text: ___ ____ / | ____ _ ___ ____ / __/ / /| | / __ `/ / _ / __ / /_ / ___ | / /_/ / / __/ / /_/ / / __/ /_/ |_| __, / ___/ ____/ /_/ /____/ ______ _ / ____/ ____ ___ ____ (_) _____ ___ _____ / __/ / __ `__ / __ / / / ___/ / _ / ___/ / /___ / / / / / / / /_/ / / / / / / __/ (__ ) /_____/ /_/ /_/ /_/ / .___/ /_/ /_/ ___/ /____/ /_/ -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Age of Empires System: PC/Windows Author: Jim Chamberlin ([email protected]) Version: FINAL (12/25/04) ,,, (o o) ---------------------------------oOOo-(_)-oOOo---------------------------------- 12/25/04 - Hopefully, the absolute final update for this FAQ. To navigate this guide, I recommend using either a web browser or a text editor which has a Search tool. Internet Explorer and Firefox, for instance, have Search tools. Just press Ctrl + F to bring up the tool and search away. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Table of Contents -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Introduction Game Modes The Villagers The Resources The Technologies War! Creating Your Own Scenarios Assyrians Babylonians Chosens Egyptians Greeks Hittites Minoans Persians Phoenicians Shangs Sumerians Yamato The Buildings The Units Codes - Tips - Tools of the Trade By James Mecham (ThumP) Campaigns - Ascent of Egypt Learning Campaign - Hunting 8000 BC - Foraging 7000 BC - Discoveries 6500 BC - Dawn of a New Age 6000 BC Credits ================================================================================ Introduction ================================================================================ So, what's the story behind "Age of Empires?" [Taken from AoE Manual] Sheets of ice up to three miles high covered much of the earth's northern hemisphere during the last Ice Age, Our human ancestors persevered in the harsh Ice Age environment by developing new technologies and survival strategies at unprecedented rates. When climate changes melted and removed the ice 12,000 years ago, humans were uniquely suited to take advantage of the new worlds that were beckoning. During the next 5,000 years- an insignificant span in terms of geological time- humans expanded to become the dominant species on earth. Human populations exploded because new technologies for hunting and food gathering put all other species at a disadvantage. Within 3,000 more years, humans had established the first great civilizations on earth. The theme of Age of Empires is the rise of the first great civilizations over the 12,000 years that followed the last ice age. You are the guiding spirit of a tribe that predates one of the great cultures of antiquity. Your goal is to build your tribe into a mighty civilization that we can vie for world (game) dominance (victory). You begin the game in the Stone Age with a small tribe of villagers on an unexplored map. As you move your tribesmen over the map, you reveal different terrain types and locate sources of food, wood, stone, and gold, which villagers gather by hunting, fishing, foraging, farming, chopping trees, and mining. You must gather enough resources and build enough housing to support your growing civilization. Constructing buildings lets you train military units and boats to defend your civilization or attack enemy civilizations on land or by sea. Constructing buildings also lets you research technologies that benefit your civilization, such as increasing the resources you can gather or the strength of your military units. As you advance through the ages, you can build new buildings, create new boats and military units, and research new technologies. You can establish alliances with other civilizations, exchange tribute, and establish trade routes. Other civilizations are controlled by human or computer players. The winner of a game is determined by the victory conditions of the scenario. You can play a variety of predesigned single player campaigns, as well as single player or multiplayer random maps or scenarios. Or you can use the scenario builder to create your own custom scenarios. ================================================================================ Game Modes ================================================================================ ============ = Campaign = ============ Basically, it's a series of scenarios which attempt to show the development of a given culture. This is a good place to start for a new AoE player. It allows you to understand and experiment with the basics of the games. ============ = Scenario = ============ This is one, single scenario. Each of the scenarios has a certain set of instructions has a certain set of instructions. You must fulfill the requirements to win the scenario. ============== = Random Map = ============== This is just a randomly generated map. You can change the victory condition, so there is a specific way you can win. =============== = Death Match = =============== Well, you are given a certain amount of resources, and you must fight until everyone is dead. =============== = Multiplayer = =============== It's a random map or scenario, for example. The whole Multiplayer thing is explained a little more in depth in the manual. I just don't feel like elaborating on it. ================================================================================ The Villagers ================================================================================ ========= = TASKS = ========= BUILDER This person constructs buildings and farms. FARMER This person gathers food from a Farm. The food from the Farm is deposited at either the Town Center or at the Granary. Researching Domestication, the Plow, and Irrigation increases a Farm's production. FISHERMAN This person gathers food from the fishing spots. The food is deposited at either the Town Center or at the Storage Pit. FORAGER This person gathers food from the Berry Bushes. The food is deposited at either the Town Center or at the Granary. GOLD MINER This person mines for Gold at the Gold Mines. The gold is deposited at either the Town Center or at the Storage Pit. Researching Gold Mining increases gold mining efficiency, and Coinage increases Gold production. HUNTER This person hunts for food from: Alligators, Lions, Gazelle, and Elephants. The food is deposited at either the Town Center or at the Storage Pit. REPAIRMAN This person repairs boats and buildings. STONE MINER This person miner Stone from Stone Mines. The stone is deposited at either the Town Center or at the Storage Pit. Researching Stone Mining and Siegecraft increases stone mining efficiency. VILLAGER This person is either in combat or doing nothing. Researching Siegecraft allows Villagers to destroy walls and towers, and Jihad increases their combat ability. WOODCUTTER This person chops down trees for wood. The wood is deposited at either the Town Center or at the Storage Pit. Researching Woodworking, Artisanship, and Craftsmanship increases woodcutting efficiency. ================================================================================ The Resources ================================================================================ ======== = Wood = ======== This is used to construct boats, buildings, and some military units. ======== = Food = ======== This is used to create villagers, train and upgrade military units, research technologies, and advance to the next age. In AoE, food represents Fish, Fruits, Nuts, Roots, Wild Grains, and Berries. ======== = Gold = ======== This is used to research technologies in later ages, create some military units, advance to the Iron Age, and pay tribute to other civilizations. In AoE, Gold represents Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Copper. ========= = Stone = ========= This is used to build and upgrade towers and walls, and research some technologies. In AoE, Stone represents both Stone and Clay. ================================================================================ The Technologies ================================================================================ In the span of time represented by Age of Empires (roughly 12,000 BC to 500 AD), humans advanced from being just one of the animals roaming the land (albeit the most dangerous) to being the dominant species on earth. This ascendance occurred because of human intelligence and the harnessing of technology by that intelligence. A naked human with no tools or weapons was at a great disadvantage in the post-Ice Age wilderness. But a group of humans, working together, well- armed and equipped (for the time), carrying in their heads the shared wisdom of their ancestors passed down orally for generations, was a competitive force of awesome power. Paleontologists believe, for example, that small bands of big game hunters spread south from what is now Canada to the tip or South America in about 1000 years, hunting to extinction 31 genera of big game herbivores (mammoth, mastodon, giant beaver, giant sloth, horse, a variety of camels, and others). Technology was the underlying dynamic for the rise of civilization throughout the period covered by Age of Empires. Those cultures that learned a key new technology first often had an advantage over their neighbors. Technology was often strong early, once they mastered irrigation. The Minoans established a monopoly on sea trade and grew rich. The Greeks expanded on the basis of trade, mining, and a culture that encouraged and rewarded original thought. The Hittites established metalworking and fielded well-equipped armies. The Assyrians surrounded by enemies, forged a powerful and innovative army out of necessity. New buildings, military units, and technologies become available as you build technology buildings and advance through the ages. The Technology Tree Foldout shows all of the technology paths you can pursue in Age of Empires. The technologies available to you depend on the civilization you are playing. The technology trees for each civilization are in the Appendix and in the Docs folder on the Age of Empires disc. ========================== ADVANCING THROUGH THE AGES ========================== Historians have divided the story of human development into a number of ages for reference. Age of Empires covers roughly four periods- the end of the old Stone Age (or Paleolithic), the Tool Age (or Neolithic period), the Bronze Age, and the beginnings of the Iron Age. These periods are named after the predominant tool and weapon material. Stone Age tools were large stone choppers and spear points. Tool Age tools were small stone blades, called microliths, struck from stone core. The small blades were fixed into hafts to make scythes, knives, and other specialized tools. The Bronze Age was dominated by tools and weapons made of bronze metal, an alloy of copper and tin. The Iron Age was dominated by tools and weapons of iron. Tools and other technologies were cumulative in nature. Cultures had to master the preceding technology to proceed and advance. Newly rising cultures built on the technologies of their predecessors. Even the Yamato culture, the last in Age of Empires to develop historically, had to build on Tool Age and Bronze Age technologies that developed farther in the West and spread gradually East. The advance from one age to another was usually a slow process that required a gradual but extensive conversion of an entire economy. New raw materials and new fabrication techniques were required. New skills and workshops came into being. The eventual cost in time and resources was enormous, but the new efficiencies recovered those costs quickly. Age of Empires spans 12,000 years of ancient history. This time period has been subdivided into four significant ages: o Stone Age - Characterized by pursuit of the required tools of survival: the construction of shelter and the search for steadfast sources of food through hunting, fishing, and foraging. o Tool Age - Characterized by farming settlements, stable food supplies, defense of territory, accelerated population growth, simple economy, and emerging military. o Bronze Age - Characterized by competition for valuable resources, increasingly sophisticated technologies, metalworking, trade, colonization, centralized government, institutionalized religion, highly organized military systems, and conquest. o Iron Age - Characterized by a dependence upon precious metals to drive economies, empire building, expansion, construction of massive cities supporting huge populations, sophisticated military organizations, siege tactics, armor and weaponry, dominance of seaways with war galleys and triremes and enormous construction projects including the Wonders of the Ancient World. A game typically starts in the Stone Age and you strive to advance through the ages to reach the Iron Age. As you advance through the ages, new buildings, military units, and technologies become available. Advancing through the ages costs resources and time. As a prerequisite for advancing to the next age, you must have two different technology buildings from the current age. ============================ = Storage Pit Technologies = ============================ TOOLWORKING Age: Tool Age Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit. Cost: 100 Food Benefit: This provides a +2 attack for your hand- to- hand units. Note: The first metals put to use were those found in a relatively pure state on the earth's surface, including gold, silver, and copper. Gold could be worked in its natural state. Experimentation with it eventually suggested electrum (a natural alloy of gold and silver) and copper could also be hammered into useful shapes. Learning how to extract copper from ore and shape it into tools was an important milestone in the rise of civilization because it opened the door first to making bronze and then to making iron. Cast copper tools were an important advance over stone tools, but were too soft to have a long, useful life. The discovery of bronze, made by alloying a small amount of tin with copper, ushered in a 2000- year Bronze Age. Cast bronze tools dramatically increased the efficiency of workers. Bronze weapons were superior to those made of stone and copper. Armies equipped with bronze swords, spears, and arrowheads had a critical advantage over more poorly equipped armies. METALWORKING Age: Bronze Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit, and researched Toolworking. Cost: 200 Food, 120 Gold Benefit: This provides a +2 attack for your hand- to- hand units. Note: The discovery and use of iron to make tools and weapons was one of the most important advances in civilization. Some historians consider the use of iron to be one of the distinguishing characteristics separating civilization from barbarism because the new tools were less brittle, could hold better edges, and held edges for a longer time without resharpening. Most importantly, iron ore was much easier to locate than copper and tin, making iron tools cheaper and more readily available. By 1000 B.C., iron tools were being made that were as good as the best ones of bronze; by 500 B.C., iron had largely supplanted bronze from Europe and Asia. The expanse and scarcity of bronze had restricted its use to the elite and wealthy. Iron tools and weapons were available to nearly everyone. METALLURGY Age: Iron Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit, and researched Toolworking and Metalworking. Cost: 300 Food, 180 Gold Benefit: This provides a +3 attack for your hand- to- hand units. Note: You must research Metallurgy before you can upgrade to the Cataphract. The use of iron spread throughout the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Asia during the first millenium B.C., and some areas became especially adept at the new science. Certain campgrounds added to the molten metal increased the strength of the resulting tools. New forging techniques also resulted in better tools. The best iron tool workers made superior weapons that were an important advantage in battle. BRONZE SHIELD Age: Bronze Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit. Cost: 150 Food, 180 Gold Benefit: This provides a +1 armor against the Ballista, Helepolis, and missile weapons. Note: The shield was probably the first piece of military equipment developed to protect a warrior. The earliest were made of wood or wood and hide, and were in various shapes. They were carried in the hand or on the forearm and used to ward off blows or missiles in battle. Shield designs and materials evolved to keep up with advances in weapons. Wood and hide shields were easy to smash with bronze weapons, so bronze shields were developed. Bronze shields also provided better defense against missiles. Arrows, especially with metal points, were prone to lodge in wooden shields. This increased the weight of the shield and made it more unwieldy. Roman legions threw spears at barbarian formations mainly so they would pierce and weigh down the enemy's shield just before closing. Arrows and other missiles deflected off bronze shields without penetration. IRON SHIELD Age: Iron Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit, and researched the Bronze Shield. Cost: 200 Food, 320 Gold Benefit: This provides a +1 armor against the Ballista, Heleoplis, and missile weapons. Note: The iron shield replaced the bronze shield when swords and other weapons of iron became common. Iron shields were not only expensive to make, but also more effective in stopping all hand- to- hand and missile weapons. The basic iron shield remained in use until firearms made personal shields on the battlefield obsolete. LEATHER ARMOR FOR ARCHERS Age: Tool Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit. Cost: 100 Food Benefit: This provides a +2 armor for your Archery Range units. Note: Soldiers have sought ways to protect themselves in combat since the beginnings of warfare. Long before the use of metals, leather was employed to make helmets and body armor that could stop, or at least soften, blows from blunt and edged weapons. Leather was easy to work with, it was light and not overly restrictive of movement, it could be fitted to the wearer, and it was usually plentiful and inexpensive. Leather remained an important material for body armor throughout the Bronze Age due to the high cost of metal armor. It wasn't until far into the Iron Age that metal armor was available for common soldiers. SCALE ARMOR FOR ARCHERS Age: Bronze Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit, and researched Leather Armor for Archers. Cost: 125 Food, 50 Gold Benefit: This provides a +2 armor for your Archery Range units. Note: The use of metals to make weapons was matched by using metals to make better armor. Among the first improvements in widespread use were breastplates and greaves of bronze. The breastplate protected the torso while greaves protected the legs below the knee. Both of these items protected only the front of the soldier, saving the weight and cost that all- around protection would entail. Breastplates and greaves were worn by hoplites of the phalanx, for example, during the glory years of Greece. When used together with a large shield and bronze helmet, they left little of the soldier's body exposed to attack. Bronze armor was an example of scale armor, or plate armor, in which metal plates provided protection. CHAIN MAIL FOR ARCHERS Age: Iron Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit, and researched Leather Armor and Scale Armor for Archers. Cost: 150 Food, 100 Gold Benefits: This provides a +2 armor for your Archery Range units. Note: Chain mail was a type of body armor made of iron circlets woven together into a cloak. The interlocking chains of iron protected the body somewhat from weapons that slashed or pounded. Chain mail was also flexible and allowed more freedom of body movement than armor made of metal plates. The disadvantages of chain mail were that it required a lot of care, was heavy, and was expensive to make. Chain mail was worn only by wealthy or powerful individuals who could purchase or demand its manufacture. LEATHER ARMOR FOR CAVALRY Age: Tool Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit. Cost: 125 Food Benefits: This provides a +2 armor for your Stable units. Note: The same as above. SCALE ARMOR FOR CAVALRY Age: Bronze Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit, and researched Leather Armor for Cavalry. Cost: 150 Food, 50 Gold Benefit: This provides a +2 armor for your Stable units. Note: The same as above. CHAIN MAIL FOR CAVALRY Age: Iron Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit, and researched Leather and Scale Armor for Cavalry. Cost: 175 Food, 100 Gold Benefits: This provides a +2 armor for your Stable units. Note: The same as above. LEATHER ARMOR FOR INFANTRY Age: Tool Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit. Cost: 75 Food Benefits: This provides a +2 armor for your Barracks and Academy units. Note: The same as above. SCALE ARMOR FOR INFANTRY Age: Bronze Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit, and researched Leather Armor for Infantry. Cost: 100 Food, 50 Gold Benefits: This provides a +2 armor for your Barracks and Academy units. Note: The same as above. CHAIN MAIL FOR INFANTRY Age: Iron Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Storage Pit, and researched Leather and Scale Armor for Infantry. Cost: 125 Food, 100 Gold Benefits: This provides a +2 armor for your Barracks and Academy units. Note: The same as above. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ======================= = Market Technologies = ======================= WHEEL Age: Bronze Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, and Market. Cost: 175 Food, 75 Wood Benefits: Villager speed is increased by 30%. Note: You must research the Wheel before you can build a Chariot or Chariot Archer. The use of the wheel for transport was discovered in Sumeria sometime after 3400 B.C. and derived from the potter's wheel that appeared first. The Sumerians learned that in a small cart, a donkey could pull a load equal to three times what it could carry on its back. The wheel revolutionized transport and had an important impact on the battlefield as well. By the Bronze Age, chariot archers were dominating warfare on the open plains. The wheel was apparently used only for children's toys in ancient America, probably because of the rough geography and the lack of an animal like the ox or horse. WOODWORKING Age: Tool Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, and Market. Cost: 120 Food, 75 Wood Benefits: You receive a +2 woodcutting ability and a +1 range for missile weapons. Note: The small stone blades that characterized the New Stone Age (neolithic period) made possible finer techniques in many areas, including woodworking. The larger and more unweildy stone tools of the past were capable of crude cutting and carving only. Better woodworking improved other tools and weapons, making possible the bow and arrow and spear thrower. ARTISANSHIP Age: Bronze Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, and Market, and researched Woodworking. Cost: 170 Food, 120 Gold Benefits: You receive a +2 woodcutting ability and a +1 range for missile weapons. Note: The discovery and use of first copper and then the much more useful bronze tools and weapons was a dramatic leap in technology. Bronze, especially, posessed a hardness, strength, and ability to hold an edge that far surpassed the best stone tools, making it much more useful when working with stone, wood, hides, meat, and other materials. Cultures that used bronze had a decided economic and military advantage over those that did not. COINAGE Age: Iron Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, and Market, and researched Gold Mining. Cost: 200 Food, 100 Gold Benefits: This provides you with free tribute and increases your Gold Mining productivity by 25%. Note: The first true coins were minted in ancient Lydia, now part of modern Turkey. These first coins were made from electrum, a naturally ocurring malleable alloy of gold and silver. Coins, and money in general, proved an important facilitator of trade and economic progress. Money acted as a storehouse of value, a medium of exchange, and a standard of value, as it continues to do today. Following the conquest of the Persian Empire, the concept of coinage or as adopted by the Greeks and spread by them throughout the Hellenistic world. CRAFTSMANSHIP Age: Iron Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, and Market, and researched Woodworking and Artisanship. Cost: 240 Food, 200 Wood Benefits: You receive a +2 woodcutting ability and +1 range for missile weapons. Note: You must research Craftsmanship before you can upgrade to the Helepolis. The discovery of inexpensive ways to make iron was as great a technological leap over bronze making as bronze was over stone. Iron surpassed bronze in every critical characteristic- hardness, strength, and the ability to hold an edge before needing to be resharpened- Plus one. Iron was much easier to acquire than were copper and tin, making it available to all cultures and for all uses. Historians consider the ability to make and use iron ore one of the distinctions between barbaric and civilized culture. DOMESTICATION Age: Tool Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Granary, and researched Market. Cost: 200 Food, 50 Wood Benefits: You receive a 75% increase of food production to your farms. Note: The revolution in agriculture involved both the development of animals. The ability to control and manage herds of milk- and meat- producing animals also served to free humans from the drudging and desperation of continual hunting and gathering. Herding did not lead necessarily to a sedentary village life, however. The need to find pasture often meant that herding societies remained nomadic, at least for part of the year. Domesticated sheep and goats first appear in the archaelogical record around 7500 B.C. in the Zagros Mountains to the east of the Tigro and Euphrates River valleys. Cattle were domesticated around 600 B.C. in both the Sahara and Egypt, perhaps near simultaneously. Domestication of cattle alone may have been for responsible for a doubling of world human population in a few generations. STONE MINING Age: Tool Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, and Market. Cost: 100 Food, 50 Stone Benefits: Your stone mining is increased by +3. Note: Wood for building was scarce in most places where civilizations first arose. Vast forests just did not exist in these predominately arid regions. The principle building material for common uses was mud bricks, sun- dried at first and then fire- baked. In some areas important structures such as temples, palaces, tombs, and fortifications were built of stone when it was available. Much information about ancient Egypt was preserved because of the permanence of stone. Equilalent structures in Mesopotamia collapsed into mounds of earth after many centuries of neglect and weathering. Acquiring non- wood building materials through brick making or quarrying was the object of Stone Mining. GOLD MINING Age: Tool Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, and Market. Cost: 120 Food, 100 Wood Benefits: The gold mining production is increased by +3. Note: Gold washed down the hills and mountains was probably the 1st metal with which humans experimented. It was sufficiently soft and pure to be fashioned easily into objects of beauty for adornment and trade. The value of gold remained high as populations increased because of demand for it continued to exceed supply. Because of this value, the trail of gold was followed back to the source of the alluvial nuggets. Gold mining was developed to obtain ore from which the pure metal could be extracted. Many of the most beautiful objects that survive from antiquity are made of gold, including hundreds of items from the Egyptian Pharaoh, Tutankhamen's tomb. SIEGECRAFT Age: Iron Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, and Market, and researched Stone Mining. Cost: 190 Food, 100 Stone Benefits: Villagers can destroy walls and towers, and your stone mining ablity is increased by +3. Note: You must research Siegecraft before you can upgrade to the Heavy Catapult. Despite the written records and depictions of cities and fortifications being stormed with the aid of siege equipment, starvation was the only certain and effective way to take strongholds before the gunpowder age. The defender of a strong position, with adequate troops, food, and water, had all the advantages. Physical assault of strongholds was a difficult proposition accompanied regularly only by those armies posessing siegecraft- the necessary equipment, resolve, leadership, elan, discipline, and skill. Examples from ancient history were the army of Alexander the Great that conducted 20 sieges over a ten- year period, most after the fall of the Persian Empire; the Hittites, the Assyrians, and the Romans. PLOW Age: Bronze Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, and Market, and researched Domestication. Cost: 250 Food, 75 Wood Benefits: You receive a 75% food production increase to your farms. Note: The first agriculturists planted seeds by hand using digging sticks to open the ground. The invention of the plow made it possible to more easily prepare farmland for planting. The plow ripped open long rows for seeding, burying unwanted plants and cutting unwanted roots in the process. When pulled behind domesticated animals, such as oxen, food production per farmer and per acre again increased. The plow has continued to evolve since ancient times. For example, U.S. President Thomas Jefferson invented an improved version. IRRIGATION Age: Iron Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, and Market, and researched Domestication and the Plow. Cost: 300 Food, 100 Wood Benefits: You receive a 75% food production increase to your farms. Note: One of the key steps in the agricultural revolution was understanding and managing irrigation. Observation of the natural world revealed eventually the relationship between planted seeds, good soils, sunlight, water, and resultant crops. Large- scale irrigation in both Mesopotamia and Egypt turned the rich but arid soils near the rivers into rich farmlands and made possible the rise of the great civilizations on earth. Building the dams and channels to irrigate these lands required sophistication of government, construction, and engineering not seen previously in any society. