850 (0): Pe-ople?
My main goal for this turn will just be to get through our anarchy. I'll let some units complete before revolting so that we won't appear quite so vulnerable.
Given the lightning tech pace of this game, horsemen for upgrade to knights would seem to be our best military choice. With the Sipahi in our future, the mounted upgrade path is definitely the one we should pursue.
Doing our min research at 10% is costing us 3 gpt, so I hire a homeless scientist.
I switch Constantinople from horseman to barracks, since the time has come to stop producing regular units.
I switch Adrianople from settler to horseman, since it has a barracks.
After that discussion of whether Izmit should first get a temple or a library, it has neither and is building neither! I switch it from pikeman to library.
I upgrade a veteran warrior to MDI, just so that we'll look tougher by the "What's their best unit?" test.
Some Aztec-Zulu fighting near Brusa.
825 (1): I establish an embassy with the Zulus for 44 gold. Zimbabwe is producing 12 spt, is about to complete the Great Library, and is garrisoned by four Impis. Then I give the Zulus 15 gold for a RoP agreement--another precaution, since their units are adjacent to our cities anyway. I look into bringing them into our war against Egypt, but they want too much, given the distance between Zululand and Mexico.
Some gratifying Aztec-Zulu and Roman-Zulu carnage.
Constantinople barracks --> marketplace.
The Babylonians beat the Zulus to the Great Library by a turn. Too bad; better culture laggards should have gotten it than culture monsters.
800 (2): For Republic, the Aztecs will join the war against Egypt and give us 6 gpt, 43 gold, and WM. They already have Monarchy, so it doesn't much matter to us whether they get Republic. I make the deal.
I buy two workers from Rome for 238 gold and WM. I admire your scruples about this sort of thing, Ted, but as far as I'm concerned the threshold at which it becomes completely acceptable is 2000 BC.
The Zulus and Carthaginians make peace.
775 (3): Uskudar and Adrianople having completed their horsemen, I revolt. We get eight turns of anarchy.
The Aztecs join Babylon's war against Persia.
An Egyptian swordsman approaches Sinop.
750 (4): The Iroquois join the war against Persia, and the Celts join the war against the Zulus.
Two Egyptian warriors approach Sinop. We have a spearman, a horseman, and a warrior in the town.
730 (5): The two Egyptian warriors retreat towards Asyut before the Egyptian swordsman attacks Sinop, and the swordsman, perhaps feeling abandoned, dies.
The Greeks offer us a typical deity-level trade, Monotheism and our WM for their WM. I just give them our WM.
We get our second palace expansion.
710 (6): I buy a Celtic worker for 115 gold and our WM.
The Persians and Egyptians make peace.
690 (7): The spices outside Aydin come on line.
I buy a Celtic worker for 119 gold and our WM.
The Romans demand 34 gold and our WM. Lacking Karasu's death wish--I mean, indomitable fighting spirit

--I yield.
670 (8):
650 (9): One of our MDI destroys an Egyptian warrior outside Sinop.
Suddenly the Aztecs, Babylonians, Celts, and Romans all have Theology, the first new tech to appear this round.
The Greeks and Babylonians join in the general war against the Zulus. The Iroquois, contrary to dogpile logic, side with the Zulus, though only against Greece.
630 (10): I trade Monotheism to the Greeks for 219 gold and their WM.