second one is technology, I've finished The Wheel, Pottery, Trapping, Calendar and Animal Husbandry. I have two plan now.
One, going for trading (market to improve sugar, Petra for capital) the Writing (for scriene from library) this tech was in Philosopy route.
I'll get Byzantine UB faster but I'll have less production.
Two, going for Masonry, this one was part of Chivalry but not the philosophy.
I'll get more production, millitary cap and some science but it will delay philosophy temple and faith.
Which one do you think it better?

Thanks for reading to this part sincerely

 

[randomnub]

You should have invested into the shrine, not rush bought a worker that can only improve farms at that stage of the game. Spirit of the desert is a no brainer here, should have rushed the pantheon quicker. Council makes no sense that early, when your capital isn't growing either.

If you decided to go Authority then those settlers pre-Imperium are a bit of a waste, you give up on 40. I would have churned out more units, especially slingers soon to be mass upgraded into archers, to clean camps quicker for culture and gold. Then conquer the nearby enemy expos. Producing early settlers from the capital work better with Tradition, that could have been a good pick here as well.

Shoshones are a tougher nut to crack than Assiria in my experience (on deity they always pick Authority, while Ashur goes Progress, not sure what they're doing in your game, but Pocatello UA is annoying enough at any difficulty), hence here I would have gone Tradition and rushed that oasis spot on the hill close to Sinai south before they could claim it. You were already sold on winning through domination with Authority so could have massed archers and spears asap and made him your target (conveniently bully the CS on the way up there), once you deal with him all the southern map is up for grabs. Assyria would have probably settled Niniveh on the same spot next to the Grand Mesa (AI is a sucker for natural wonders) leaving you enough room for an expo in his direction; I would have settled 3 tiles south of Adrianople though, closer to capital, with more desert tiles, and possibly citadel my way into Assur after buying the jade. Or just conquer his forward expansions.

That being said, in your situation I would now go markets/Petra while buying archers and settling where the Shoshone pathfinder is in the last screenshot to avoid being boxed in, then switch to masonry to improve luxuries/build stoneworks/send internal prod routes. Keep annoy Assyria with archers then tech toward bronze working, if there's iron in all that sea of sand then push forward once you unlock swordmen, else make it work with spearmen/catapults, Philosophy can wait, you're assured a religion anyway.