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ================================== = Government Center Technologies = ================================== ALCHEMY Age: Iron Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and Government Center. Cost: 250 Food, 200 Gold Benefits: You receive a +1 attack ability for your siege and missile weapons. Note: The beginnings of chemistry can be traced back to ancient attempts to make gold and silver out of base metals, to find a universal cure for disease, and to discover secrets of prolonging life. The experiments and secrecy of the alchemists gave them an aura of mystery and magic. Alchemists were both feared and sought out for help. In an ancient world of little scientific understanding, mystery, and magic had power. ARCHITECTURE Age: Bronze Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and Government Center. Cost: 150 Food, 175 Wood Benefits: Building construction is increased by +33% and the hit points of your buildings and walls are increased by +20%. Note: The art and science of designing and constructing buildings arose from the practical need to provide first shelter, then storage for food reserves, and then defenses for both. One of the specializations that appeared in the first towns was the builder whose skills and techniques continue to evolve today. Builders and architects worked with the materials available to construct buildings and fortifications. Over time new techniques of architecture improved the efficiency, strength, and utility of construction. ARISTOCRACY Age: Iron Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and Government Center. Cost: 175 Food, 150 Gold Benefits: The speed of your Academy units is increased by +25%. Note: The Aristocracy was a privileged class, usually hereditary, that arose within many cultures. Aristocrats generally derived their power from control of farmland and the attendant infrastructure of people, towns, and manufacturing- supported food production. They kept power at the pleasure of the ruler, as long as they acceded to his wishes. Aristocrats may also have had military responsibility, especially when on the frontier of the kingdom or empire. In many cultures the aristocrats provided the senior officer corps or elite troops of the army. Commanders of the armies and navies of Athens, for example, were elected from among the aristocracy of landowners. BALLISTICS Age: Iron Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and Government Center. Cost: 200 Food, 50 Gold Benefits: It increases the accuracy of missile and siege weapons. Note: You must research Ballistics before you can upgrade to the Ballista Tower. The use of missile weapons for war presented challenges that hunting with the bow did not. Hunters stalked game and shot ideally at a stationary target. War targets were often armored, partially shielded, or moving. Effective use of the bow and other missile weapons required tactics and training. Bowmen of low skill were taught to fire in barrages at an area rather than at specific targets. Better- trained archers learned to shoot for specific parts of the target, including the horses of chariots or cavalry. Ballistics, the study of projectile flight, was derived from the name of an ancient missile weapon, the Ballista. ENGINEERING Age: Iron Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and Government Center. Cost: 200 Food, 100 Wood Benefits: The range for your siege weapons is increased by +2. Note: You must research Engineering before you can upgrade to the Juggernaught. Ancient engineers were able to build remarkable structures even though the raw materials and tools with which they could work were often limited. The Egyptian pyramids, for example, were built of multiton stone blocks using only the fulcrum and lever, wedge, ramp, sledge, and rollers. The pyramid builders of 2600 B.C. used tools made only of wood and copper. Advances in engineering were slow and based primarily on practical experience until advances in mathematics, especially from the Greeks, led to the new experimentation and techniques. NOBILITY Age: Bronze Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and Government Center. Cost: 175 Food, 120 Gold Benefits: There is a hit point bonus of +15% for Cavalry units, Chariot, Chariot Archer, Horse Archer, and Heavy Horse Archer. Note: Within ancient tribal groups an early hierarchical structure centered around the strongman, who probably took power in a physical contest, led the group, and enjoyed special privileges. As populations increased, the hierarchy expanded. Layers of nobility, a class of society privileged due to fighting prowess or wealth, grew between the stronghold, or king, and common people and slaves. The nobility served as administrators and sub- commanders of the army. Examples of nobility were the Persian satraps, who ruled provinces of the Persian Empire, and Alexander the Great's Companion's, who commanded parts of his army and formed the core of his heavy cavalry squadrons. WRITING Age: Bronze Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and Government Center. Cost: 200 Food, 75 Gold Benefits: You share exploration with allies. Note: The advance of writing is benchmark technology often used to separate those cultures that were civilized from those that were barbaric. The key importance of writing is that it allowed information to be stored and passed on easily, thereby accelerating the accumulation and spread of knowledge. Writing is believed to have been invented between 4000 and 3000 B.C. in Sumeria. The first writing was in simple pictures called pictograms that gradually evolved into symbols representing the picture. Egyptian hieroglyphics first appeared between 3300 and 3100 B.C., and are thought to have been inspired by cuneiform, the Sumerian symbolic writing. Writing appeared in China after 1600 B.C. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ======================= = Temple Technologies = ======================= POLYTHEISM Age: Bronze Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and Temple. Cost: 120 Gold Benefits: Your priests move +40% faster. Note: The first religions embraced a multitude of gods, each associated with one aspect of life. There might have been a sun god, a moon god, a god of the forest, a god of the river, and so on. The multitude of gods was useful in understanding how the world worked and in directing petition and prayer for specific help and relief. The existence of multipple gods increased the power of priests because each god had special needs and abilities that needed interpretation. The ancient Egyptians, for example, worshipped around 2000 gods. Many of these were any local deities, but others were held sacred throughout the country. MONOTHEISM Age: Iron Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and Temple. Cost: 350 Gold Benefits: Your priests can convert enemy priests and buildings (except for Town Centers and Wonders.) Note: The belief that there is only one God has evolved from the Persian religion of Zoroastrianism down through Judaism to many of the more popular religions of today. Whether monotheism is an advancement or not is a subjective question. The widespread popularity over time and the fervor of adherents indicates that monotheistic religions have more successfully met the requirements of a religion than other beliefs that have fallen aside. MYSTICISM Age: Bronze Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and Temple. Cost: 120 Gold Benefit: Your Priests' hit points are doubled. Note: Mysticism was a spiritual discipline that sought to achieve contact with gods or other perceived realities through contemplation, trances, or meditation. It was induced or enhanced by drugs in some cases, and it was part of many ancient beliefs. For religions seeking to explain the great unknown, the apparent ability to communicate through media unknown to the average person was a powerful selling point. Because peopledream every night, it was a logical step to believe that a few members of the group could somehow make sense of dreams or see through the confusion to communicate with another dimension. JIHAD Age: Iron Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and Temple. Cost: 120 Gold Benefits: It increases the attack, speed, and hit points of villagers, but decreases their gathering efficiency. Note: The word jihad can mean a crusade or struggle, and comes from the holy war of Islam directed against all that defied the word of God as written in the Koran. The equivalent of jihad can occur in any society brought to a peak of emotion by religious fervor or other means. The value of the jihad to society is that the people caught up in the emotion of the enterprise place their best interests, even their lives, second to the purpose of the crusade. The jihad was especially effective at a most desperate time when survival of the group hung in the balance. FANATICISM Age: Iron Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and Temple. Cost: 150 Gold Benefits: Your Priests rejuvenate 50% faster after converting a unit. Note: You must research Fanaticism before you can upgrade to Legion. Religion evolved to provide a spiritual foundation and understanding to life once humans became sufficiently intelligent to ponder the great terrifying questions of our existence. A disturbing byproduct of the spread of religion was fanaticism- the intense, unquestioning devotion to the ideas and leadership of other humans. Fanatics were capable of ant act, even at great risk to their lives, and were especially dangerous enemies in war. ASTROLOGY Age: Bronze Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and Temple. Cost: 150 Gold Benefits: Your Priests convert enemy units 30% faster. Note: Ancient observers of the stars and the heavens noted the correlation between the sun, the seasons, and the success of crops. The study of celestial events was an early step in the attempt to understand and control the uncertainties of life and became an important part of many early religions. The sun god, Ra, for example, was the most powerful of the Egyptian gods. Priests who could determine the start and end of the growing seasons, foretell the phases of the moon, and predict terrifying eclipses greatly enhanced their power in society. The power of astrologers increased when their subjects believed that the influence of the stars and planets on human affairs could be divined from celestial positions and aspects. AFTERLIFE Age: Iron Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, Market, and Temple. Cost: 275 Gold Benefit: The range of your Priests is increased by +3. Note: An important question that ancient religions attempted to address was what happens when people die. Many religions held that there was an afterlife, a place or existence that continued once a person's time on earth ended. The promise of an attractive afterlife was a powerful inducement for behavior that conformed to the goals of a particular religion. Fervent believers in an afterlife might give up their lives to serve their gods. Well- considered religions that offered a good return for acceptance, including an attractive afterlife, grew more in power and influence than those that did not. Christianity, for example, promised everlasting life to everyone of faith, not just to the rich buried in great tombs with servants and goods. ================================================================================ War! ================================================================================ War is something that is bound to happen. There isn't a whole lot that I can say in this spot. For more war, try the hardest game setting, my favorite. Everyone has their own tactics they like to use, so that's up to you. You shouldn't sacrafice your entire army at once. Hold some back as a backup, when the others are getting hammered. If the other army is still beating the Hel* out of you, retreat. Come back to the S.O.B.'s and take 'em out. War is something that there isn't really one way to do. Every group that you'll encounter will have certain weapons that you don't, unless you cheat, that will give them a distinct advantage. You must look at all of your things and come up of something that they don't, and use it against them. You must expose their weakness!! ================================================================================ Creating Your Own Scenarios ================================================================================ In creating your own scenarios, you want to be fair. If you can, imagine yourself as the game's developer. Try to come up with something that you believe everyone will want to play. You MUST be creative when designing your scenarios, that is if you want them to be any good. Another thing is don't create the scenario favoring one group. If you are making a "One on One" scenario, don't set up fortifications around their city, preventing them from exploring and collecting resources. Also, don't build towers too close to their city. I have used the Scenario Builder before, but it's been quite a while. It's all pretty easy to use, so go ahead and play with it, if you've never done it. ================================================================================ Assyrians ================================================================================ (1800 to 600 B.C.) The only thing that I can say to introduce the Assyrians is the fact that they were very powerful and fierce. They have legendary barbarity, as well. ============ = Location = ============ Assyria was located in northern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) along the Tigris River. It was settled after Sumer to the south but was dominated by the Sumerians both culturally and politically during its early history. =========== = Capital = =========== The capital of Assyria was Ashur for most of its existence, but moved to other sites when kings built new palaces. Other important cities and capitals in the Assyrian homeland were Nineveh, Arbela, Khorsabad, and Nimrud. ================= = Rise to Power = ================= Around 2000 B.C., Assyria was invaded by Semitic barbarians called the Armorites. By 1800 B.C. an Armorite king of the Assyrians had established control over most of northern Mesopotamia. Their power was short- lived in this period, however, due first to the rise of Babylonia under Hammurabi and then the rise of the Mitanni in modern Syria. The period 1363 to 1000 B.C. was the Middle Assyrian Empire. Several strong kings reasserted Assyrian independence and then began encroaching on neighboring empires. The Assyrians avoided destruction during the catastrophe of 1200 B.C., perhaps they were already embracing the new military tactics and weapons that the older kingdoms were not. In the political vacuum of the ancient dark age, the Arryrians prospered. By 1076 B.C. Tiglathpileser I had reached the Mediterranean to the west. The New Assyrian Empire, 1000 to 600 B.C. was the peak of their conquests. Their empire stretched from the head of the Persian Gulf, around the Fertile Crescent through Damascus, Phoenicia, Palestine, and into Egypt as far south as Thebes. Their northwestern border was the Taurus Mountains of modern Turkey. Other than the vestiges of what had once been the Minoan (Crete), Mycenean (Greece), and Hittite (Turkey) cultures, all areas of pre- catastrophe civilization in the West were ruled by Assyria. =========== = Economy = =========== The Assyrian economy was based on agriculture and herding, but the Assyrians also benefited by being situated astride some important trade routes. They are not remembered as traders in their own right, perhaps only tax collectors on traders went through. During the New Empire period, they profited from the taxes and tribute they collected from their various provinces and vassal states, including even Egypt for a few years. ======================== = Religion and Culture = ======================== The Assyrian religion was heavily influenced by that of its Mesopotamian predecessors, mainly Sumeria. The chief god of the Assyrians was Ashur, from whom both their culture and capital take their names. Their temples were large zaggurats built of mud bricks, like their neighbors to the south. The principal activity of the rich was hunting from chariots, appropriate for such a war- like culture. Despite their fearsome reputation, the Assyrians embraced civilization. They wrote using cuneiform and decorated their cities leberally with reliefs, painted stonework, and sculpture. ============== = Government = ============== The king was the head administrator of government, supported by local provincial governors. The palace was the site of government. Advisors consulted the omens before important decisions were made. Provinces and vassal cities were required to pay taxes and tribute in the form of food, goods, gold, labor, military supplies, and soldiers for the army. An extensive network of roads and grain depots were built during the New Empire to speed communication and armies moving to trouble spots. ================ = Architecture = ================ The Assyrians built on a large and lavish scale, using mostly mud bricks, but also stone that was more readily available than it was further south. Several New Empire kings built extensive palaces and decorated them with the booty of war and the tribute of vassal states. Palaces were also decorated with painted stone reliefs, extensive gardens, and man0 made streams. A common decorative fixture was the LAMASSU- a winged hybrid creature, part bull and part man. ============ = Military = ============ The first Assyrian armies were peasant spearmen. Following a series of military reforms around 800 B.C., however, they employed a standing army of conscripts and professionals. This army was better armed, armored, and supplied than most of its enemies, giving it important advantages. The New Empire armies benefited from cheap iron used for improved swords and armor. The Assyrians were among the first to adopt the concept of the integrated army made up of an infantry core for shock, supported by light missile troops and a mobile wing of chariots, camelry, and cavalry. The army was capable of fighting on the plains where chariots and then cavalry were critical, as well as in rough terrain where horses and chariots had little use. They campaigned regularly to the north and east against barbarians that posed a threat. The elite of the army for many years were the charioteers, followed by the cavalry when chariots bacame obsolete. The Assyrians were accomplished at the art of capturing walled cities. Their historical records recount numerous city assaults and the brutality that followed. Inhabitants were either killed or sent to another corner of the empire as slaves. ==================== = Decline and Fall = ==================== The brutal policies of subjugation and exorbitant demands for tribute and taxes made the Assyrians unpopular masters. Despite the ferocity of their reprisals, vassal states contnually revolted given an opportunity. Weaker kings were unable to hold the empire together in the face of internal and external pressure. In 612 B.C., the capital at Nineveh fell to a coalition of Babylonians and Medes. The Babylonians were in revolt (Babylon had been sacked in 648 B.C.) and the Medes (from modern western Iran) were seeking retribution for past Assyrian invasions of their lands. The last Assyrian army was defeated soon thereafter by the same coalition and the Assyrians as a separate culture disappeared from the world's stage. ========== = Legacy = ========== The Assyrians are remembered from their boastful inscriptions and biblical references as ferocious warriors. Whether they were significantly more brutal than was normal for the time is unclear. For several centuries, however, they were the greatest military power in the civilized world. Their armies were innovative, and they appear to have been among the first to use large bodies of cavalry effectively. They certainly influenced the Persian armies that followed them. They are not remembered for any significant advances in technology, philosophy, the arts, or science. Their cities have been piles of rubble for thousands of years now and have not given up fabulous treasures that can compare with those of Egypt and Greece. ================================================================================ Babylonians ================================================================================ (1900 to 539 B.C.) The Mesopotamian city- state of Babylon twice expanded to become an important world empire before being absorbed by Persia. Its two great expansions were sufficiently remarkable to earn it a place in history beside the two other great Mesopotamian cultures, the Sumerians and Assyrians. Between its Old and New Empire periods, Babylonia devolved back into a small but rich city- state that was captured occasionally by its neighbors. The predominate inhabitants of Babylon changed several times over its existence, although the culture remained relatively constant and distinct. The Amorites, the Kassites, and the Chaldeans were all Babylonians at least once. ============ = Location = ============ The Babylonians took their name from their capital and only major city, Babylon, located on the Euphrates River west of Sumeria and south of Assyria. It was well- placed on the river for agriculture and for trade, but had no natural defenses. A strong leader and strong army were needed to defend it. Determined attackers were able to sack the city on numerous occasions during its history when such a leader or army was not available. ================= = Rise To Power = ================= Babylonia was founded as a kingdom around 1900 B.C. by Semitic Amorite barbarians who overran much of Canaan, Akkad, and Sumer one hundred years earlier. In 1792 B.C. the small kingdom was inherited by Hammurabi who ruled until 1750. During those 42 years, Hammurabi extended the kingdom to ecompass all of Sumer to the east and Akkad to the north. He also defeated the barbarian Gutians in the Zagros Mountains to the northeast who had previously sacked Akkad. He also pushed back the Elamites (east of Sumer) and the Assyrians (north of Akkad). This was the first great Babylonian empire. Following Hammurabi's death, the empire fell into gradual decline. In 1595 B.C. Hittites drove down the Euphrates and sacked Babylon, plundering the city and deposing the Amorite kings. This ended the first empire. Within 20 yearsm new invaders called the Kassites had settled around Babylon, establishing a new dynasty. The Kassites were neither Semetic nor Indo- European, and probably came from east of the Zagros Mountains. The Kassites ruled Babylon for several centuries before being coquered by the Assyrians in 1158 B.C. Descendants of the Amorites had restored control by 1027 B.C. During the Eighth and Seventh Centuries, the Chaldeans, new Semitic immigrants to the area, and the Assyrians fought for control of Babylon. The Assyrians claimed sovereignty for a while but sacked the city once as punishment for rebellion. A Chaldean sheik seized the Babylonian throne and then destroyed the Assyrians with the help of the Medes. The Chaldean Dynasty and the New Empire lasted from 626 to 539 B.C. The revived Babylonians overran most of the Assyrian Empire from the Persian Gulf to the boarders of Egypt. In 597 B.C. Nebuchadrezzar II captured Jerusalem and forced its king and nobles into exile. When the puppet ruler of Jerusalem rebelled, the city was taken again in 586 B.C. after an eighteen- month siege. This time much of the population was deported to Babylon and their descendants remained there until released by the Persians. This period of Hebrew history was called the Babylonian Captivity. =========== = Economy = =========== The basic economy of Babylonia was typical for Mesopotamia at the time. Irrigation and dikes controlled the waters of the Euphrates River, providing bountiful harvests of grain, vegetables, and fruit in normal years. These foods were supplemented by herds of sheep and some cattle. The Babylonians traded food surpluses for raw materials like copper, gold, and wood, which they used to manufacture weapons, household objects, jewelry, and