So I spawned as France in a world where Rome had founded Confucianism and had built the Great Wall (as well as some other wonders; the Ishtar Gate and the Oracle I think).
Even though the Moors were at war with most of Europe the whole time (I do not think there ever was peace between them and Spain and Portugal), they won. They conquered Spain and were then stuck in an eternal stalemate against the Portugese. Until I discovered the Printing Press and joined the contra-reformation; the Portugese were the only ones to convert to Protestantism, and as such, they died.
The Byzantine Empire survived surprisingly long, and were actually quite powerful. In the end, the Ottomans took their cities (and as such, eastern Europe), but still, the Byzantines did better than usual in my experience. So too did Ethiopia, which expanded all the way to Congo and held that area for a long time. They collapsed a few turns ago though.
As did the various other Middle Eastern civilizations. Arabia didn't collapse once and was only pushed out of Persia and Babylonia, eventually, but they kept Egypt and north Africa. Persia collapsed some turns before being resurrected as Iran, surviving against Arabia and the Mongols.
The Mongols are still holding their empire together, from China to central Asia. India and the Tamils never really harmed each other (as in, taking a city), until the Mughals conquered both. The Aztecs and the Mayas also never harmed each other, but they both collapsed at some point. I don't know why. I saw a resurrected Aztec nation (or Mexico, I suppose), which collapsed perhaps ten turns after being created.
And then there are the Netherlands, whom I killed when they tried to flip Nijmegen (Nimegue, in French? No idea). They set sail across the oceans and conquered the Incas. Fun! Talking about the Americas, I do believe only the Netherlands have discovered them, although I researched Astronomy the turn before and have a fleet of Galleons and Settlers prepared.
Interesting, how the world differs because I slowed down the tech speed. Although this makes later spawning civilizations (such as the Prussians) probably too powerful, but we'll see. I like Moor-Iberia, Dutch-Tawantinsuyu, and a fully alive Middle East.
