What makes the AI tick?

[Rohili]

I was playing on Warlord as Arabia. Beside me was India. Ghandi's attitude towards me was gracious; we even had an MPP and ROP.

However, suddenly for no rhyme or reason (not even one like me trespassing his territory), Ghandi attacked one of my cities. I was quite surprised since we couldn't have been on better terms, and India is supposed to be one of the most peaceful civs in the game. What went wrong? What makes the AI decide to attack you? It seems as if maintaining good relations is insufficient.

 

[Zelda's Man]

The random number generator decides. India is the least likely to attack, but that doesn't mean it never will. The MPP made him even less likely to attack, but again it didn't guarantee anything. You just got an unlucky number.

 

[Theoden]

The presence of luxuries near the border that might be easy to take will also cause temptation. Another thing is that if your are left with only one AI, that will seriously increase the odds of them attacking.

 

[Zelda's Man]

Theoden brings up a good point. The AI knows your military strength and where your units are. It also knows where all the luxuries and resources are (or will be). So if you have a spearman guarding a border city that will later have access to oil, the probability for the attack will increase.