other items that could be traded. The fabulous wealth of the New Empire (626 to 539 B.C.) derived from controlling the east- west and north- south trade, primarliy thanks to control of Phoenicia, Syria, and the other Levant ports. This area had been the nexus of civilized trade for over a thousand years, and, for that reason, the prize for every empire and pseudo- empire of the age. Not long after the end of the Babylonian New Empire, the shift of much trade to the central and western Mediterranean reduced the importance of this area. ======================== = Religion and Culture = ======================== The Babylonians worshipped many gods, but chief was of these was Murduk, god of the city of Babylon. Marduk was represented by a dragon in the artwork that decorated the city. Festivals were held throughout the year in honor of specific gods to assure their favor. The New Year festival for Marduk assured the fertility in their fields. For a brief time the New Empire was among the richest in the world. The city reflected that wealth in its extensive and highly decorated monuments. The interior of the Temple of Marduk was reportedly converted with gold. At the center of a great and rich trading empire, the people of Babylon had access to exotic goods and manufactured items throughout the world. ============== = Government = ============== The New Empire government of Babylon adopted many of the Assyrian imperial practices, which probably contributed to its own short life. The king had overall administrative power, in addition to his central role in important religious rituals. Governors ruled important provinces on behalf of the king, but most of these were Babylonians appointed from outside the local area. Local puppets were often left in place to rule local kingdoms, but this occasionally led to revolt, as in the case of Jerusalem. ================ = Architecture = ================ The city of Babylon was destroyed and rebuilt several times, usually on top of the old ruins. Buildings and walls were constructed of mud bricks, first sun- baked, and then baked with fire. The Babylon of the New Empire period was one of the wealthiest cities in the world. The Chaldean kings rebuilt the city and established its reputation for splendor for all time. The Euphrates River passed through the middle of the city and was directed around its four sides through a moat. Inside the moat were double walls. The Greek historian Herodotus claimed that the outer wall was so wide that a chariot with four horses could drive along it. There were several city gates, each named after an important god. The Ishtur gate opened on the sacred Processional Way that led to the ziggurat and Temple of Marduk. The gate, sacred way, and temples were decorated with bright blue glazed tiles depicting real and fantasy animals in relief. The two sides of the city were connected by a bridge. The east side contained the palace and temples, including many ziggaurats. The greatest of these, built by Nebuchanezzar II, had seven levels with a small temple to Marduk at the top. This zaggurat was probably the Tower of Babel mentioned in the Bible. Nebuchanezzar also built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, a multistoried ziggurat decorated with trees and plants to resemble a mountain. According to legend, the gardens were built to remind one of his wives of her mountain homeland. The Hangine Gardens were one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. ============ = Military = ============ Little is known of the Babylonian military from either the Old or New Empires, although Hammurabi's army of the Old Empire may have made important use of chariots when these were first coming into use. The New Empire armies probably copied much from the Assyrians. This would suggest that Babylonians made extensive use of cavaly, especially mounted bowmen. Foot troops probably used iron weapons and wore iron helmets and some chain mail armor. The Babylonians and their less advanced allies, the Medes, took three leavily fortified Assyrian cities in short succession, suggesting they had mastered the Assyrian techniques for storming cities. ==================== = Decline and Fall = ==================== Following seven turbulent years that saw three new kings in succession and two rebellions, in 556 B.C. the last of the Chaldean Dynasty, Nabonidus, took the throne of Babylon. He worshipped the moon god, Sin, but neglected local affairs and important religious rituals associated with other gods. For several years he did not perform the important New Year festival in the name of Marduk, the deity of Babylon, that renewed the fertility of the land. He also introduced reforms that gave effective control of temple finances to himself. The unrest and dissatisfaction these events fostered came at a time when a new power to the east, Persia, had been gradually expanding and spreading its influence. Under Cyrus I, the Persians had first overthrown their masters. the Medes, and then expanded to the northwest into Anatolia. During these conquests, Cyrus demonstrated a high degree of tolerance and clemency that encouraged others not to resist. When Cyrus turned against the Babylonians, he was welcomed by a large segment of the population, including the influential priests. Cyrus first defeated Nabonidus in battle at Opis. Nabonidus fled to Babylon but the city surrendered without a fight on October 12, 539 B.C., and the last Babylonian king went into captivity. The Jews and other peoples held in Babylonian captivity were freed. The entire New Empire of Babylon became part of the Persian Empire and Babylonia ceased to exist as a separate entity and culture. ========== = Legacy = ========== The first Babylonian empire is best known for the Law Code of King Hammurabi, circa 1750 B.C., purportedly handed down by the god Shamah. The laws themselves are preserved on a 90- inch stone stele that was uncovered in Susa in modern times. It has been carted off by the Elamites following their sack of Babylon in 1158 B.C. The New Empire of Babylon was noted especially for its wealth and grandeur. This was reported in Old Testament accounts from the period of the Hebrew Babylonian Captivity and by the Greek historian Herodotus who visited the city. The most impressive features of the city were its walls, the Ishtar Gate, the ziggurat and temple to Marduk, the Processional Way, and Hanging Gardens. ================================================================================ Chosens ================================================================================ (2333 to 108 B.C.) The Korean Peninsula was invaded by successive waves of Neolithic peoples, but the culture of the area changed little until the use of bronze implements began around the fifteenth century B.C. The Bronze Age brought significant change to Korea. Recovered bronze spear points and arrowheads indicate conquest and warfare were widespread. Towns protected by earthen walls appeared. Funerary dolmens (rock shelters covered by enormous capstones) indicate the rise of a stratified political and social structure. The Bronze Age in Korea lasted until the fourth century B.C. During the Bronze Age, the first large political groupings of walled town states arose. The most advanced of these was Ancient Chosen. ============ = Location = ============ The state of Ancient Chosen was located in the valleys of the Liao and Taedong Rivers, in the southwestern part of what is now North Korea. It occupied the Taedong River basin originally and spread its influence gradually over a large region of the peninsula. =========== = Capital = =========== The Ancient CVhosen capital was Wanggom- song, now modern P'yongyang (the capital of North Korea). ===================== = The Rise To Power = ===================== The power of Ancient Chosen grew from around 2333 B.C. to the end of the fourth century B.C. The Ancient Chosen expanded possibly due to better agriculture and population growth, better use of newly available iron weapons, better leaders, or all of the above. When the Chinese kingdom of Yen encountered the Ancient Chosen culture, they referred to them as being arrogant and cruel, which suggests that the Ancient Chosen were formidable warriors. Despite the apparent strength of Ancient Chosen at the end of the fourth century, they went into decline, nevertheless, following the arrival of the Yen kingdom across the Liao River. The Chinese overlord in control of the Liaotung Peninsula changed several times during the next century and the political upheaval fostered an immigration of Chinese political, military, and economic power into Ancient Chosen. One refugee, named Wiman, built a power base among the other refugees and eventually drove the Ancient Chosen king from his throne around 190 B.C. The new kingdom, called Wiman Chosen, was a hybrid of Korean and Chinese influences. Due to its superior military and economic strength, it subjugated smaller Korean states to its north, east, and south. This placed the Wiman Chosen between the now dominant Han Chinese and the remaining Korean states in the south, allowing it to control trade between the two regions. For three generations, the Wiman Chosen dominated north central Korea. =========== = Economy = =========== The principal economic activity of Bronze and early Iron Age Korea was agriculture. Rice was the main food crop of southern Korea. Raising livestock (oxen, horses, pigs, and dogs) was more important in the north. The basic farming unit was the village, made up of headmen, free peasants, and a few slaves. Peasants and slaves worked mainly on communal farms. There were some peasant- owned lands as well. The fre peasants were heavily taxed and provided labor to the state. They were not permitted to bear arms or serve in the armies. ======================== = Religion and Culture = ======================== The leaders of the early walled towns in Korea performed both political and religious functions. The dignity and authority of these leaders was enhanced by their acknowledged descent from a sun god. Political and religious power split gradually into two separate functions as the confederation grew in size. Rituals were thereafter directed by specialists. The primitive religion of prrehistoric Korea was based on animism and shomanism. Primative priets were magicians who attempted to move the gods by evocation. By the time of Ancient Chosen, priests prayed to the gods humbly and earnestly for favor. The ancient Koreans believed in the immortality of the soul and buried their elite with elaborate ritual. They also practiced divination. The two most important festivals of the year were tied to the growing season. In the spring, they prayed for abundance, and in the fall, they celebrated thanksgiving. ============== = Government = ============== Village communities were governed by a ruling elite that kept order, allocated land and resources, collected taxes, and provided security. The individual communities were held together in confederation by military and economic means. Ancient Chosen took the name wang (king) for its leader about the time that the nearby Chinese kingdom of Yen employed the same title. ============ = Military = ============ Little is known about the armies of Ancient Chosen except that they were standing armies and not levies of peasants. Evidence of horses and chariots is not widespread, suggesting that only the richest warriors could afford these enhancements. Bronze spear points and arrowheads from the early days of the Ancient Chosen suggest an army of spearmen and archers. Later finds include bronze daggers and spears of distinctive styles, iron daggers, and iron spear points. The daggers suggest that these short weapons were used by infantry for close combat in addition to spears. The prowess of Ancient Chosen armies can be inferred from their expansion and dominance of the region and the comments about Ancient Chosen recorded by their Chinese neighbors. ==================== = Decline and Fall = ==================== Unified China under Han Dynasty was not pleased by Wiman Chosen's growth and control of eastward trade, and was concerned about a possible alliance between Wiman Chosen and the Hsiung-nu (barbarians then expanding out of Mongolia into Manchuria). The aggressive Emperor Wu of Han launched an attack against the Wiman Chosen when diplomacy failed to bring them to heel. The Wiman Chosen were a tough adversary but were weakened by defections and collaborations among the nobility. The Wiman Chosen capital fell in 108 B.C., and the kingdom came to an end. ========== = Legacy = ========== The legacy of the Ancient Chosen was a Korean culture that remained separate from that of China, despite the proximity and influence of that enormous neighbor. ================================================================================ Egyptians ================================================================================ (5000 to 30 B.C) The Egyptian culture was one of the oldest and most long- lived of antiquity. It benefited from an abundance of good farmland, nearby mineral resources, and a good strategic position. Despite occasional invasion and internal strife, it endured as a distinctive culture for nearly 5000 years. ============ = Location = ============ Ancient Egypt occupied almost the same area as modern Egypt does today. Its civilization stayed very close to the Nile River. Because it was almost entirely surrounded by desert, enemies could approach only from the west and southeast along the Mediterranean coast, from the south down the river valley, or directly over the sea. =========== = Capital = =========== During its long history, the capital of Egypt was located at various times in Heirakonpolis, Memphis, Herakleopolis, Thebes, It- towy, Akhetaten, Tanis, Sais, and Alexander the Great in 331 B.C. Greek overlords, the Ptolemaic dynasty, ruled from here until 30 B.C. ================= = Rise of Power = ================= Agriculture was brought to the Nile Valley prior to 5000 B.C. by immigrants from the highlands of Palestine. By 3000 B.C., acriculture had spread southward up the Nile. Flooding was under control and irrigation put much more land under cultivation. The adundance of food led to large populations and increased wealth for the area. The early history of Egypt was a period of consolidation. Two separate kingdoms rose and vied for power along the river. Around 3100 B.C., King Menes of Upper Egypt conquered Lower Egypt and established the First Dynasty. Between 3100 B.C. and 1300 B.C., the Egyptians struggled with Nubians and Kushites up the Nile to the south. Forts and garrisons held the frontier but during periods of weakness these were destroyed. Around 1300 B.C. the Nubians suffered an important defeat and were neutralized as a thread for about 500 years. Egypt's Dynasty XIII, 1783 to 1640 B.C., was very weak. During this period the frontier forts to the south were lost and Semitic immigrants from the east moved into the delta. These immigrants, called the Hyskos, took control of the entire delta region in 1674 B.C. The Hyskos eventually adopted Egyptian culture and language, and introduced the horse and chariot. The New Kingdom was founded by Dynasty XVIII in 1552 B.C., following a successful war to drive out the Hyskos. This dynasty was the great age of the warrior pharaohs and Egyptian empire. The prevent further incursions from the east, the Egyptians attempted to establish control over the kingdoms in the Levant and Palestine. During this period they vied for control with the Hittites and Mitanni, as well as the local kings. The Egyptians were the dominant power in the Near East until around 1200 B.C. when the entire area was overrun by barbarians. =========== = Economy = =========== Egypt was an agricultural society dependent on the water and soil brought down each year by the Nile from the highlands of Ethiopia. Extensive irrigation made it possible to farm fields not adjacent to the river but still close enough to be inundated each year and receive new sediments. The principalcrops were wheat and barley that were used to make bread and beer, the staples of their diet. They also grew fruits and vegetables and raised cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, geese, ducks, and pigeons. The abundance of food meant a large population and allowed the export of food. The Nile passes through several hilly regions and some of these were rich in minerals. The nearby Sinai Peninsula also held mineral riches. Unlike some other ancient cultures, the Egyptians had relatively easy access to copper and gold, further increasing their wealth. The hills were sources of granite, limestone, and sandstone that they used for construction. The Egyptians were one of the first cultures to build boats and they eventually took these out into the Mediterranean. Egypt became an important Mediterranean part of call as trade increased because it was it was a rich market for both buying and selling. Principal Egyptian exports were grain, food, linen, perfume, and manufactured goods. Important imports were timber, slaves, silver, horses, pottery, and wine. ======================== = Religion and Culture = ======================== The Egyptian religion had over 2000 gods, though only a few of these were predominant. The important gods had a home town where their principal temple was located. One of the most important was Ra, the sun god, understandably critical to an agricultural society. They believed in a life after death. They referred to this as the "next world," and thought it was somewhere to the west. They developed elaborate burials and embalming to preserve the body for this second life. Goods and servants were buried with royalty and nobles to serve them. ============== = Government = ============== The ancient Egyptians believed their kings were descended from the sun god, Ra. They believed they could communicate with the gods through the king. The king had absolute power but was required to perform several important duties. He was responsible for the harvest and irrigation of crops. He directed the government, trade, and foreign policy. He enforced the laws and led the army. During the New Kingdom, the pharoahs usually commanded their armies in the field. Reporting directly to the pharaoh were two viziers, one for Lower Egypt based in Memphis, and one for Upper Egypt based in Thebes. Below the viziers were rural districts controlled by governors and towns controlled by mayors. These officials carried out the pharaoh's orders and collected taxes. Scribes kept the records. The Egyptians had no coinage until they were conquered by Alexander the Great. All workers paid taxes by turning over a percentage of their production, whether it was fish, grain, trade goods, pottery, or other goods. In addition, each household had to provide a laborer for several weeks each year for mining or public works. The pyramids were probably built by laborers putting in their annual service. ============ = Military = ============ The Egyptians were among the first cultures to possess the necessary population and wealth to build standing armies of professional soldiers. Prior to the Hyksos introduced the horse and chariot, which were quickly adopted by the Egyptians in turn. The dominance of the Near East by New Kingdom Egypt, from 1600 to 1200 B.C., was primarily due to the large and powerful chariot armies sent into battle there. These chariots carried a driver and composite bow archer and were the elite of the army. ==================== = Decline and Fall = ==================== Egypt survived the catastrophe by 1200 B.C. by fighting off several major attempted invasions. They went into decline, nevertheless, following the death of Rameses III who was the last of the great warrior pharaohs. Their decline was partly due to trade coming to a virtual halt for several generations. A series of weak kings and civil wars over succession to the throne also eroded their strength. In 728 B.C., Egypt was conquered by Nubia and held for 60 years. In 665 B.C., the Assyrians completed a conquest of Egypt by sacking Thebes. A new native Egyptian dynasty arouse in 664 B.C., eventually throwing out the Nubians and asserting their independence from Assyria by stopping payment of tribute. In 525 B.C., Egypt was conquered again from the east, this time by Combryses II of Persia. When the Persians faltered in their war with the Greeks, the Egyptians reclaimed their independence briefly before succombing once more to Persian invasion by 332 B.C. Within a year, however, the Persians themselves were gone, destroyed by Alexander the Great who was accepted by the Egyptians as their pharaoh. Greeks ruled Egypt as overlords from the time of Alexander the Great until 30 B.C. when Cleopatra VII, th elast of the Ptolemaic dynasty, and Mark Antony were defeated by Octavian. Egypt thereafter became part of the Roman Empire. ========== = Legacy = ========== The ancient Egyptians are remembered for the quality and quanity of cultural objects that have survived to the present, including the Pyramids, the Sphinx, the treasures of Tutankhamen's tomb, the other monuments and temples of the Nile Valley, hieroglyphics, mummies, and papyrus. They are also rememberdd in the West because of their prominent role in the history of ancient Israel as recounted in the Old Testament. ================================================================================ Greeks ================================================================================ (2100 to 146 B.C.) The ancient culture with the broadest and most long- lasting impact on the future of Western civilization was that of Greece. The Greeks dominated the known world militarily for only a brief period, but their cultural influence spread farther and lasted much longer. Rediscovered in the West in large part after the Medieval Dark Age, it was an important foundation for the growth of modern western civilization. The Greeks never formed a unified kingdom, but existed as city- states, sometimes working together and sometimes at war with each other. At the zenith of Greek military power under Alexander the Great, they were a collection of city- states in cooperation. ============ = Location = ============ Greek culture was centered on the mainland of modern Greece spread to the islands of the Aegean, into the lower Balkans, across the Aegean to the western coast of Anatolia, to Sicily, to parts of North Africa, and to southern France (Marseilles was founded as a Greek colony). The campaigns of Alexander greatly expanded the culture, establishing it in central Anatolia, the Levant, Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia to the borders of India. In the early second century B.C., it was possible to travel from the south of modern France to India using only Greek to communicate. =========== = Capital = =========== As a collection of city- states, there are usually no capital of the Greek culture. During the Bronze Age, Mycenea was one of the strongest and richest citadels. During the Archaic and Classical periods, Athens (the cultural center) and Sparta (the strongest military power) vied for prominence. During the brief Greek apogee under Philip and Alexander, the de facto capital was the Macedonian city of Pydna. Following the death of Alexander, is empire was eventually divided into three parts. The Antigonid Dynasty ruled Greece and Macedonia from Pydna. The Selucids ruled Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Syria, the Levant, and Persia from a newly built built city, Selucia, on the Tigris River. The Ptolemies ruled Egypt from another newly built city, Alexandria. ================= = Rise To Power = ================= The history of ancient Greek culture is divided into several periods: the Bronze Age (2100 to 1200 B.C.), the Dark Age (1200 to 800 B.C.), the Archaic Period (800 to 500 B.C.), the Classical Age (500 to 336 B.C.), and the Hellenistic Period (336 to 30 B.C.). The Bronze Age saw the rise of the first cities on the mainland. These were predominately fortified palaces on hilltops. This culture was named after its greatest citadel, Mycenea. Excavation of Mycenea by Heinrich Schlieman in the 1870s revealed fabulous burial tomb treasures. The Mycenean culture disappeared around 1200 B.C. following attacks by barbarians. The city of troy was also sacked around this time. The catastrophe of 1200 B.C. (described earlier) devastated the economy of Greece and ushered in a Dark Age that lasted about 400 years. Gradually civilization reappeared at old sites, such as Athens, and at new sites such as Sparta and Corinth. By 800 B.C., the city- states of the mainland were economic and military powers. During the next 300 years, the Archaic Period, the Greeks expanded by establishing colonies across the Aegean in Anatoloa (Ionia) and along the central and western Mediterranean coasts. They vied with the Phoenicians for colony sites and trade. The Archaic Period came to an end when the rising eastern power of Persia came into conflict with the Greeks over the Anatolian coast. The period of 500 to 336 B.C. was the Classical Age of Greece, dominated first by wars with Persia and then the Peloponnesian civil war between Athens and Sparta. Although this period is defined by military events, it was also a time of many important cultural advances. The Hellenistic Period takes its name from the Greek word Hellene (meaning Greek). This period began with the installation of Alexander as king of Macedon following the assassination of his father. In 13 years of military campaigns, Alexander conquered most of the known world and spread the Greek culture behind his armies. After Alexander's premature death in 323 B.C., his empire was eventually divided into three parts. Although these parts fought each other and gradually shrank due to rebellion and attack, the culture of the civilized world remained primarily Greek. =========== = Economy = =========== Grains and bread were staples of the Greek diet but they could be grown only in a few fertile areas. Most of Greece was hilly and not suitable for large farms on the scale of Egypt or Mesopotamia. Farmers grew fruits and vegeatables where they could clear fields. On the hillsides they grew olives for food and oil. Further up the hills they grew grapes for wine. Horses were raised mainly in Thessaly and Macedonia where there were open grasslands. Elsewhere they were kept only by the rich. Cattle were kept mainly for milk, pigs and poultry for meat, and sheep for leather and meat. Seafood supplemented diets in coastal areas. The Greeks were renowned for pottery that was both functional and beautiful. Decorations on pottery revealed much about the ancient Greek culture to historians. By carefully studying the changing styles of pottery, his- torians were able to date it and then use chards to help date excavations and other objects found with it. The Greeks took advantage of their georgraphic position between the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas to engage in trade. City-states traded among them- selves and overseas. Thessaly and Macedonia exported horses, for example, while Athens exported honey and silver. Important Greek exports were oil, wine, pottery, sculpture, metalwork, cloth, and books. Their most important import was grain from the