Più Freddo, it was fun to play like this.
I could try different things Instead of same old Settler factory.
I had barracks built in the Capital and was building Jags/Settlers, and later Swords/Settlers. I would make peace often and negotiate for cities with my rivals, as lots of their cities stayed at 1pop. When Republic was researched and I could use Irrigation, I already had many cities built and taken from rivals, so making a Settler factory was no longer important. Plus I built Pyramids by 10AD, so it was just irrigating and making Settlers/Workers whenever I could. Plus I captured many Workers.
P.S. One more thing. Lack of Food bonuses hurt AI more than it hurt me. They were slow to develop and easier targets.