Black Sea region, Egypt, Italy, Sicily, and Cyprus. Other important imports were timber, wool, linen, copper, dyes, silk, spices and ivory. Coins were first used in Lydia, a small kingdom in northwestern Anatolia, at the end of the seventh century B.C. The concept quickly spread to the Ionian Greek colonies and then throughout the Greek culture. The most popular coins were made of silver. City-states celebrated their independence by minting their own coins showing a representative symbol (the owl for Athens and the Pegasus for Corinth, for example). ======================== = Religion and Culture = ======================== The Greeks believed in many gods who were responsible for the living and the dead. Their gods were very human-like - they got married, had children, felt love and jealousy, and sought revenge. Legends of the gods taught what pleased and what angered them. The principal gods were the twelve Olympians thought to live on Mount Olympus. They were lead by Zeus, ruler of the heavens. Temples were built to provide earthly homes for individual gods. The Parthenon in Anthens, for example, was dedicated to the goddess Athene. Inside was a statue of Athene made of gold and ivory that stood over forty feet high. Offerings of jewelry, pottery, and sculpture were given to the temple. Animals and birds were given to the priests for sacrifice. Festivals were held to please individual gods and persuade them to be munificient. Before an important project was started, an oracle orsoothsayer was con- sulted to learn the will of the gods. The most famous of these was the Oracle of Delphi, where a prientess called the Pythia would voice the will of Apollo. Priests would interpret the Pythia's often vague replies. In one famous example, Croesus, the king of Lydia, asked whether he should invade Persia or not. He was told such an invasion would destroy a great kingdom. He assumed the Persians were the kingdom in questions, but in fact Lydia was conquered by Persia. Women in Greece lead generally sheltered lives and had little active role in society. They took their social status from their husbands. The emphasis was on having sons and raising them to be citizens and soldiers. Boys were given an extensive education in reading, writing, arithmetic, music, poetry, dancing, and athletics. Both mental and physical develop- ment was stressed. Music, poetry, and theater were an important part of the Greek culture. All Greek cities and colonies built a theater or amphitheater. Society consisted of two main groups - free people and slaves. Slaves were owned by free people and were employed as servants and laborers. Slaves were purchased in international slave markets or were prisoners of war. Free men in Athens were either citizens, born to Athenian parents, or metics, born outside of Athens. Both groups were required to serve in the army, but only citizens could become government officials or jurors. ============== = Government = ============== An independent city-state was called a polis. Each consisted of the city and surrounding countryside. The largest of these was Athens, with about one thousand square miles of territory. During the Archasic Period, most city-states were governed by a group of rich landowners. These were the aristoi, meaning best people, or the aristocrats. Resentment of aristocratic rule lead to riots when traders and craftsmen began to prosper but had no say in government. Beginning around 650 B.C., individuals called tyrants were allowed to rule to keep the peace. Government was improved under an enlightened tyrant but the system was susceptible to corruption. In 508 B.C. Athens introduced a new system called democracy, in which all citizens took part in their government. Women, foreigners, and slaves had no say. ================ = Architecture = ================ Greek homes were simple structures of mud and brick but their public buildings, expecially temples, were beautiful structures of stone. A distinctive feature of Greek architecture was the use of columns supporting horizontal lintels. ============ = Military = ============ During the Bronze Age, the armies of the individual palaces were mainly chariots manned by the richest citizens. These armies were destroyed by barbarians around 1200 B.C., sending Greece into its Dark Age. During the archaic Age, the aristocrats at First dominated the army as cavalry because they alone could afford horses. Foot soldiers came from the poorer classes that could not afford horses or better weapons and armor. Eventually trade and wealth increased, while the cost fell for new weapons made of iron. The cavalry was replaced in importance by a new army of well-equipped foot soldiers called hoplites. Each city had a different system for raising its army. In Athens, all free men aged 20 to 50 could be called upon in time of war. Each of the ten Athenian tribes had to provide enough troops for one regiment and one commander, called a strategoi. Hoplites carried on their left arm a large round shield that extended from neck to thigh. The shield was decorated with a symbol from their family, tribe or city. They wore bronze helmets with a horsehair crest on top to make the soldier look taller and more powerful. For body protection they wore a cuirass of bronze, or leather and bronze, from shoulder to chest, plus bronze greaves on the front of the lower legs. Their weapons were a long spear and a short iron sword. Hoplites fought in the phalanx, a square of men usually eight ranks deep. It was important that the phalanx move and fight together. Flutes and other musical instruments helped from keep in step. The terrifying hand- to-hand clash of opposing phalanxes called for extreme courage and dis- cipline. The Greeks distained the use of cavalry and skirmish troops using bows, slings, or javelins/ As long as they fought amoung themselves or were lucky, this was not a problem. Extensive contact with other military systems during the Persian Wars eventually convinced them that the phalanx needed to be supported. The ultimate Greek army employed heavy and light cavalry, light infantry, and skirmishers in support of its heavy hoplite infantry. ==================== = Decline and Fall = ==================== Following the death of Alexander the Great, the city-state of mainland Greece attempted to rebel against Macedonian rule but were defeated in the Lamian War of 323-322 B.C. During the next 40 years, the War of the Diadochi contested the division of Alexander's empire. It was eventually divided into three kingdoms (Greece, Egypt, and Persia). These three kingdoms made up the Hellenistic world. The Antigonid Dynasty ruled Greece and Macadon but lost control of their colonies in southern Italy to the Romans in 275 B.C. The Greeks supported Carthaginians against Rome during the Punic Wars and paid for that once the Carthaginians were destroyed. Three Macedonian Wars against Rome resulted in the end of the Antigonid Dynasty in 168 B.C. Following an unsuccessful Macedonian revolt, the city-states of Greece became provinces of the Roman Empire in 146 B.C. The Selucid Dynasty attempted to rule what had been the enormous Persian Empire. This proved impossible and parts began rebelling very quickly. By 180 B.C. the Roman general Pompey seized the Selucid kingdom and incorporated it into the Roman Empire. The Ptolemaic Dynasty consisted only of Egypt. Because of its relative seclusion and wealth, it lasted the longest of the three Hellenistic kingdoms. Queen Cleopatra VII and her husband Marc Antony of Rome were defeated in battle by Octavian at Actium in 32 B.C. The last Ptolemy committed suicide and Egypt became part of the Roman Empire in 30 B.C. ========== = Legacy = ========== Greek language and culture spread behind Alexander the Great's armies. The Romans in turn adoped much of the Greek culture, preserving it and spreading it to new parts of the world. After the fall of Rome, Greek culture was preserved and expanded upon within the Byzatine Empire and in the Arab world, and passed on to the West following the Renaissance. The legacy of ancient Greece has had an impact on many diciplines, including medicine (the scientific approach to medicine; the Hippocractic Oath taken by doctors), mathematics (Euclidean geometry; the Pythagorean theorem), literature (the Iliad and the Odyssey), theater, poetry, sculpture, language (the Bible's new Testament was written in Greek; thousands of words passed on to modern languages), architecture (the White House; the British Museum), history (herodutus is regarded as the father of history), politics (democracy), philosophy (all philosophical studies since Plato have been referred to by one writer as mere footnotes to his work), science (the scientific method; laws of nature; the classification of plants and animals; the heliocentric theory), athletics (the Olympic Games), and trade (Greeks established trade routes to India and the Silk Road to Asia). ================================================================================ Hittites ================================================================================ (2000 to 1200 B.C.) The extent of the Hittite civilization and empire was rediscovered only within the last hundred years. The Hittites had been mentioned several times in the Olds Testament, but were considered only bit players. Excavations of sites in Turkey and Syria, plus the dicipherment of inscriptions and recovered clay tables, revealed that the Hittites were a world power at one time, rivals of the Egyptians and conquerors of Babylon. ============ = Location = ============ The Hittite empire was centered in Asia Minor (modern Turkey). At its maximum, it extended from the Aegean coast of Anatolia, east to the Euphrates River, southeastward into Syria as far as Damascus, and south along the eastern Mediterranean coast of the Levant. Hittite King Mursuli sacked Babylon around 1600 B.C. but did not attempt to hold the region. Historians do not know where the Hittites originated or how they got to Asia Minor. Studies of their language indicate that they were probably of European origin and migrated south through the Balkans or past the eastern end of the Black Seam sometime around 2000 B.C. =========== = Capital = =========== The greatest Hittite capital was at Hattusas, outside the modern Turkish town of Bogazkoy in north central Turkey, inland from the Black Sea. This city has previously been the capital of the Hatti, a local kingdom that was conquered by the Hittites around 1900 B.C. The name Hittite derives from the name of the Hatti. The capital was moved to Hattusas around 1500 B.C. and the city was noted for its massive walls and placement in rugged terrain. ================= = Rise to Power = ================= Around 2000 B.C. when the Hittites entered Asis Minor, the region was populated by small yet sophisticated, kingdoms each no larger than a thousand people. The Hittites began expanding their kingdom around 1900 B.C., using both force and diplomacy to bring rival city-states and kingdoms in Asia Minor under control. The Hittite kingdom went through several periods of expansion and contraction until around 1400 B.C. Beginning then, several strong kings in succession expanded the Hittite empire across all of Asia Minor, into Syria, and beyond the Euphrates River. The push into Syria brought the Hittites into conflict with the Egyptians who also sought to dominate this area. For several generations the Hittites and Egyptians remained diplomatic and military rivals. The great battle of Kadesh was fought between these superpowers around 1300 BC and was commemorated in Egypt by a great pictoral relief, an epic poem, and an official written record. After several decades of uneasy stalemate, the two powers signed a peace treaty and mutual defense pact, perhaps in response to growing Assyrian power to the east. A copy of the treaty was inscribed on the walls of an Egyptian temple at Karnak where it can be read today. Duplicate copies of this treaty on clay and silver tablets were also found by archaeologists in both countries. =========== = Economy = =========== The Hittite imperial boundaries encompassed a diverse geography, including expansive grassy plains, mountains, sea coast, river valleys, and desert. Their economy was based mainly on grain and sheep raising, but they also possessed large deposits of silver, copper and lead ore. They were adept metalworkers and among the earliest makers of iron, although during their time iron was more valuable than gold and not available in any quantity. They were an important provider of copper and bronze to Mesopotamia. When they attempted to control the trade to and from that area by extending their influence into Syria, the Levant, and upper Euphrates River region, they came into conflict with the Egyptians. ======================== = Religion and Culture = ======================== The Great Temple at Hattusas, below the hill on which the palace stood, was the religious center of the empire. The Hittite king was also the high priest of the kingdom and split his time between government, religious duties, and conquest. The king's dual role was useful in unifying the culture of the kingdom among its diverse peoples. Each year the king/high priest traveled extensively to preside at festivals. These personal appearances brought in rich donations and helped stablize the realm. Hittite religion was polytheistic. It was tolerant of other beliefs and flexible about incorporating new gods already worshipped by newly conquered peoples. Their supreme deity, Teshub, the Storm God, was borrowed. Hittite culture discovered so far pales in comparison to that of their contemporaries in Babylon and Egypt. We have only a few bronze and stone statuettes, seal impressions, and rock carvings to judge their artistic ability. One enduring symbol from their artwork is the double-headed eagle that was adopted as a national symbol by both Austria and Russia. They used cuneiform for writing as well as their own heiroglyphics. They patterned their laws on those of Babylon, though they tempered their severity. ============== = Government = ============== Some researchers believe that the early Hittite government was the first constututional monarchy. The pankus, probably an assembly of noblemen, monitored the king's activites in relation to their laws and probably had the power to remove and install kings as needed. Because they had no law of succession until circa 1500 BC, the death of a king prior to then often triggered a struggle for power. The authority of the pankus waned as the empire began to grow and after a law of succession was adopted. During the empire years, the Hittite ruler was called the Great King. Each year the rulers of vassal states brought gifts to Hattusas and pledged their loyalty. In return for military protection and favorable trading status, vassal states contributed money and troops to the empire. ============= = Diplomacy = ============= Extensive records and correspondence preserved on clay tablets have revealed much detail about Hittite diplomacy and politics. Decipherment of specific tablets connected the Hittites was two of the most famous events in antquity - the sacking of the legendary city of Troy from the Iliad and the death of the Egyptian boy Pharaoh Tutankhamen. Diplomatic letters to a city on the east coast of Asia Minor helped establish the site of the city of Troy. In 1353 BC the greatest Hittite king Suppiluliuma I, was besieging the city of Carchemish that controlled an important ford and trade route over the Euphrates River. During the siege he received a letter from Ankhesenamun, the newly widowed wife of Tutankhamen. The queen of Egypt asked that Suppiluliuma send one of his sons to be her new husband and king of Egypt. The stage was set for a very important alliance by marriage. Suppiluliuma took too long to investigate and negotiate, however. An Egyptian courtier-priest seized the widow and the throne, and peace between the two great powers was not arranged until 70 years later. ============ = Military = ============ Hittite foot troops made extensive use of the powerful recurved bow and bronze tipped arrows. Surviving artwork depicts Hittite soldiers as stocky and bearded, wearing distinctive shoes with curled-up toes. For close combat they used bronze daggers, lances, spears, sickle-shaped swords, and battle-axes shaped like human hands. Soldiers carried bronze rectangular shields and wore bronze conical helmets with ear flaps and a long extension down the back that protected the neck. They were apparently very competent at conducting sieges and assaulting cities that resisted. They were possibly the first to adopt the horse for pulling light two-wheeled chariots and made these vehicles a mainstay of their field armies. Egyptian engravings of the Battle of Kadesh show three men in the Hittite chariots using spears, but other evidence suggests that they carried only a driver and archer. Perhaps the chariot archer replaced the chariot javelin thrower. Hittite chariot armies were feared by most of their contemporaries. ==================== = Decline and Fall = ==================== Following the establishment of peace with Egypt around 1280 BC, there ensued 80 years of relative peace and prosperity for much of the civilized world. During the great catastrophe circa 1200 BC, however, the Hittite empire was suddenly destroyed. The fortifications at Hattusas were thrown down and the city burned. Stone sculptures were smashed apart. It is not known by whom, but it is possible that the Hittite armies fell off in ability during decades of relative peace while the growing riches of the empire made it an ever more attractive target, probably to barbarians from the west and north. The Kaskans, barbarians from the Russian Steppes, penetrated the empire around 1300 BC and plundered Hattusas. They may have returned to finish the job for good. ========== = Legacy = ========== The legacy of the Hitties is limited because they were lost as a culture until rediscovered only recently. They are remembered in the Bible as relatively small but sturdy warriors, but for little else. A small remembrance of the Hittites is their pointed shoes with turned-up toes seen in many carvings and reliefs that survive. This style of shoe is still seen occasionally in Turkey as ceremonial dress. ================================================================================ Minoans ================================================================================ (2200 to 1200 B.C.) Primitive agricultural communities sprang up around the Aegean Sea by 6000 B.C., but this area lagged behind Egypt and Mesopotamia in advancing toward civilization. For reasons not yet understood, the island- based Minoan culture made a sudden leap forward around 2000 B.C. and became the first civilization of Europe. The sudden take- off may have been stimulated by trading contact with Mesopotamia through Levant ports of through contact with Egypt. One theory suggests that refugees from Egypt during a time of turmoil may have emigrated to Crete and brought technology and ideas with them. ============ = Location = ============ The Minoan culture was centered on the island of Crete, but extended to other nearby islands, including Thera and Rhodes. They may have colonized the Anatolian coast at Miletus and elsewhere. By the extension of trade, they influenced the developing Greek culture on the mainland and other Aegean islands. =========== = Capital = =========== The palace at Knossos on Crete was the capital of the Minoan civilization. It remained a hidden ruin until rediscovered and revealed in the twentieth century. ================= = Rise of Power = ================= The Minoans were an economic power, not a military one. They preserved their economic advantages by apparently controlling ship traffic in the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas. For approximately 800 years, they dominated trade in these regions. They were so secure on their islands, protected by their ships, that they never fortified their cities. =========== = Economy = =========== Crete was rich in natural resources, including farmland, water, supplies, timber, copper, building stone, and access to the sea. The Minoans were prosperous thanks to agriculture and fishing, but grew rich primarily on trade. The Minoans grew grain, fruit, herbs, and olives. Grain, wine, olive oil, timber, ceramics, and manufactured goods were theri principal exorts. They imported tin, silver, gold, linen, luxury items, and raw materials for manufacturing. ======================== = Religion and Culture = ======================== The high standard of living, the relative abundance of food and other good things, and the security of their island homes gave the Minoans an outlook on life substantially different from other contemporary cultures. Perhaps because life was good, worship and communication with gods was not stressed. They built no great temples. Their religion was dominated by female goddesses who protected the household, the crops, and the animals. The Minoans made regular offerings of food, statues, and other objects. The Minoans may have practiced human sacrifice at one time. There is a famous tale of a minotaur, half man, half bull, who lived in a labyrinth beneath the palace. Young people were sacrificed to the minotaur each year. The high priest or king may have worn a bull mask for the sacrifice, creating the illusion of half man, half animal. They believed in an afterlife and buried the dead with food and possessions that would be of use. Two sacred symbols were bull horns and the double- sided axe. The Minoans developed a hieroglyphic writing system around 2000 B.C., perhaps following trading contract with the Egyptians. By 1900 B.C., they had developed a new script now called Linear A. Athird script called Linear B came into use as Knossus around 1450 B.C. To date, onlu Linear B has been deciphered, but most of the surviving examples are accounting records that reveal little about their history and culture. Surviving artwork shows the people of Crete engaging in the sport of bull- jumping. The significance of this activity is not known. Young men and women are depicted approaching a charging bull, grabing it by the horns, and somersaulting over the animal's back to land behind it. The everyday life of the Minoans was pleasant and relatively free of war and unrest, as witnessed by the richness and exuberance of their frescos, wall paintings, and decorative objects. ============== = Government = ============== The great palace at Knossus was also a giant warehouse. The distribution of food and other goods may have been organized from here. The only king whose name survives was Minos. It may be that the word, Minos, referred to the office, not the man, like the Egyptian term, pharaoh. ============ = Military = ============ The Minoans had little apparent need for an army, relying instead on their navy to keep any enemies from approaching. Minoan ships were galleys, manned by rowers on both sides. Narrow galleys were fast and maneuverable, allowing them to overtake slower sailing ships of the day. They did not employ rams at this early date, according to the evidence of surviving artwork. ==================== = Decline and Fall = ==================== The idyllic life of the Minoans was disrupted by natural disasters. The archaelogical remains indicate that the palace of Knossus was destroyed by an earthquake in 1700 B.C. and rebuilt. The nearby island of Thera was partially sunk by a volcanic eruption and the resulting tidal wave probably struck Crete, causing extensive damage. The Minoan culture suffered from recurrent earthquakes and the Thera explosion, but the extent of the damage and its effect on their civilization is debated. There are two main scenarios for the end of the Minoan culture. According to the oldest theory, mainland Greeks invaded around 1450 B.C., essentially destroying the culture, although it lingered for 700 years more until mainland Greece itself was overrun. In the second scenario, based on more recent research, the Minoans suffered through disaster and a resulting loosening of their control of sea trade and movement, but did not succomb to the mainland Greeks. The Minoans were instead destroyed along with the Myceneans on the mainland by barbarians as part of the catastrophe of 1200 B.C. Evidence suggests that by 1180 B.C., the Cretans had moved from coastal towns and palaces to defensive city sites high in the hills. Attacks and the threat of further attacks were the probable cause of this shift. ========== = Legacy = ========== The Minoans are remembered today for their fabulous palace and frescoes at Knossos, now partially restored. It may have been the largest and most beautiful palace of the late Bronze Age. They are also remembered for their mysterious writings, some of which continue to defy linguists. ================================================================================ Persians ================================================================================ (700 to 332 B.C.) The Persians were originally one of the several Aryan tribes that migrated into modern Iran from the plains of southern Russia around 1400 B.C. They settled the southwest corner of the Iranian plateau, on the north shore of the Persian Gulf, on lands vacated by the Elamites who had been conquered and enslaved by the Assyrians. The Persians were separated from the great civilizations of Mesopotamia by the Zagros Mountains. At its peak, the Persian Empire stretched from the Indus River across the Near East to the eastern Mediterranean coast, south into Egypt along the Nile to Sudan, across Anatolia, and into Thrace and Macedonia. =========== = Capital = =========== During the history of the Persian Empire, five cities served as the royal capital. The first was Pasargadae, built by Cyrus to commemorate his victory over the Medes. It was remote and impractical as an administrative capital. Babylon was rebuilt by Cyrus as a royal capital for his use when affairs brought him to Mesoptamia. Darius moved the empire'sadministration to Susa, the old Elamite capital, perhaps for efficiency. It was well- located at the hub of a road and water transport network. The extreme summer heat of Susa drove the Persian court first to the higher altitudes of Ecbatana, the old Median capital in the Zagros Mountains. In 520 B.C., Darius began building the greatest of the Persian capitals at Persepolis. Construction of Persepolis was interrupted for long periods and was not completed nearly 200 years later when the city was sacked and burned to the ground by Alexander. ================= = Rise To Power = ================= The Persians settled on relatively poor and remote lands where they were little troubled by first the Elamites to their west, then the Assyrians who destroyed the Elamites around 640 B.C., and then the Medes (to their northZ) nd resurgent Babylonians who conquered Assyria in 609 B.C. Throughout this period, the various petty Persian kings were vassals of the richer and more advanced Medes. Cyrus II became king of the small Persian kingdom of Anshan in 559 B.C. Within ten years he had subjugated the eastern part of Persia and established a reputation among even his rivals as a natural leader to whom men gravitated. When the Median king attempted to reassert control over Persia around 550 B.C., the Median army revolted on the battlefield, handing over their king to Cyrus and surrendering their own capital at Ecbatana. The Median Empire, stretching across northern Mesopotamia into Anatolia, underwent a nearby bloodless change of management. Cyrus II was now Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian Empire. Cyrus then conquered in quick succession the Lydians of Asia Minor (led the King Croesus of legendary wealth who had invented coins), Greek colonies on the Aegean coast, the Parthians, and the Hyrcanians to the north. In 541 B.C., he marched into the steppes of Central Asia, establishing a fortified border along the Jaxartes River. In 540 B.C., his 19th year as king, Cyrus turned on his onetime ally, Babylon. After one battle, the army and people of Babylon surrendered their king, city, and empire that stetched from southern Mesopotamia to Phoenicia. Before Cyrus could expand into Egypt or toward Greece, however, he was killed fighting nomadic tribesmen who were threatening his eastern provinces. The first successors to Cyrus conquered Egypt, gathered new provinces in North Africa, and extended the empire into India to the Indus River. They turned next against the Greeks who were commercial rivals of Persian Phoenicia. In 513 B.C., a huge floating bridge was built across the Bosphorus Strait, linking Asia and Europe. The Persian army took Thrace and Macedonia to cut off grain to the Greeks, but could not subjugate the elusive Scythians. This was the peak of the Persian Empire. The stage was set for the mighty struggle with the city- states of Greece that lasted 50 years. =========== = Economy = =========== The early Persian economy was based on herding because the land was so poor for agriculture. The Persians attributed their toughness to the meager lifestyle to which they has been acclimated for generations. The sudden acquisition of the Median Empire, Lydia, Babylon, Egypt, and gold- rich areas in India made Persia an economic powerhouse. It controlled the rich agricultural areas of Mesopotamia, the grasslands of Anatolia, the trade routes in every direction, and rich deposits of metals and other resources. Great King Darius instituted many economic innovations and reforms: systematized taxation; standardized weights, measures, and monetary units (the first successful widespreaduse of coins); improvedtransportation routes, including the 1600- mile Royal Road from Susa to Sardis and an early Suez Canal; royal trading ships; promotion of agriculture; a banking system; and promotion of international trade. ======================== = Religion And Culture = ======================== The Persian kings and nobility were Zaroastrians, a religion named after its founder, Zarathustra, called Zoroaster in Greek. Zarathrustra conceived his religion around 600 B.C., and it had great influence later on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Zoroastrianism was monotheistic, centering on one supreme god who created everything material and spiritual. The powers of good and evil worked on humans who had to choose constantly between the two. An eternal afterlife of pleasure or torment were the possible results of god's judgement after death. These concepts of monotheism, good versus evil, free will, and posthumous reward or punishment were a departure from the polytheistic religions prominent in the area previously. These concepts greatly influenced religions that followed. ============== = Government = ============== The head of the Persian government was the king whose word was low. His authority was extended by a bureaucracy led by Persian nobles, scribes who kept the records, a treasury that collected taxes and funded building projects and armies, and a system of roads, couriers, and signal stations that facilitated mail and trade. In the early years when the army was predomin- ately Persian, it capably preserved the internal and external peace. Much of the empire was divided into provinces called satrapies, ruled by a satrap. All of Egypt was usually a single satrapy, for example. The satraps were normally Persians or Medes to help ensure their loyalty. They ruled and lived like minor kings in their own palaces. Some satraps became strong enough to threaten the king. Strong kings kept their satraps in check by holding close the reins of the armies and the treasury. ============ = Military = ============ All Persian men to the age of 50 years were obligated to serve in the armies of the Persian Empire. Greek historians report that boys were trained in riding, archery, hand- to- hand combat, and mounted combat. At the age of 20 they were eligible for military service. The army consisted mainly of four types of units: spearmen for infantry shock combat, foot archers to act as skirmishers, light cavalry mainly with bows, and heavy cavalry that wore some armor and carried spears. In the early years of the empire, the predominantly Persian army was highly motivated and responsive on the battlefield, making it a dangerous foe. The elite of the Persian army were the Ten Thousand Immortals, so called because the unit was always kept at a full strength of 10,000 men. The loss of any man to death or incapacitation was immediately made good by promotion from another unit. One thousand of the Immortals were the king's personal bodyguards. In its later years, the ratio of Persians to provincial levies declined. The hardened army of desciplined and well- trained Persians was replaced by a mixture of formations, weapons, and methods. These troops lacked the discipline of the Persians and proved difficult to maneuver and employ on the battlefield. ==================== = Decline And Fall = ==================== The Persian Empire peaked aroung 500 B.C., although the seeds of its decline were planted earlier. A recurring problem was court intrigue and its ill- defined rules for succession. The death of a king often triggered a scramble for the throne that exhausted the treasury, eroded morale, and loosened the governmental hold on the provinces. Wasteful spending led to inflation and unpopular tax increases. Disputes in the provinces, usually over taxes, were often settled brutally, further increasing dissatisfaction. Five of the six kings that followed Xerxes' death in 464 B.C. were weak leaders that held the empire together only by increasing harsh measures. The Greeks and Persians had been on a collision course for many years when conflict began between the two cultures in 499 B.C. Despite what appeared to be overwhelming strength and economic resources, the Persians failed to defeat the Greeks in 50 years of war on land and sea. The Greeks, though victorious, were not capable immediately of carrying the war into Persia. Following the Greco- Persian Wars, the weak Persian kings concentrated on maintaining their ever more tenuous hold on the empire. Recurring revolts in outlying provinces, especially Parthia, Lydia, and Egypt, weakened the economy and military. Before the empire could dissolve from within, it was dispatched by Alexander the Great in an amazingly short period of time. Alexander invaded in 334 B.C., captured Lydia by 333, took Egypt in 332, and became king of Persia in 331. ========== = Legacy = ========== The Persians are best remembered in the West as the antagonist in the dramatic Greco- Persian Wars, from which so much history has been preserved. The most famous events from this period are the bridging of the Hellespont, land battles at Marathon, Thermopylae, and Platea, the great sea battle at Salamis, and the sacking of Athens. Most of this history is biased, however, because we have mainly the Greek accounts to study. The Persians are also remembered in several Biblical accounts for the toler- ance of their later courts. Cyrus the Great is remembered especially for freeing the Hebrews held prisoner in Babylon when he took that city and allowing them to return to Israel. The greatest legacy of the Persians was the aggression and mixture of Asia and African cultures. Most of the advances of civilization to that point had come from these areas. This cultural gift was preserved by the Persians and passed on first to the Greeks and then to Europe and the West. ================================================================================ Phoenicians ================================================================================ (1200 to 146 B.C.) There was never a country or empire called "Phoenicia." The historical name of this culture was coined by the Greeks and was not their name. The name Phoenicia derives from the Greek word Phoenix, meaning in this case a dark red or purple- brown color. The phoenicians were renowned for their cloth dyes, especially an expensive purple one popular with royalty. Because Greek language and writings were preserved in abundance, versus Phoenician texts which are very scant, the name stuck. ============ = Location = ============ The Phoenicians appeared on the historical scene around 1200 B.C., a time when most of the civilized world was being overrun by barbarians. In the political and military void of a 400- year ancient dark age, this small group of traders were able to prosper and gradually expand their influence. Instead of acquiring a physical empire of contiguous lands, they gradually built, instead, a large trading and colonial network from their home base of a few independent cities along the coast of what is now Lebanon. They were the remnants of the Canaanites, a Semitic people who occupied city- states in this region prior to 1200 B.C. The most important of their early cities were Tyre, Sidon, Berytus (modern Beirut), and Byblos. These coastal cities were hemmed in on the land side by the Lebanon Mountains. The only onvious opportunity for expansion and economic gain was by sea. ================= = Rise To Power = ================= Prior to the catastrophe of 1200 B.C., Canaanite traders had been restricted to perhaps the Levantine coast, Egypt, and the southern coast of Anatolia. The Minoans on Crete blocked entrance into the Aegean, controlled all trade further west. The Canaanite coastal towns were usually controlled by Egypt, and one of their principal businesses was providing wood (the cedars of Lebanon) to the Nile region. The Minoan civilization was destroyed in 1200 B.C., removing most of the constraints on Mediterranean and Aegean Sea trading bu others. The Phoenicians were the most aggressive of those attempting to fill the void. Their cities were well- positioned for this enterprise by being located literally in the center of the known world. The Aegean, Mesopotamia, and Egypt were all roughly equidistant to the west, south, and east. For any of the three regions to trade with another, the easiest trade route was through the Phoenician cities. By the ninth century B.C., the ancient dark ages was nearing an end. The Phoenicians were growing rich as traders and this attracted enemies, principally the Assyrians. In the face of repeated assaults or heavy tribute payments at the least, the Tyrians adopted the strategy of establishing colonies to the west. Colonies were removed from the grasp of the Assyrians and also helped with the exploitation of metals and trade in the western Mediterranean. The most important Phoenician colony was at Carthage, established around 700 B.C. Other important colonies were in Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, and Spain. Over the next 500 years, Carthage grew rapidly in size and power. Most of its wealth came from the ore mines of Spain. Carthage fought for control of the western Mediterranean with the Greeks first and then the Romans. =========== = Economy = =========== The early Phoenician economy was built on timber sales, wood working, and cloth dyeing. Dyes ranging in color from a pink to a dark purple were made from the rotting gland of a sea snail. Gradually the Phoenician city- states became centers of maritime trade and manufacturing. Having limited natural resources, they imported raw materials and fashioned them into more valuable objects that could be shipped profitably, such as jewelry, metalwork, furniture, and housewares. They borrowed techniques and styles from all corners of the world that they touched as traders. While exploring the western Mediterranean, they either discovered large metal deposits in Spain or took them from Greeks who may have been there first. By fortifying sites on Sicily and North Africa, they effectively denied other traders access to the riches of Spain, the west Africa coast (gold, exotic woods, and slaves), and Britain (tin, which was used to make bronze.) ======================== = Religion and Culture = ======================== Phoenician religion was polytheistic and their other gods required continual sacrifices to forestall disaster, especially Boal, the god of storms. No significant Phoenician temple has yet been discovered, but most of their ancient cities lie buried under modern cities. The Bible recounts human sacriices by the Phoenicians but this practice was eventually stopped. It carried on in Carthage, however. A cemetary outside of Carthage was found to obtain thousands of urns of infants sacrificed to the gods. (BURN BABY BURN!!) Noble families of Carthage got into the habit of substituting animals and slaves for their children, but following a military disaster in 320 B.C., 500 infants from the best families were sacrificed. (HA HA!!) Early Phoenician culture was influenced to a large degree by their Semitic origins and Semitic neighbors. Their later culture was heavily influenced by the Greeks. There are few objects known today that are clearly Phoenician. One of their lasting copntributions to civilization was a proto- alphabet where each letter represented a consonant. This cut down significantly the number of symbols required to make written words. When written, the vowels were implied. Later advances by the Greeks added symbols for vowel sounds, creating the first true alphabet. ============ = Military = ============ When the Phoenicians began competing with the Greeks for trade and colonies, the contest led to construction of the first ships built expressly for war. These were rowed galleys armed with a ram at the front and marines for boarding. Sea warfare grew in importance during the fifth century when Persia fought the Greek city- states for control of the Aegean, western Anatolia, and eastern Mediterranean. By this time the Phoenician cities were under control of Persia. Phoenician ships made up the bulk of the Persian fleet that was defeated at Salamis in 480 B.C. Phoenician galleys of the time were larger and less maneuverable than their Greek counterparts, and this was a fatal shortcoming in restricted waters. The Carthaginian navy dominated the early Punic Wars with Rome, but the Romans captured a Carthaginian ship that went aground and built duplicates. The Romans eventually cleared the Mediterranean of Carthaginian ships and carried the wars to a successful conclusion in North Africa. The Carthiginians had the only significant land army that can be considered Phoenician in derivation. Their greatest general was Hannibal, who invaded Italy from Spain, passing the Alps in winter with his army and elephants. Most of his troops were Celts enlisted from Spain and Gaul. One strength of his army was cavalry from North Africa that was usually able to drive off the Roman cavalry, surround the Roman infantry, and help annihilate it. The Romans defeated Hannibal eventually, not by fighting him, but by attacking where he wasn't- Spain first, and then North Africa. ==================== = Decline and Fall = ==================== The Phoenician home cities were periodically under the thumb of one eastern conqueror after another from roughly 900 to 332 B.C. They were never strong enough to hold off the powerful armies from Assyria, then Babylon, and then Persia, although they were often rich enough to buy them off. In 332 B.C., Alexander the Great took them one by one, ending their on- again, off- again independence. They became Greek cities and lost their identity as Phoenician for good. The Carthaginians lasted another 200 years. Having held off Greek expansion past Sicily successfully for many centuries, they met their match in the more populous and better organized Romans. At the end of the Punic Wars in 146 B.C., the people of Carthage were carried off to slavery and the city was destroyed. ========== = Legacy = ========== The Phoenician tradition as traders carried on in Lebanon down through the years to modern times, regardless of who was in political control. Phoenicians are also recalled as great mariners. They are believed to have been the first civilized culture to reach Britain and the Azores. There is evidence that Phoenicians circumnavigated Africa on commission by the Egyptians around 600 B.C. There is some questionable evidence that they reached the New World. Their most important contribution was their revised alphabet, which they spread around the known world. When further refined and spread by the Greeks and Romans, it became the alphabet used today by most western cultures. ================================================================================ Shangs ================================================================================ (1800 to 1000 B.C.) China has been a mystery to much of the world since word of its existence first spread west in ancient times. It was isolated first by geography, and then by a conscious policy on the part of its rulers. It was thought to be one of the oldest civilizations but modern archaeology and research has revealed that the civilizations on Crete, in Egypt, and in Mesopotamia predate it significantly. China encompassed a number of fertile river valleys, especially the Huang Ho (Yellow) and Yangtze, that were ideal sites for agriculture. New technologies spread gradually from the west and the first Chinese farming communities appeared along these rivers around 5000 B.C. Although all ancient civiliz- ations eventually shared a common threshold of agricultural and technological knowledge, the relative isolation of China allowed it to form a unique culture. The Chinese distinguished their civilization by being first to achieve many important advancements. =========== = Capital = =========== The first recognized dynasty of Chinese kings is that of the Shang, who were located in the north along the Huang Ho River. Their principal city was An-yang, southwest of modern Beijing. The Chou dynasty overthrew a decadent Shang king and ruled for 400 years from the city of Hao in the northwest province of Shensi. When barbarians from the north sacked Hao, the Chou capital was moved east to Loyang. Although the Chou dynasty soon lost control of most of China, it continued to rule a state of varying size from its central position until 221 B.C. In 221 B.C., China was unified by the Ch'in, from whom the country gets its modern name. A new capital was built at Hsien-Yang, also southwest of modern Beijing. ================= = Rise To Power = ================= The Shang dynasty ruled over a conglomeration of northwestern Chinese feudal territories from 1766 to 1027 B.C. The remainder of the counrty was made up of territories that the Shang could not reach or influence. In 1027 B.C., a particularly decadent Shang ruler lost control of the kingdom and succombed to either revolt or the deliberate attack from the more western province of Chou. A Chou dynasty established itself and then expanded its control to the middle and southern areas of China over the next 400 years. With the help of a deposed queen, barbarians from the north invaded Chou in 722 B.C. and sacked the capital. The Chou dynasty relocated further to the east but never regained its domi- nance. The weakening of the Chou led to the Spring and Autumn period (722 to 481 B.C.) that takes its name from the title of a history of the era. New feudal kingdoms emerged and fought each other for territory, strategic materials, and population centers. Warfare between the feudal territories and barbarians to the north was incessant. By 500 B.C., and 200 feudal territories of China had consolidated into 20 independent states. A peace was arranged around 540 B.C. at a conference instigated by smaller states that had suffered continual invasion and despoiling. Peace lasted 40 years and then hostilities resumed, setting off the age known as the Warring States (481 to 221 B.C.). Seven major states emerged in this period, buteach was subjugated by the Ch'in, one after the other, beginning in 230 B.C. In 221 B.C., Prince Cheng, the Tiger of Ch'in, proclaimed himself Shih Huang-ti-- the emperor of China. =========== = Economy = =========== Early Chinese farmers grew millet and vegetables, andkept dogs and pigs. By 4000 B.C., rice was being grown and became the most important food crop of Asia. By 2500 B.C., cattle, chickens, sheep, and goats were raised, and water buffalo were being used to pull plows and wagons. Despite the ravages of war, the ancient Chinese economy continued to grow and improve. An elaborate road network improved communications and trade. Massive irrigation projects dammed entire rivers, breaking them into small streams that carried water over extensive plains for rice cultivation. Most impressive were canals connecting rivers or taking water into previously arid regions. The first of these was built in 486 B.C. to supply troops. The eventual dominance of the Ch'in was due in part to the rapid population growth that resulted from canal and irrigation projects that dramatically increased food production. Bronze did not reach China until around 1500 B.C., and iron followed in the sixth century B.C. Another advantage of the Ch'in was their iron deposits and iron seventeen centuries before that technology was achieved in Europe, and iron- making was a key factor in the shaping of their society. China was unique to the ancient world for its general lack of slavery and a large peasant class of land owners. The reasons for this are not fully understood. These two conditions probably contributed to the enormous food production and population that China supported. ======================== = Religion And Culture = ======================== The religion of ancient China was dominated bt ancestor worship. Kings traced their ancestry back directly to Shang- Ti, the ancestor and founder of the people, and the ruler of the natural world. Shang- Ti and deceased forebears were petitioned by sacrifices for guidance in all aspects of life. Political power was linked to the spiritual. The ruler was the Son of Heaven and ensured the welfare of the people. These ancient beliefs were modified eventually into a state religion by two competing philosophies that devel- oped around the sixth century B.C. in response to growing dissatisfaction with feudalism. The oldest of these philosophies was Taoism, based on a collection of profound sayings. Conformity to the Tao was achieved by unassertive action and simplicity. Taoism urged a return to a naturally sharing society that was cooperative, not acquisitive. A typical Taoism saying read, "He who feels punctured, must have been a bubble." The second and most influential philosophy was Confucianism, a more practical and socially aware doctrine. This was a philosophy of honesty and cooperation in relationships based on loyalty to principles. Virtue was acquired by self- cultivation and self- denial. The Confucian ideal was a perfection of the human personality through sacrifice in deference to tradition values passed down from one's ancestors. Heaven was the reward of the dutiful descendant. ============== = Government = ============== The various dynasties of China ruled over a hierarchy of feudal states linked by kinship and vassalage. Feudal society was supported by peasant farmers who produced unpaid labor. Following the formation of the first empire in 221 B.C., the long failing feudal society was replaced by a new structure. The aristocracy were only relatives of the emperor. Four classes of society were ranked below them. The shih were lesser nobility, landowners, and scholars. The nung were the peasant farmers, who paid taxes, lobored on public works, and served in the armies. The kung were the artisans, and the shang were the merchants. ================ = Architecture = ================ Ancient Chinese architecture was concerned primarily with building walls. Walls defended villages and towns, but also divided towns into sections. Controlling access to sections of cities enhanced the power of authorities. The earliest walls were built of earth tamped down between wooden slats that held it in place. The use of earth in this manner led to two major chara- cteristics of Chinese architecture-- walls did not usually bear loads and roofs supported generous overhangs to keep water off the walls. Walls were improved first with sun- dried bricks on their facings and then with fire- baked bricks by the end of the Warring States period. The Great Wall of China was constructed following the unification of 221 B.C. for two purposes. It was intended first to keep out or discourage attacks by mounted barbarians from the north. It also was an outlet for the labor of thousands of men who had previously served in the massive armies now made unnecessary by the unification. ============ = Military = ============ The ancient Chinese fielded armies that at times dwarfed those seen previo- usly in the Near and Middle East. Casualties from a battle often numbered 100,000 or more according to records well regarded today for accuracy. Professional armies were supplemented by large militia levies called up for temporary service. The most militaristic states were those to the north and northwest who were forced to become proficient in war because of repeated attacks by mounted barbarians. Provinces in this region learned to fight large field armies from neighboring states as well as the barbarian hordes. The three dominant dynasties of ancient China originated in the northern provinces. Chariot archers dominated the battlefields of the Bronze Age Shang era, but they were supplanted by mounted archers and large infantry armies armed with crossbow, not seen elsewhere for many centuries. Crossbows were manufactured in large quantities for the arming of the militia, as well as regular troops. This fact influenced the widespread building of walls fro protection. For reasons not known, armor was made predominantly of wood and bamboo. ==================== = Decline And Fall = ==================== The empire established in 221 A.D. was further modified by the former Han dynasty up to 9 A.D. In that year, ausurpergrabbed the throne and ruled for 16 years. Attempts to reform land ownership failed, however, and the usurper was eventually beheaded. This period makes a convenient break point in Chinese history, even though the empire continued to exist into the twentieth century A.D. ========== = Legacy = ========== The principle legacy of ancient China was its philosophy, including the concepts of face, ancestor worship, virtue, and balance with nature (Yin- Yang), which continue to shape its culture today. The most recognizable physical legacy is the Great Wall, the only man- made object on Earth visible from space. ================================================================================ Sumerians ================================================================================ (5000 to 2230 B.C.) The Sumerians were one of the earliest civilizations. Their growth and expansion was dependent on rich river valley farmlands. They were not as fortunate as others in terms of mineral resources or strategic position, however, and did not enjoy the existence of the Egyptians. They are considered one of the most important early cultures, nevertheless, because of the many advances attributed to them. Because their location was weak in terms of defense and poor in terms of resources, they were forced to innovate. In many ways they were more important to history because of their innovations than the much richer Egyptians. ============ = Location = ============ Sumer was located in southern Mesopotamia where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers come together before flowing into the Persian Gulf. By 5000 B.C. primitive farmers had come down to the valley from the Zafros Mountains to the east. The land was rich but baked hard in the summer sun after the late spring river floods. The early settlers learned how to control some of the flooding with dikes and how to irrigate their summer fields. Early settlements at Ur, Uruk, and Eridu grew into independent cities first and then city- states. =========== = Capital = =========== As a conglomeration of city- states, there was no clear capital for the Sumerians because the center of power shifted from time to time. The cities of Ur, Lagash, Erech, Eridu, and Uruk were the most important. ================= = Rise to Power = ================= From 5000 to 3000 B.C.. agricultural communities of Sumer gradually coalesced into city- states along the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The peak of this city- state culture lasted from 2900 to 2400 B.C. They warred with one another from time to time and competed for land and trade, but never conglomerated or built an empire that expanded from their traditional homeland. The city- states of the river valley were relatively rich from food production, manufacturing, and their position along important trade routes. This made them tempting targets when more powerful and warlike neighbors came into existence to the north and east. =========== = Economy = =========== The Sumerians grew wheat, barley, peas, onions, turnips, and dates. They raised cattle and sheep, fished, and hunted wildfowl along the river. Food was generally abundant and populations grew accordingly. There was no copper in the river valleys, but copper was found in the mountains to the east and north. The Sumerians learned how to obtain copper from ore by 4000 B.C. and to make bronze by 3500 B.C. They traded food, cloth, and manufactured items for raw materials, such as timber, copper, and stone, which they fashioned into items of everydat use, weapons, and more valuable trade goods. Their merchants traveled up the Tigris and Euphrates to trade with the people of Anatolia and the Mediterranean coast. They also traded in the Persian Gulf for items from India and further east. ======================== = Religion and Culture = ======================== The Sumerians worshipped hundreds of gods, with each city having its own patron deity. The principal gods, such as Entil, the god of air, were too busy to bother with the plight of individuals. For that reason, each Sumerian worshipped a particular minor god or goddess who was expected to interact with the major gods. The Sumerians did not believe in an afterlife and were realistic about the limits of human goodness. They accepted that although the gods were above question, they were not always kind. The soul and center of each city- state was its temple to the patron god. The Sumerians believed that the god owned the city- state. Part of the land was farmed directly for the god, often by slaves. The remaining land was farmed by the temple staff or by farmers who paid rent to the temple. Rents and offerings paid for temple operation and supported the poor. Slaves were an important part of the community and were one objective of any military campaign. Even locals could become slaves to satisfy debts. Slaves were allowed to work extra hours for themselves and use any savings to buy their freedom. ============== = Government = ============== Each city in Sumer was ruled at first by a council of elders, although a war leader, called a lugal, was selected to lead the army during conflict. Eventually the lugals assumed power as kings and established dynasties. Evidence suggests that the Sumerians may have taken the first steps toward democracy by electing a representative assembly. They consisted of two houses- a senate of important citizens and a lower house made up of those available for military duty. Preserved clay tablets reveal that the Sumerians maintained courts of justice where people could expect a fair trial. One table recorded the oldest murder trial in history. Most of the food production and distribution was controlled through the temple. A noble class arose based on land ownership, control of land, and manufacturing. Most trade and manufacturing was outside the temple's control. ================ = Architecture = ================ The Sumerians were handicapped by having no easy access to stone or wood for building. Sun- dried mud bricks were their main building material and this required some ingenuity. They were the first to employ the arch, vault, and dome. Their cities were completely enclosed by brick walls. Their most important buildings were temples, built as large mounds called ziggurats. Through cycles of attack, destruction, and restoration, the temples were rebuilt again and again at the same site, gradually getting larger with each reincarnation. Mud bricks eroded and crumbled much more quicker than stone, however, and little Sumerian architecture survives. ============ = Military = ============ The key influence on the Sumerian military was their poor strategic position. Natural obstacles for defense existed only on their borders to the west (desert) and south (Persian Gulf). When more populous and powerful enemies appeared to their north and east, the Sumerians were susceptible to attack. Surviving artwork and archaelogical remains indicate that the Sumerian soldiers used spears and short swords of bronze. They wore bronze helmets and carried large shields. Their armies were not particularly noted but records are sparse. They engaged in siege warfare during their many inter- city wars. Mud brick walls did not stand against determined attackers who had the time to pry out the bricks or pound them to dust. The Sumerians invented chariots and were the first to use them in battle. These earlt chariots were four- wheeled and pulled by wild asses, and were not effective in battle as the later two- wheeled design pulled by horses. Sumerian chariots may have served primarily as fast transports, but surviving artwork suggests that spears or javelins were thrown from them. ==================== = Decline and Fall = ==================== A group of Semitic people called the Akkadians settled north of Sumer along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The Akkadians adopted very quickly the culture, religion, and writing of the more advanced Sumerians who had preceeded them. In 2371 B.C., Sargon I seized the throne of Kish and gradually conquered all of the city- states of Akkadia. He turned south and conquered the city- states of Sumer, which were unable to unite in defense. Sargon established the first empire of history during the reign from 2371 to 2316 B.C., extending his control along the Fertile Crescent from Elam, to the east of Sumer, to the Mediterranean coast. Sargon's empire collapsed after his death but was restored briefly by his grandson. Around 2230 B.C. the Akkadian empire was destroyed by an invasion of Gutians, the barbarian hill people from the Zagros Mountains. New cities and towns soon grew up along the river valleys, but the Sumerians were gone as a distinct and indepentent culture. ========== = Legacy = ========== The Sumerians are most noted for the invention of the wheel and writing. The wheel was important for transport and for pottery making. Sumerian writing, cuneiform, consisted of groups of stylus wedge impressions pushed into clay to form stylized pictograms representing words. This writing grew out of record keeping and seals from business transactions. They were among the first to use boats, including round boats made of hide stretched over a wooden framework. These coracles were especially popular among the reeds and waterways of the river delta. ================================================================================ Yamato ================================================================================ (300 to 800 A.D.) The Yamato period of Japanese culture is also called the age of the great tombs because of the appearance in these centuries of great tombs and tomb clusters, presumably for the burial of rulers and other elites. The name Yamato comes ffrom the region of Japan that was the home of the first clan to consolidate rule over most of the islands. During the Yamato period, Japan accelerated its advance in technology by adopting the cultivation of rice, improving its pottery, developing iron working, building social hierarchies, and accomplishing a political, economic, anc cultural consolidation of the islands. ============ = Location = ============ The hereditary lands of the Yamato clan are on a peninsula on the southwest coast of Ise Bay. This bay is located on the main island of Honshu, southwest of modern Tokyo. =========== = Capital = =========== Prior to the late seventh century A.D., there was no permanent capital of Japan. Each king ruled from his own palace, which was usually abandoned following his death. As the Yamato began to adopt the Chinese system of governemntal bureaucracy and organization, the need for a permanent seat of government arose. The first capital was founded at Fujiwara in 694 A.D. and served three emperors before being abandoned in 710. The second capital of this period was built at Heijo and occupied from 710 to 784. ================= = Rise To Power = ================= Chinese documents from the second century A.D. make reference to 100 countries existing in Wa, a.k.a. Japan. By the third century, the Chinese refer to a queen of Wa, probably of the Yamato clan, who had consolidated 30 countries under her rule. During this period, the Yamato clan consolidated its control over most of Japan with a combination of military conquest, intermarriage, and diplomacy. =========== = Economy = =========== Under the Yamato, the Japanese economy remained dependent on rice growing. It was primarily a barter economy and taxes were paid in rice, cloth, and other commodities by reasants who worked public lands. Beginning with the seventh century, coins were imported from China to facilitate tax collection. An attempt was made to mint Japanese coins, but rulers could not resist the temptation to debase the local coinage and it fell out of use. ======================== = Religion and Culture = ======================== New concepts were added to the ancient Japanese beliefs and rituals during the Yamato period, including respect for clan ancestors and a mythology of divine ancestry for the Yamato dynasty. Under the influence of Chinese Buddhism propaganded by Forea during the sixth century, the Japanese religion became more formalized as Shinto, the Way of the Kami. The kami were an infinite number of natural spirits and powers that could be called upon for aid or appeased when angered. The hierarchy of Shinto divinities was defined and the mythology was written down. The rulers of Japan descended from the sun goddess, the supreme Shinto deity. Early Shinto was positive and concerned with the present, not the past or an afterlife. It fostered a reverence for a natural universe that was seen as good and ethical. Evil was identified with impurity and the unnatural. Sincere honesty was the central virtue. ============== = Government = ============== During the Yamato period, tribal states of various sizes and power were brought together gradually by a dynasty of Yamato clan rulers. The leader of the Yamato in the second half of this period was known as the Daio, or Great King. The power of the Yamato was expanded and strengthened through blood ties within the clan, their apparent military supremacy, diplomacy, and manipulation of the sun myth that bestowed divinity on their ancestry. The different tribal groups or clans were the nobility or uji class. Serving the uji was an occupational/ professional class called the be, who worked as farmers, scribes, traders, and manufacturers. The lowest class were slaves. Immigrants fit in among the uji and be, depending on their skills and wealth. In the seventh century, the Yamato transformed the government of Japan based on influences from China. The Yamato sovereign became an imperial ruler supported by court and administrative officials. The uji class was stripped of land and military power, but given official posts and stripends. This political system remained in effect until around 1200 A.D. ================ = Architecture = ================ The outstanding architectural achievements of the Yamato are their tombs. These are mounds of earth in the shape of a keyhole if viewed from above. The largest tombs are found in the Yamato region of Japan, and is further evidence of power emanating from that locale. The Nintoku tomb on the Osaka Plain rivals the Pyramids in size. The central tomb is 500 meters long and 35 meters high. It is surrounded by three moats with intervening belts of trees and covers 32 hectars (approximately 3.4 million square feet). Stone burial chambers were evacuated in the earth below the central tomb mound. Tombs thought related to the imperial family are now controlled by a government agency. Although some have been pillaged in the past, many remain unexcavated. ============ = Military = ============ Based on the large numbers of warrior figures, weapons, and pieces of armor found in burial tombs from this era, warfare was apparently a common feature of Yamato culture. Despite the existence of a dominant ruler, clan groups found reason for conflict. All adult men were available for military service and were required to serve for at least one year. The uji class provided the elite troops and officers for armies. Warrior figures from tombs are shown wearing full body armor and visored helmets. The most commonly found weapons are swords, spears, and bow quivers. Horse figures are also found in abundance, suggesting the existence of cavalry. The sudden appearance of horses in burial goods around the fifth century has led to the hypothesis that Japan was invaded by a cavalry army at that time. It is more probable that the horse was an import that became a status symbol for the elite who were most likely to receive a ceremonial burial. The elite uji class made up the cavalry of the period because they could afford the horse and equipment. ========== = Legacy = ========== The Yamato period is remembered for the sun goddess mythology from which all later emperors of Japan claimed divine ancestry. The Yamato period also formalized the Shinto religion that would compete with imported Buddhism to the present day. Most modern Japanese consider themselves descentants of the Yamato. The great tombs spread about the countryside are the most material legacy. ================================================================================ The Buildings ================================================================================ ______________ .--------------------========= ATTRIBUTES =========-------------------------. | 킯킯킯킯킯킯킯킯킯킯킯킯킯킯 | | Name of Building Age Cost Hit Points Attack Range | |-----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Academy Bronze 200W 350 - - | | Archery Range Tool 150W 350 - - | | Ballista Tower * Iron 150S 200 20 7 | | Barracks Stone 125W 350 - - | | Dock Stone 100W 350 - - | | Farm * Tool 75W 50 - - | | Fortification * Iron 5S 400 - - | | Government Center Bronze 175W 350 - - | | Granary Stone 120W 350 - - | | Guard Tower * Iron 150W 200 6 7 | | House * Stone 30W 75 - - | | Market Tool 150W 350 - - | | Medium Wall * Bronze 5S 300 - - | | Sentry Tower * Bronze 150S 150 4 6 | | Siege Workshop Bronze 200W 350 - - | | Small Wall * Tool 5S 200 - - | | Stable Tool 150W 350 - - | | Storage Pit Stone 120W 350 - - | | Temple Bronze 200W 350 - - | | Town Center Stone 200W 600 - - | | Watch Tower * Tool 150S 100 3 5 | | Wonder * Iron 1000W 500 - - | | 1000S | | 1000G | | | | * = A Non- Technology Building | | F = Food | | W = Wood | | G = Gold | | S = Stone | '--------------------================================-------------------------' =========== = ACADEMY = =========== Age: Bronze Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Barracks, and Stable. Cost: 200 Wood Hit Points: 350 Note: The Academy lets you train elite infantry units, including the Hoplite, Phalanx, and Centurion. Researching Architecture increases the hit points and decreases the construction time of this building. The academy was the Greek equivalent of a school. Students, usually only free men and favored slaves, received an education at the academy. Subjects of study included the typical fare of schools but also politics, athletics, and military training. The most rigorous of the Greek academies were those of Sparta, where boys were taken from their parents at an early age and educated in a military environment. The academy prepared the individual for service to the state as a citizen and as a soldier in the phalanx. In one of the remarkable encounters of history, the future Alexander the Great was educated at the Academy of Aristotle. ================= = ARCHERY RANGE = ================= Age: Tool Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Barracks. Cost: 100 Wood Hit Points: 350 Note: The Archery Range lets you train archers, including the Bowman, Improved Bowman, Composite Bowman, Chariot Archer, Elephant Archer, Horse Archer, and Heavy Horse Archer. You must build the Archery Range before you can build the Siege Workshop. Researching Architecture increases the hit points and decreases the construction time of this building. The bow was developed as a hunting weapon long before the first towns appeared and was easily adapted to warfare. Because the bow allowed fighting from a distance and from behind cover, archers did not have to fight face- to- face with their enemy. As the first civilizations grew in size and their armies grew correspondingly, formal training of archers was instituted. As part of this training, bowmen practiced shooting on archery ranges to improve accuracy. ================== = BALLISTA TOWER = ================== Age: Iron Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, researched the Watch Tower, upgraded to the Sentry Tower, upgraded to the Guard Tower, researched Ballistics, and upgraded to the Ballista Tower. Upgrade Cost: 1800 Food, 750 Stone Cost: 150 Stone Hit Points: 200 Attack: 20 Armor: - Range: 7 Special: Fire Rate once every 3 seconds Upgrade of: Guard Tower Upgrade at: Granary Note: The Ballista Tower is the ultimate tower. It has more attack strength than the Guard Tower. You must research Ballistics before you upgrade to the Ballista Tower. Towers are defensive structures that fire missiles at enemy villagers and military units within range. Researching Architecture increases the hit points and decreases the construction time of this tower. Alchemy increases attack strength. Ballistics increases accuracy. Woodworking, Artisanship, and Craftsmanship increase range. The tower discovered on the wall at the ancient site of Jericho served several purposes. It extended the visual range of lookouts that would be watching for the approach of raiders and other visitors. An early warning might have been the difference between a successful defense and the fall of the town. The tower was a superior firing position for archery. Bowmen shooting down had an advantage in range and penetration power of arrows versus enemies shooting up. Enemies hiding at the bottom of the wall may have remained visible to archers in the tower. The tower itself was an independent bastion that could serve as a defensive position of last resort if the wall was carried. The Ballista Tower was the ultimate defensive fortification of the ancient era. It could withstand a lajor attack and was equipped and designed to take a heavy toll on attackers. ============ = BARRACKS = ============ Age: Stone Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center. Cost: 125 Wood Hit Points: 350 Note: The Barracks lets you train infantry, including the Clubman, Axeman, Short Swordsman, Long Swordsman, and Legion. You must have built the Barracks before you can build the Archery Range, Siege Workshop, Stable, or Academy. Researching Architecture increases the hit points and decreases the construction time of this building. When the first armies came into being, places were needed eventually to make weapons, store weapons, drill troops, and house troops. The Barracks in Age of Empires represents these places. ======== = DOCK = ======== Age: Stone Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center. Cost: 100 Wood Hit Points: 350 Note: The Dock lets you create boats, including the Fishing Boat, Fishing Ship, Trade Boat, Merchant Ship, Light Transport, Heavy Transport, Scout Ship, War Galley, Trireme, Catapult Trireme, and Juggernaught. The Dock is also where fishing vessels deposit food and trade vessels deposit gold from trading. Researching Architecture increases the hit points and decreases the construction time of this building. The earliest boats were simply tied up to rocks or trees on shore to take on or drop off cargo or were physically pulled onto the beach. Later, wooden structures were built out into the water to facilitate loading and unloading. Docks were also safer for ships because ships could avoid being beached, which strained the hulls and increased leaking. When the dock was extended beyond the shallows, even larger ships could be tied up, farther improving efficiencies. ======== = FARM = ======== Age: Tool Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, and Market. Cost: 75 Wood Hit Points: 50 Note: The Farm provides a reliable supply of food, which can be gathered by a villager. Because Farms produce food at a fixed rate, assigning more than one villager to work on a Farm does not increase its productivity. Farms eventually go fallow, in which case you can build another one. Researching Architecture increases the hit points and decreases the construction time of this building. Domestication, the Plow, and Irrigation increase Farm production. The humble farm was the foundation of the great civilizations of antiquity and most human societies since. The farm was the technological advance that provided the large and dependable supplies of food necessary for civilization to arise. Farming began when edible seeds and fruits were preserved from one growing season and systematically planted in prepared ground the following season. The plant that resulted were nurtured and protected until the edible produce was suitable for harvest. Important farming advancements in ancient times included irrigation of rich but arid land, the plow that opened the soil for receiving seeds, and the continual selection of seeds from the most succesful plants that gradually improved food plant yields. ================= = FORTIFICATION = ================= Age: Iron Prerequisites: You must heave built the Town Center, Granary, researched the Small Wall, upgraded to the Medium Wall, and upgraded to the Fortification. Upgrade Cost: 300 Food, 175 Stone Cost: 5 Stone Hit Points: 400 Upgrade of: Medium Wall Upgrade at: Granary Note: The Fortification is the ultimate wall. It has more hit points than the Medium Wall. Walls are defensive structures that can be built around your empire or important areas. Villagers and military units cannot move through standing walls, however, they can attack the walls. Stone Throwers, Catapults, Heavy Catapults, Ballistas, and the Helepolis are particularly effective for destroying walls. Researching Architecture increases the hit points and decreases the construction time of this wall. The great civilizations of ancient times built ever- larger fortifications to protect their important cities and frontiers. Herodotus reported that the walls of Babylon were sufficiently thick that a chariot could be driven on them around the city. Archaelogy indicates that large walls were not invulnerable- every great ancient city appears to have been stormed eventually- but only a large and well- equipped army could surmount them. ===================== = GOVERNMENT CENTER = ===================== Age: Bronze Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, and Market. Cost: 175 Wood Hit Points: 350 Note: The Government Center lets you build additional Town Centers, and research technologies that improve your buildings and military units, including Writing, Architecture, Engineering, Aristocracy, Alchemy, Nobility, and Ballistics. Researching Architecture increses the hit points and decreases the construction time of this building. The government center was the administrative center of the town, village, city, kingdom, or empire. It was often the palace of the strongman or king. It was here that justice was dispersed, records kept, taxes collected and stored, diplomacy conducted, and plans made. The development of the government center spurred technology such as architecture through the commission of public works and writing for the keeping of records. The expansion of kingdoms led to a hierarchy of elites, often a nobility, that were needed as middle managers when the expanse of lands exceeded the ruler's ability to control directly. The provinces of the Persian Empire, for example, were ruled like independent stores by satraps who owed tribute and allegiance to the king in Susa. =========== = GRANARY = =========== Age: Stone Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center Cost: 200 Wood Hit Points: 350 Note: The Granary lets you build walls and towers, including the Small Wall, Medium Wall, Fortification, Watch Tower, Sentry Tower, Guard Tower, and Ballista Tower. You must research the Granary before you can built the Market. Foragers and farmers can deposit food from Farms and forage sites at the Granary instead of the Town Center. Researching Architecture increases the hit points and decreases the construction time of this building. Following the advance of farming, humans faced the first time the happy problem of how to safely store large quantities of food grains. The Granary made it possible to preserve growing season surpluses for consumption during winter months. The Granary was a central location where grain could be warehoused, guarded, and distributed fairly as needed. The need to protect food supplies was an early reason for building walls and fortifications. Without protection, the surpluses in the Granary were easily taken by raiders from nearby hunting and gathering groups. =============== = GUARD TOWER = =============== Age: Iron Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and the Granary, and researched Watch Tower, upgraded to Sentry Tower, and upgraded to Guard Tower. Upgrade cost: 300 Food, 100 Stone Cost: 150 Stone Hit Points: 200 Attack: 6 Armor: - Range: 7 Special: Fire rate once / 1.5 seconds Upgrade of: Sentry Tower Upgrade at: Granary Note: The Guard Tower has more hit points, attack strength, and range than the Sentry Tower. The Guard Tower can be upgraded to the Ballista Tower. Towers are defensive structures that fire missiles at enemy villagers and military units within range. Researching Architecture increases the construction time of this tower. Alchemy increases attack strength. Ballistics increases accuracy. Woodworking, Artisanship, and Craftsmanship, increase range. The tower discovered on the wall at the ancient site of Jericho served several purposes. It extended the visual range of lookouts that would be watching for the approach of raiders and other visitors. An early warning might have been the difference between a successful defense and the fall of the town. The tower was a superior firing position for archery. Bowmen shooting down had an advantage in range and penetration power of arrows versus enemies shooting up. Enemies hiding at the bottom of the wall may have remained visible to archers in the tower. The tower itself was an independent bastion that could serve as the defensive position of last resort if the wall was carried. The Guard Tower was a superior fortification, well- designed for holding out against attack and for bringing weapons to bear on an attacker. ========= = HOUSE = ========= Age: Stone Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center. Cost: 30 Wood Hit points: 75 Note: A House supports up to four villagers, military units, or boats. You must have enough houses before you can create new units. If a House is destroyed, you do not lose the units it supported, but you must build new houses before you can build new villagers, military units, or boats. Researching Architecture increases the hit points and decreases the construction time of this building. Shelter increased in importance when humans expanded their range farther away from the equator in the wake of the receding ice sheets and into climates of wide seasonal variation. Growing hman populations quickly occupied the few natural shelters available in these areas. The provision of man- made shelter made existence in challenging and variable climates possible. Without houses, year- round populations could not have increased beyond minimums. ========== = MARKET = ========== Age: Tool Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Granary. Cost: 150 Wood Hit points: 350 Note: The Market lets you build Farms, pay Tribute to other civilizations, and research technologies that improve your military units and the effectiveness of your villagers, including Woodworking, Artisanship, Craftsmanship, Stone Mining, Siegecraft, Gold mining, Coinage, Domestication, the Plow, Irrigation, and the Wheel. You must build the Market before you can build the Government Center or Temple. Researching Architecture increases the hit points and decreases the construction time of this building. The specialization made possible by the development of agriculture created the need for a place where craftsmen could meet to barter their wares for those of others and for food. The Market in each town and village was the place where barter and exchange took place. The development of the Market marked the change from the small hunting/ foraging group that shared its harvest to the much more complex economy that rose with the rise of towns and cities. Specialization resulted in efficiencies of scale and greater overall production fairly among the food providers and specialists. The profit motive spurred innovation to increase production. The potter, for example, looked for ways to make more and better pots for the same effort to increase the amount of food that he could obtain by trading pots. =============== = MEDIUM WALL = =============== Age: Bronze Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, researched Small Wall, and upgraded to Medium Wall. Upgrade Cost: 180 Food, 100 Stone Cost: 5 Stone Hit points: 300 Upgrade of: Small Wall Upgrade at: Granary Note: The Medium Wall has more hit points than the Small Wall. The Medium Wall can be upgraded to the Fortification. Walls are defensive structures that can be built around your empire or important areas. Villagers and military units cannot move through standing walls; however, they can attack the walls. Stone Throwers, Catapults, Heavy Catapults, Ballistas, and the Helepolis are particularly effective for destroying walls. Researching Architecture increases the hit points and decreases the construction time of this wall. One of the earliest human setlements yet discovered is the city of Jericho near the Jordan River in modern Isreal. This site from 7000 B.C. is remarkable for possessing a stone masonry wall, dry moat around the wall, and a tower. At an astonishingly early date, Jericho demonstrated that the ancients understood principles of fortification that would carry forward essentially unchanged until the development of gunpowder. The Medium Wall is a defensive structure built of stone or other substantial construction to withstand a protracted attack. ================ = SENTRY TOWER = ================ Age: Bronze Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, researched Watch Tower, and upgraded to Sentry Tower. Upgrade cost: 120 Food, 50 Stone Cost: 150 Stone Hit points: 150 Attack: 4 Armor: - Range: 6 Special: Fire rate once / 1.5 seconds Upgrade of: Watch Tower Upgrade at: Granary Note: The SEntry Tower has more hit points, attack strength, and range than the Watch Tower. The Sentry Tower can be upgraded to the Guard Tower. Towers are defensive structures that fire missiles at enemy villagers and military units within range. Researching Architecture increases the hit points and decreases the construction time of this tower. Alchemy increases attack strength. Ballistics increases accuracy. Woodworking, Artisanship, and Craftsmanship increase range. The tower discovered on the wall at the ancient site of Jericho served several purposes. It extended the visual range of lookouts that would be watching for the approach of raiders and other visitors. An early warning might have been the difference between a successful defense and the fall of the town. The tower was a superior firing position for archery. Bowmen shooting down had an advantage in range and penetration power of arrows versus enemies shooting up. Enemies hiding at the bottom of the wall may have remained visible to archers in the tower. The tower itself was an independent bastion that could serve as the defensive position of last resort if the wall was carried. The Sentry Tower was an improved fortification of strong materials and designed for defense. ================== = SIEGE WORKSHOP = ================== Age: Bronze Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Barracks, and Archery Range. Cost: 200 Wood Hit Points: 350 Note: The Siege Workshop lets you build siege weapons, including the Stone Thrower, Catapult, Heavy Catapult, Ballista, and Helepolis. Researching Architecture increases the hit points and decreases the construction time of this building. The earliest fortifications yet discovered date from 7000 B.C., but evidence of siege weapons doesn't appear until much later. We can assume, however, that siege equipment was in use long before the first evidence that has survived. Evidence of a scaling ladder does not appear until about 2500 B.C. The earliest record of a simple battering ram comes from 1900 B.C. Amore powerful ram plus the undermining of walls appears by 880 B.C. The mobile siege tower first appears one hundred years later. The catapult was invented by Greeks in 397 B.C. There were no further significant advances in siege engines until the advent of gunpowder. Siege weapons were researched and built in siege workshops. ============== = SMALL WALL = ============== Age: Tool Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, and researched Small Wall. Research cost: 50 Food Cost: 5 Stone Hit points: 200 Research at: Granary Note: The Small Wall is the wealest of the walls. Upgrades include the Medium Wall and Fortification. Walls are defensive structures that can be built around your empire or important areas. Villagers and military units cannot move through standing walls; however, they can attack the walls. Stone Throwers, Catapults, Heavy Catapults, Ballistas, and the Helepolis are particularly effective for destroying walls. Researching Architecture increases the hit points and decreases the construction time of this wall. ========== = STABLE = ========== Age: Tool Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center and Barracks. Cost: 150 Wood Hit points: 350 Note: The Stable lets you train cavalry units, including the Scout, Cavalry, Heavy Cavalry, Cataphract, Chariot, and War Elephant. You must build the Stable before you can build the Academy. Researchinf Architecture increases hit points and decreases the construction time of this building. The horses that survived the last Ice Age were relatively small animals unsuited for riding or pulling. They were hunted out of existence in the Americas and domesticated first for food on the steppes of Asia. Over many generations of selective breeding, they grew large enough to be of use other than as food. One issue that had to be resolved was how to harness them without causing choking. Humans eventually learned to ride, first from the rear, non- control position over the hips, and then from the forward position that we are familiar with today. The first evidence of horses being ridden appears in the second millenium B.C., although it is generally accepted that they were ridden earlier in Asia. The Stable represents the application of animals, primarily the horse, to warfare, first pulling chariots and then carrying warriors. Detailed records survive from Assyria and elsewhere related to the acquisition, training, equipping, and employment of horses in battle. =============== = STORAGE PIT = =============== Age: Stone Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center Cost: 120 Wood Hit points: 350 Note: The Storage Pit lets you research technologies that improve the armor and attack strength of military units, including Toolworking, Metalworking, Metallurgy, the Bronze Shield, the Iron Shield, Leather Armor for Infantry, Scale Armor for Infantry, Chain Mail for Infantry, Leather Armor for Cavalry, Scale Armor for Cavalry, Chain Mail for Cavalry, Leather Armor for Archery, Scale Armor for Archery, and Chain Mail for Archery. Hunters, fishermen, and miners can deposit meat, fish, stone, wood, and gold at the Storage Pit instead at the Town Center. Researching Architecture increases the hit points and dcreases the construction time of this building. The storage pit was the functional equivalent of the granary, but for meat instead of grain. Storing meat presented special problems because it spoiled so quickly and easily. Meat was generally stored by drying or salting. The Storage Pit also represents the tool- and weapon- making skill of hunting societies, leading eventually to metalworking, making war, and armor making. In this capacity it also serves as a storehouse and collection point for the raw materials of tool and weapon making: wood, stone, and gold (representing all metals). ========== = TEMPLE = ========== Age: Bronze Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, and Market. Cost: 200 Wood Hit Points: 350 Note: The Temple lets you train Priests and research technologies that increase their powers, including Polytheism, Mysticism, Astrology, Monotheism, Afterlife, Jihad, and Fanaticism. Researching Architecture increases the hit points and decreases the construction time of this building. The temple was a religious center. It was often the earthly home or point of communication with a particular god or goddess. Priests or priestesses in the temple acted as the servants of the resident god or goddess and managed contact to and from the people, plus instruction, rituals, petitions, and answers to questions. The most common form of petition was the prayer. Another was the provision of gifts that supported the temple and its servants. A less common petition was the sacrifice of animals or even humans. The general belief of the time was that the more elaborate a temple, the taller it was, and the more grand, the more disposed the god or goddess would be to provide good weather, rainfall, and crop yields, while keeping away pests, disease, and human invaders. =============== = TOWN CENTER = =============== Age: Stone Prerequisites: You must already have a Town Center, and you must have built the Granary, Market, and Government Center. Cost: 200 Wood Hit Points: 600 Note: The Town Center lets you create villagers and advance to the next Age. It is also where villagers can deposit food, wood, gold, and stone. The Town Center supports four villagers, military units, or boats. Priests cannot convert Town Centers. After you build a Government Center, you can build additional Town Centers to expand your civilization's dominance and build Town Centers closer to distant resources. You can also replace your Town Center if it is destroyed in combat. Researching Architecture increases the hit points and decreases the construction time of this building. Allvillages and towns had an administrative center that was the site of governmental power and leadership. In the earliest villages this might have been the leader's home. Later it might have been the king's palace. The center was often the place where important supplies, especially food surpluses, were stored. Vessels for storing grain and oil were found in the ruins of the Palace at Knossos of Crete. Some of the earliest accounting records yet found were clay tablets left in long- forgotten storerooms in ancient Sumeria and in Hittite cities. The destruction of the town center usually meant the destruction of the town's governmental infrastructure. =============== = WATCH TOWER = =============== Age: Tool Prerequisites: You must have built the Town Center, Granary, and researched Watch Tower. Research Cost: 50 Food Cost: 150 Stone Hit points: 100 Attack: 3 Armor: - Range: 5 Special: Fire rate once / 1.5 seconds Research at: Granary Note: The Watch Tower is the weakest of the towers. Upgrades include the Sentry Tower, Guard Tower, and Ballista Tower. Towers are defensive structures that fire missiles at enemy villagers and military units within range. Researching Architecture increases hit points and decreases the construction time of this tower. Alchemy increases attack strength. Ballistics increases accuracy. Woodworking, Artisanship, and Craftsmanship increase range. The Watch Tower was a simple tower, easily built, and intended mainly to give early warning. ========== = WONDER = ========== Age: Iron Prerequisites: Advance to the Iron Age Cost: 1000 Wood, 1000 Stone, 1000 Gold Hit points: 500 Note: Building a Wonder can be a victory condition that wins the game or it can provide score points. You can build more than one Wonder. Researching Architecture increases the hit points and decreases the construction time of this building. A Wonder is a massive structure, a crowning achievement of technology, resources, and construction time for civilizations that build one. Examples of historic ancient wonders are the Egyptian Pyramid, the Great Wall of China, and the Athenian Acropolis. You must advance to the Iron Age before you can build a Wonder. Priests cannot convert a Wonder. ================================================================================ The Units ================================================================================ -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Villagers -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ============ = Villager = ============ Age: Stone Prerequisites: Build the Town Center Cost: 50 Food Hit Points: 25 Attack: 3 Armor: 0 Range: 0 Speed: Medium Create at: Town Center Villagers can be assigned different tasks (these are mentioned much earlier in this FAQ). Hunters and villagers used in combat have increased attack strength. Researching Stone Mining increases stone mining efficiency. Siegecraft increases stone mining efficiency and allows villagers to destroy walls and buildings. Gold Mining increases gold mining efficiency. The Wheel increases speed. Jihad increases combat strength. Most people of ancient times lived their lives working to make a living primarily as hunters, gatherers, and fishermen originally, and later as farmers and herders. The agricultural revolution that began around 8000 B.C. freed more and more people from the daily persuit of substenance as food production became more dependable and efficient. New specialists included potters, metalworkers, builders, scribes, leather workers, woodworkers, traders, and professional soldiers. By the endo of the ancient period, food production employed less than half the population within civilized cultures. ========== = Priest = ========== Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Granary, Market, and Temple. Cost: 125 Gold Hit Points: 25 Attack: 0 Armor: 0 Range: 10 Speed: Slow Train at: Temple A Priest heals friendly and allied units and converts enemy units. If your diplomacy is set to Neutral or Enemy, your military units will attack Priests from other civilizations. Researching Astrology allows faster conversions. Mysticism increases hit points. Polytheism increases speed. Fanaticism speeds Priest rejuvenation after conversion. Monotheism allows conversion of enemy Priests and buildings. Afterlife increases range. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Infantry -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ========== = Axeman = ========== Age: Tool Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, and upgrade to the Battle Axe Upgrade Cost: 100 Food Cost: 50 Food Hit Points: 50 Attack: 5 Armor: 0 Range: 0 Speed: Medium Upgrade Of: Clubman Train at: Barracks The Axeman has more hit points and attack strength than the Clubman. The Axeman cannot be upgraded. However, you can research the Short Swordsman, which is stronger than the Axeman. Researching Toolworking, Metalworking, and Metallurgy increases attack strength. Leather Armor, Scale Armor, and Chain Mail increase armor. The Bronze Shield and Iron Shoeld increase piercing armor. The increasing population and wealth of the earliest civilizations made it possible to support standing armies available at all times for defense and attacking neighbors. The first professional armies were probably built in Sumeria and Egypt. These early civilizations had much time to protect and were sufficiently wealthy to provide protection. Sumerian artwork from around 2500 B.C. provides evidence of an early army, in this case lines of soldiers, possibly in formation, equipped with identical armor, helmets, and weapons. =========== = Clubman = =========== Age: Stone Prerequisites: Build the Town Center and the Barracks. Cost: 50 food Hit points: 40 Attack: 3 Armor: 0 Range: 0 Speed: Medium Train at: Barracks The Clubman is the weakest of the infantry units. The Clubman can be upgraded to the Axeman. Researching Toolworking, Metalworking, and Metallurgy increases their attack strength. Leather Armor, Scale Armor, and Chain Mail increases their armor. The Bronze Shield and Iron Shield increases piercing armor. The first soldiers were local people called up for military duty in times of emergency. These temporary soldiers were commonly armed with a mace, usually a club with a stone head. This was an inexpensive weapon and one that could be used effectively with a minimum of training. Clubmen were at a disadvantage, however, when facing the better- trained and armed professional soldiers that eventually appeared to defend the early farming civilizations. The mace had little practical use other than in combat against humans. It appeared long before the first civilization, indicating that the roots of warfare go far back into prehistoric times. =================== = Short Swordsman = =================== Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, and research Short Sword. Research Cost: 120 Food, 50 Gold Cost: 35 Food, 15 Gold Hit Points: 60 Attack: 7 Armor: 1 Range: 0 Speed: Medium Train at: Barracks The Short Swordsman is not an upgrade of the Axeman. It is a seperate unit with more hit points, attack strength, and armor than the Axeman. The Short Swordsman can be upgraded to the Broad Swordsman. Researching Toolworking, Metalworking, and Metallurgy increases attack strength. Leather Armor, Scale Armor, and Chain Mail increase armor. The Bronze Shield and Iron Shield increase piercing armor. The short sword represents an evolutionary step in infantry weapons. The spear, mace, and axe were relatively easy to manufacture and use, but somewhat cumbersome in actual hand-to-hand combat. Following the discovery of bronze, it became possible to manufacture short swords that were basically enlarged and strengthened knives. These were much easier to wield in hand-to-hand combat and improved the effectiveness of infantry who carried them. Short swords were carried as a second weapon by spearmen or pikemen, such as the Greek hoplites. The most famous short sword of antiquity was the gladius adopted by the Roman legions from the Spanish allies of Carthage. The gladius was especially effective in the dense legion fighing formations that presses tightly against their opponents and restricted movement. =================== = Broad Swordsman = =================== Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, research the Short Sword, and upgrade to Broad Sword. Upgrade Cost: 140 Food, 50 Gold Cost: 35 Food, 15 Gold Hit Points: 70 Attack: 9 Armor: 1 Range: 0 Speed: Medium Upgrade of: Short Swordsman Train at: Barracks The Broad Swordsman has more hit points, attack strength, and armor than the Short Swordsman. The Broad Swordsman can be upgraded to the Long Swordsman. Researching Toolworking, Metalworking, and Metallurgy increases attack strength. Leather armor, Scale Armor, and Chain Mail increase armor. The Bronze Shield and Iron Shield increase piercing armor. The appearance of bronze short swords led to further advances in weaponry as competing cultures sought an advantage in military technology over their neighbors. Where the early short sword was primarily a piercing weapon, the broad sword evolved as a slashing weapon. The width of the blade increased strength sufficently to support a slashing attack that could cut into armor and break short swords designed for stabbing. ================== = Long Swordsman = ================== Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, research the Short Sword, upgrade to the Broad Sword, and upgrade to the Long Sword. Upgrade Cost: 160 Food, 50 Gold Cost: 35 Food, 15 Gold Hit Points: 80 Attack: 11 Armor: 2 Range: 0 Speed: Medium Upgrade of: Broad Swordsman Train at: Barracks The Long Swordsman has more hit points, attack strength, and armor than the Broad Swordsman. The Long Swordsman can be upgraded to the Legion. Researching Toolworking, Metallworking, and Mettalurgy increases attack strength. Leather Armor, Scale Armor, and Chain Mail increase armor. The Bronze Shield and Iron Shield increase piercing armor. The long sword represents the culmination of infantry weapon development in antiquity. It was designed for both piercing and slashing, combining the best of both the short and broad swords. The long sword was make possible first by advances in bronzeworking and improved by the discovery of iron. Some historians believe that the development of long swords by barbarian cultures was a key factor in the catastrophe of 1200 B.C., when most of the civilized cultures of the Mediterranean and Middle East were overrun. The long sword in various forms remained an important military weapon until the advent of gunpowder. ========== = Legion = ========== Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, research the Short Sword, upgrade to the Broad Sword, upgrade to the Long Sword, research Fanaticism, and upgrade to Legion. Upgrade Cost: 1400 Food, 600 Gold Cost: 35 Food, 15 Gold Hit Points: 160 Attack: 13 Armor: 2 Range: 0 Speed: Medium Upgrade to: Long Swordsman Train at: Barracks The Legion is the ultimate infantry unit. The Legion has many more hit points and more attack strength than the Long Swordsman. You must research Fanaticism before you can upgrade to Legion. Researching Toolworking, Metalworing, and Metallurgy increases attack strength. Leather Armor, Scale Armor, and Chain Mail increase armor. The Bronze Shield and Iron Shield increase piercing armor. The Roman legion was the ultimate military formation of antiquity. The legion was a 4200-man unit at full strength, broken down into 120-man units called maniples. Most of the maniples went into battle as separate blocks of men in a square formation that looked something like a checkerboard from above. Ten maniples fought as skirmishers in loose order to the front line of blocks. They attacled the enemy infantry line with sling stones, arrows, and javelins as the two armies closed and then fell back between gaps in the blocks. They may have moved to the edges of the battle to protect the Roman line and harass the enemy line. The heavy infantry blocks moved forward, throwning javelins just before the clash. Gaps in the blocks may have been filled in by a second row of blocks containing more experienced soldiers. The third and final row of blocks was the smallest but contained the most experienced veterans who served as the legion's reserve. The basic legion might have attached cavalry, archers, engineers, and artillery, depending on the task before it. At its peak, the Roman Empire had legions deployed all along its frontiers, defending against barbarians, putting down revolts, expanding the empire, and maintaining order. =========== = Hoplite = =========== Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, Stable, and Academy. Cost: 60 Food, 40 Gold Hit Points: 120 Attack: 17 Armor: 5 Range: 0 Speed: Slow Train at: Academy The Hoplite is the weakest of the elite infantry units. Upgrades include the Phalanx and Centurion. Researching Toolworking, Metalworking, and Metallurgy increases attack strength. Leather Armor, Scale Armor, and Chain Mail increase armor. The Bronze Shield and Iron Shield increase piercing armor. Aristocracy increases speed. Greek infantry soldiers of the Classical Age were called hoplites, from the name of their large shields, called hoplons. For battle they wore a cuirass (breastplate), helmet, and greaves. They were armed with a long spear or pike and sword. Hoplite armies fought each other hand-to-hand in the dense phalanx formation that faced the enemy with a bristling wall of spear points staggered at chest level. Fighting at close range in such a formation required a commitment to training and discipline that became a way of life. Hoplites were the best infantry units in the world for many centuries until being supplanted by the more flexible and functional Roman legionnaires. =========== = Phalanx = =========== Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, Stable, Academy, and upgrade to Phalanx. Upgrade cost: 300 Food, 100 Gold Cost: 60 Food, 40 Gold Hit points: 120 Attack: 20 Armor: 7 Range: 0 Speed: Slow Upgrade of: Hoplite Train at: Academy The Phalanx has more attack strength and armor than the Hoplite. The Phalanx can be upgraded to the Centurion. Researching Toolworking, Metalworking, and Metallurgy increases attack strength. Leather Armor, Scale Armor, and Chain Mail increase armor. The Bronze Shield and Iron Shield increase piercing armor. Aristocracy increases speed. The phalanx was a Greek heavy infantry formation used from about 800 B.C. to the conquest of Greece by the Romans in the second century B.C. The Greek infantry, called hoplites, formed a square that could quickly face in any of four directions. Each man carried a pike or spear up to 12 feet in length. As the formation advanced, it presented an imposing wall of spear points to its front. Hoplites carried a large shield and wore a bronze helmet, cuirass (breastplate), and graves. All free men in the Greek city-states trained in the phalanx. The discipline and drill required to make the phalanx work permeated the entire Greek culture. Greek infantry fighting from the phalanx was the finest in the western world for several centuries. No other infantry faced it in hand-to-hand combat and won until the new tactics of combined arms made it obsolete. The last great success of the phalanx was in Alexanger the Great's campaign against the Persians, although in that army, it fought as part of a combined arms army. ============= = Centurion = ============= Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, Stable, Academy, upgrade to Phalanx, research Aristocracy, and upgrade to Centurion. Upgrade cost: 1800 Food, 700 Gold Cost: 60 Food, 40 Gold Hit points: 160 Attack: 30 Armor: 8 Range: 0 Speed: Slow Upgrade of: Phalanx Train at: Academy The Centurion is the ultimate elite infantry unit. It has more hit points, attack strength, and armor than the Phalanx. You must research Aristocracy before you can upgrade to the Centurion. Researching Toolworking, Metalworking, and Metallurgy increases attack strength. Leather Armor, Scale Armor, and Chain Mail increase armor. The Bronze Shield and Iron Shield increase piercing armor. Aristocracy increases speed. The smallest tactical unit in the Roman army trusted with independent maneuver was the 120-man maniple. Each maniple was commanded by a centurion, a veteran promoted from the ranks after demonstrating bravery, skill, discipline, and leadership. The maniple was roughly equivalent to the modern infantry company, and the centurion was a combination of modern infantry captain and top sergeant. Centurions were the backbone of the legions that build and defended the Roman Empire. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Archers -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ========== = Bowman = ========== Age: Tool Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, and Archery Range. Cost: 40 Food, 20 Wood Hit points: 35 Attack: 3 Armor: 0 Range: 5 Speed: Medium Train at: Archery Range The Bowman is the weakest of the archers. The Bowman cannot be upgraded. However, you can research the Improved Bowman, which is stronger than the Bowman. Other archers include the Chariot Archer, Elephant Archer, and Horse Archer. Archers fire arrows at enemy villagers, military units, boats, and buildings within their range. Researching Alchemy increases attack strength. Ballistics increases accuracy. Leather Armor, Scale Armor, and Chain Mail increase armor. Woodworking, Artisanship, and Craftsmanship increase range. The bow was an important military weapon from the time of the first armies, being easily adopted from hunting animals to warfare. Archers required less discipline and leadership in battle because they were not expected to engage in hand-to-hand combat, a terrifying experience. Bowmen fought from a distance on the battlefield, from behind walls or other cover, and from ambush. They were usually not decisive in battle on attack because they could not physically take ground from the enemy like infantry could. They acted mainly as defensive troops that disrupted enemy formations prior to the decisive moment when the infantry clashed. If barrages of arrows could cause casualties and lower lorale of the enemy prior to the clash, friendly infantry had a better chance of breaking the will of the enemy infantry had being victorious. =================== = Improved Bowman = =================== Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, Archery Range, and research Improved Bow. Research cost: 140 Food, 80 Wood Cost: 40 Food, 20 Gold Hit points: 40 Attack: 4 Armor: 0 Range: 6 Speed: Medium Train at: Archery Range The Improved Bowman is not an upgrade of the Bowman. It is a separate unit with more hit points, attack strength, and range than the Bowman. The Improved Bowman can be upgraded to the Composite Bowman. Archers fire arrows at enemy villagers, military units, boats, and buildings within their range. Researching Alchemy increases attack strength. Ballistics increases accuracy. Leather Armor, Scale Armor, and Chain Mail increase armor. Woodworking, Artisanship, and Craftsmanship increase range. The simple bow was improved by using better materials and by better training. Employing better wood or strips of laminated wood increased the tensile strength of the bow, increasing power and thus range. Arrows were improved also by such changes as matal arrowheads. In modern times, hundreds of bronze arrowheads were recovered from an archaelogical excavation of the battlefield at Thermopylae. On this site, a Spartan force under Leonidas had perished under a hail of Persian arrows after delaying the huge Persian army for many days. ==================== = Composite Bowman = ==================== Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, Archery Range, research Improved Bow, and upgrade to Composite Bow. Upgrade cost: 180 Food, 100 Wood Cost: 40 Food, 20 Gold Hit points: 45 Attack: 5 Armor: 0 Range: 7 Speed: Medium Upgrade of: Improved Bowman Train at: Archery Range The Composite Bowman has more hit points, attack strength, and range than the Improved Bowman. Other archery units include the Horse Archer and Elephant Archer. Archers fire arrows at enemy villagers, military units, boats, and buildings within their range. Researching Alchemy increases attack strength. Ballistics increases accuracy. Leather Armor, Scale Armor, and Chain Mail increase armor. Woodworking, Artisanship, and Craftsmanship increase range. The composite bow was developed in Asia was also known as the oriental or recurved bow. It reached the Mediterranean and Middle East by the beginning of the second millennium B.C. It was made of layers of wood glued together rather than a single piece. The composite material was then bent outward at each end to increase tension. The result was a very powerful bow that doubled the effective range of the short bow. Egyptian engravings depicting the Battle of Kadesh show Rameses II and other Egyptian archers using composite bows. ================== = Chariot Archer = ================== Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, Archery Range, and research Wheel. Cost: 40 Food, 70 Wood Hit points: 70 Attack: 4 Armor: 0 Range: 7 Speed: Fast Special: High resistance to conversion; triple attack against Priests. Train at: Archery Range The Chariot Archer is a powerful archery unit that combines the speed and mobility of the Chariot and the attack strength of the Improved Bowman. Other mounted archery units include the Elephant Archer, Horse Archer, and Heavy Horse Archer. You must research the Wheel before you can train Chariot Archers. Researching Nobility increases hit points. Researching Alchemy increases attack strength. Ballistics increases accuracy. Leather Armor, Scale Armor, and Chain Mail increase armor. Woodworking, Artisanship, and Craftsmanship increase range. Around 1700 B.C., two existing technologies of military consequence, the chariot and the bow, were merged to create a fearsome new military weapon--the chariot archer. Armored archers carried in fast chariots dominated the battlefields of the civilized world for the next 500 years and remained useful for some time after that. In the open ground of the settled plains and river valleys, the chariot archer was devastating due to its speed, mass, and firepower. Chariot archers were typified by the Egyptian nobility and pharaohs of the New Kingdom, 1552-1069 B.C., who prided themselves of their archery. The first recorded battle of history. Megiddo in 1460 B.C., was fought with chariot carrying archers. The chariot archer was the dominating battlefield weapon from China to Greece from about 1600 to 1200 B.C., according to the historical and archaelogical record. The long reign of chariot armies was due to several factors, including most importantly the placement of a composite bow archer in the basket with the driver and using the chariot as a mobile firing platform. The fast-firing chariot archer was devastating against slow, poorly armored infantry in the open areas of the civilized cultures. The glorious vision of elite archers from the nobility fighting from their expensive chariots and wheeling around the battlefields at will prevaded all civilized cultures of the time. =================== = Elephant Archer = =================== Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, and Archery Range. Cost: 180 Food, 60 Gold Hit points: 600 Attack: 5 Armor: 0 Range: 7 Speed: Slow Train at: Archery Range The Elephant Archer combines the hit points of the War Elephant and the attack strength and range of the Composite Bowman. Other mounted archery units include the Chariot Archer, Horse Archer, and Heavy Horse Archer. Researching Alchemy increases attack strength. Ballistics increases accuracy. Leather Armor, Scale Armor, and Chain Mail increase armor. Woodworking, Artisanship, and Craftsmanship increase range. Attempting to use elephants in combat posed a number of problems, including the central one of how the elephant would fight and cause casualties. One answer was to place a box on the elephant's back from which archers could shoot. The archers were protected by the box and could fire down into the melee below. That worked only as long as the elephant remained standing and within range of the enemy. In the years following the death of Alexander the Great, many western kings adorned their armies of ancient India used elephants more succuesfully for many centuries. ================ = Horse Archer = ================ Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, and Archery Range. Cost: 50 Food, 70 Gold Hit points: 60 Attack: 7 Armor: 0 Piercing Armor: 2 Range: 7 Speed: Fast Special: +2 piercing armor against Ballista, Helepolis, and missile weapons. Train at: Archery Range The Horse Archer is a fast archery unit with strong attack strength and range. The Horse Archer can be upgraded to the Heavy Horse Archer. Other mounted archery units include the Chariot Archer and Elephant Archer. Researching Nobility increases hit points. Researching Alchemy increases attack strength. Ballistics increases accuracy. Leather Armor, Scale Armor, and Chain Mail increase armor. Woodworking, Artisanship, and Craftsmanship increase range. The chariot archer was replaced eventually on many ancient battlefields by horse archers. This transition took place during the dark age following 1200 B.C. Mounted warriors fighting with composite bows made up many of the barbarian armies on the Asia steppes. This type of unit was embraced by the Assyrians first and eventually by their rivals. Two horse archers had twice the firepower of one chariot archer, were much more flexible in where they could go on the battlefield, were only half eliminated by the loss of one horse, and avoided the expense of the chariot itself. Horse archers rarely dominated fighting as the chariot archers had, however, because advances in armor and tactics relegated horse archers to a supportive role. The hordes of horse archers employed by the Persians against Alexander, for example, were no match for his Companion cavalry, heavy Greek infantry, and skirmish troops. The Great Wall of Chine was built to restrict the movements of barbarian horse archers from the north. ====================== = Heavy Horse Archer = ====================== Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, Archery Range, research Chain Mail for Archers, and upgrade to Heavy Horse. Archer. Upgrade cost: 1750 Food, 800 Gold Cost: 50 Food, 70 Gold Hit points: 90 Attack: 8 Armor: 0 Piercing Armor: 2 Range: 7 Speed: Fast Special: +2 piercing armor against Ballista, Helepolis, and missile weapons. Upgrade of: Horse Archer Train at: Archery Range The Heavy Horse Archer has more hit points and attack strength than the Horse Archer. You must research Chain Mail for Archers before you can train the Heavy Horse Archer. Researching Nobility increases hit points. Researching Alchemy increases attack strength. Ballistics increases accuracy. Leather Armor, Scale Armor, and Chain Mail increase armor. Woodworking, Artisanship, and Craftsmanship increase range. In a few armies of the late ancient period the Horse Archer was equipped with helmet and limited body armor. This made the archer less vulnerable to arrows himself. The Heavy Horse Archer could get closer to the enemy and do more damage with bow fire with less risk to himself. Heavy Horse Archers were not a common unit, however. They were difficult to train, except for those cultures who were hoesr archers by common practice. Body armor for archers was a luxury that most armies could not afford. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Cavalry -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ========= = Scout = ========= Age: Tool Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, and Stable. Cost: 100 Food Hit points: 60 Attack: 3 Armor: 0 Range: 0 Speed: Fast Train at: Stable The Scout is the weakest cavalry unit. The Scout cannot be upgraded. However, you can train Cavalry, which is stronger than the Scout. Other cavalry units include Heavy Cavalry, Cataphract, Chariot, and War Elephant. Researching Nobility increases hit points. Toolworking, Metalworking, and Metallurgy increase attack strength. Leather Armor, Scale Armor, and Chain Mail increase armor. An important innovation in military tactics was the provision of skirmish, or light, troops that scouted ahead of the main body when an army was on the move. While it was important to form solid, disciplined ranks of spearman or other infantry for the shock of hand-to-hand combat, these dense formations were vulnerable to surprise. It was the functional of scouts to keep the army commander informed of the tactical situation and locate enemies so the main body was brought into combat at the right place and time. At the Battle of Kadesh in 1275 B.C., Ramses II of Egypt did not investigate reports that the Hittite army was far to the north. Instead he advanced one of his four divisions across the Orontes River and was attacked while his second was still crossing. Ramses managed to win the battle, but the lack of proper scouting put his army in jeopardy. =========== = Chariot = =========== Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, Stable, and research Wheel. Cost: 40 Food, 60 Wood Hit points: 100 Attack: 7 Armor: 0 Range: 0 Speed: Fast Special: High resistance to conversion; double attack against Priest. Train at: Stable The Chariot is a fast, two-wheel cavalry unit pulled by horses. You must research the Wheel before you can build the Chariot. Researching Nobility increases hit points. Toolworking, Metalworking, and Metallurgy increase attack strength. Leather Armor, Scale Armor, and Chain Mail increase armor. Chariots originated in Sumeria before 2500 B.C. as four-wheeled carts pulled by onogers. These chariots were slow and cumbersome compared to later chariots, but provided a protected platform for spearman and archers. How they were used in combat remains unclear, although all charging animals were intimidating on the battlefield. At this time, the horse was not widely domesticated in the civilized parts of the world. In the first half of the second millennium B.C., the chariot basket was reduced in size and mounted on only two wheels. Horses were substituted eventually to provide greater speed. The fast two-wheeled chariot was especially intimidating in battle because of its speed and the shock value of charging horses. At this time horses were rarely being ridden. Charioteers became the elite of the civilized armies for the next 600 or so years. Chariots were often manned by the nobility because of their elite status, the glory to be won, and the high cost of building and maintaining chariots and their horse teams. =========== = Cavalry = =========== Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, and Stable. Cost: 70 Food, 80 Gold Hit points: 150 Attack: 8 Armor: 0 Range: 0 Speed: Fast Special: Cavalry charge bonus (+5 attack against infantry) Train at: Stable Cavalry is not an upgrade of the Scout. It is a separate unit with more hit points and attack strength (including +5 attack against infantry, except for slinger) than the Scout. Cavalry can be upgraded to Heavy Cavalry. Other cavalry units include the Chariot and War Elephant. Researching Nobility increases hit points. Toolworking, Metalworking, and Metallurgy increase attack strength. Leather Armor, Scale Armor, and Chain Mail increase armor. Horses were domesticated around 4000 B.C. for use as work animals. They first appeared in the Middle East around 2000 B.C. but were kept only as expensive pets. Gradually they were found useful in the civilized world as draft animals, but were rarely ridden. The concept of cavalry was introduced to the Assyrians from the plains of Russia during the dark age that followed the catastrophe of 1200 B.C. The Assyrians added cavalry to their armies in order to fight the barbarians on the plains to their north. Israelite kind Solomon was renowned for his large cavalry force. It eventually became clear that cavalry was more efficient that cnariots. Two men, each on his horse, were more useful that two men in a chariot that could be disabled with increasing ease. Cavalry was cheaper tomaintain that chariotry and could enter more difficult terrain, but was no less fast and intimidating to infantry. ================= = Heavy Cavalry = ================= Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, Stable, train Cavalry, and upgrade to Heavy Cavalry. Upgrade cost: 350 Food, 125 Gold Cost: 70 Food, 80 Gold Hit points: 150 Attack: 10 Armor: 1 Piercing Armor: 1 Range: 0 Speed: Fast Special: Cavalry charge bonus (+5 attack against infantry); +1 piercing armor against Ballista, Helepolis, and missile weapons. Upgrade of: Cavalry Train at: Stable Heavy Cavalry has more attack strength and armor (including +1 armor against missile weapons) than Cavalry. Heavy Cavalry can be upgraded to the Cataphract. Other cavalry units include the Chariot and War Elephant. Researching Nobility increases hit points. Toolworking, Metalworking, and Metallurgy increase attack strength. Leather Armor, Scale Armor, and Chain Mail increase armor. Heavy cavalry was distinguished from other cavalry by equipment and battlefield role. It was considered heavy because the warriors and horses usually wore some metal armor, including breastplates, helmets, and greaves. The horses were also oversized to more easily carry an armored man and to intimidate foes. While most cavalry acted as skirmishers and scouts on the battlefield, heavy cavalry was a shock weapon, held back for the proper moment to charge into enemy formations and ride them down. Heavy cavalry was rare in antiquity because the saddle and stirrup had not yet been invented. It took an excellent rider to ride into a shock batle and use a lance effectively. The most famous heavy cavalry of the time was the Companion cavalry of Alexander the Great. These men were horsemen from birth on the plains of Thessaly and Macedon. Part of their devastating success in battle against the Persians may have been due to the novelty of their wedge-shaped charges, unprecedented at that time. ============== = Cataphract = ============== Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, Stable, research Cavalry, upgrade to Heavy Cavalry, research Metallurgy, and upgrade to Cataphract. Upgrade cost: 2000 Food, 850 Gold Cost: 70 Food, 80 Gold Hit points: 180 Attack: 12 Armor: 3 Piercing Armor: 1 Range: 0 Speed: Fast Special: Cavalry charge bonus (+5 attack against infantry); +1 piercing armor against Ballista, Helepolis, and missile weapons. Upgrade of: Heavy Cavalry Train at: Stable The Cataphract is the ultimate cavalry unit. The Cataphract has more hit points, attack strength and armor than Heavy Cavalry. You must research Metallurgy before you can upgrade to the Cataphract. Other cavalry units include the Chariot and War Elephant. Researching Nobility increases hit points. Toolworking, Metalworking, and Metallurgy increase attack strength. Leather Armor, Scale Armor, and Chain Mail increase armor. The cataphract was an improvement on ancient heavy cavalry represented by Alexander the Great's Companions. The Companions wore only helmets, greaves, and cuirass (breastplate). Cataphracts wore chain mail that covered more of the body and often armored their horses partially also. This gave greater protection against arrows and hand-to-hand weapons. Cataphracts were very expensive to equip, however, and appeared in the armies of only the most warlike and wealthy cultures. ================ = War Elephant = ================ Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, and Stable. Cost: 170 Food, 40 Gold Hit points: 600 Attack: 15 Armor: 0 Range: 0 Speed: Slow Special: Trample damage to all adjacent enemy units; attack strength cannot be upgraded. Train at: Stable The War Elephant is a cavalry unit with many hit points and special attack. The War Elephant causes trample damage to all adjacent enemy units. The War Elephant's attack strength cannot be upgraded because it already causes so much damage to other units. For example, if ten men attack a War Elephant, all ten men receive 15 points of damage, so that the War Elephant causes 150 points of damage per round. Researching Leather Armor, Scale Armor, and Chain Mail increases armor. Elephants were tamed in antiquity but never domesticated. They were most useful as beasts of burden, but were employed in battle by several cultures, including the Phoenicians, Persians, and Indians. Elephanmts were much more intimidating than horses and much tougher as well. In addition, horses avoided elephants, making elephants, in theory, a great weapon against enemy cavalry. In practice, unfortunately, elephants rarely proved useful. They were difficult to acquire, train, and maintain. Hannibal attempted to take elephants across the Alps to attack Rome, but only one survived. No account of Alexander the Great's battles makes any mention of Persian elephants being effective. Elephants were difficult to control in battle and were likely to charge in any direction but the one desired, especially after being wounded. They were apparently more dangerous to friend than foe, being already nearer to friends and most likely to charge away from perceived danger through the friendly army arrayed around them. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Siege Weapons -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ================= = Stone Thrower = ================= Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, Archery Range, and Siege Workshop. Cost: 180 Wood, 80 Gold Hit points: 75 Attack: 50 Armor: 0 Range: 10 Speed: Slow Special: Fire rate once/5 seconds; small damage area; minimum range 2. Build at: Siege Workshop The Stone Thrower is the weakest of the siege weapons. Upgrades include the Catapult and Heavy Catapult. Other siege weapons include the Ballista and Helepolis. Siege weapons are used to attack military units, buildings, towers, and walls. Researching Alchemy increases attack strength. Ballistics increases accuracy. Engineering increases range. The stone thrower was an artillery weapon based on the principle of the lever. The stone thrower fired a heavy missile, usually a large stone or stone wrapped in burning oily rage. The missile was placed in a large basket at the end of the throwing arm. Tension was built up on the other end of the arm while the throwing basket was held taut against the fulcrum. When released, the throwing arm swung up and forward until checked, throwing the missile. Stone throwers were used primarily against fixed positions, especially cities and fortifications. Stones were used to knock down walls to open way of an infantry assault. Fireballs set wood rubble on fire, buring out the defenders. Small stone throwers were also used on the battlefield to disrupt massed enemy fortifications, although the enemy rarely easy targets within range. The stone thrower was invented around 400 B.C. by Greeks seeking to capture an island fortress off the coast of Sicily. ============ = Catapult = ============ Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, Archery Range, Siege Workshop, and upgrade to Catapult. Upgrade cost: 300 Food, 250 Wood Cost: 180 Wood, 80 Gold Hit points: 75 Attack: 60 Armor: 0 Range: 12 Speed: Slow Special: Fire rate once/5 seconds; medium damage area; minimum range 2. Upgrade of: Stone Thrower Build at: Siege Workshop The Catapult has more attack strength and range and damages a larger area than the Stone Thrower. The Catapult can be upgraded to the Heavy Catapult. Other siege weapons include the Ballista and Helepolis. Siege weapons are used to attack military units, buildings, towers, and walls. Researching Alchemy increases attack strength. Ballistics increases accuracy. Engineering increases range. The stone thrower continued to evolve over time following its invention around 400 B.C. Improvements increased the size or range of the missile and the mobility of the catapult. ================== = Heavy Catapult = ================== Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, Archery Range, Siege Workshop, upgrade to Catapult, research Siegecraft, and upgrade to Heavy Catapult. Upgrade cost: 1800 Food, 900 Wood Cost: 180 Wood, 80 Gold Hit points: 150 Attack: 60 Armor:0 Range: 13 Speed: Slow Special: Fire rate once/5 seconds; large damage area; minimum range 2. Upgrade of: Catapult Build at: Siege Workshop The Heavy Catapult has many more hit points and more range than the Catapult. You must research Siegecraft before you can upgrade to the Heavy Catapult. Other siege weapons include the Ballista and Helepolis. Siege weapons are used to attack military units, buildings, towers, and walls. Researching Alchemy increases attack strength. Ballistics increases accuracy. Engineering increases range. The heavy catapult was a powerful siege weapon, representing the greatest advance in siege weaponry during ancient times. It was employed against fortifications and on the battlefield. It broke down fortification walls, allowing attackers to break in. On the battlefield, smaller missiles could be fired in a shower against dense formations of soldiers to cause casualties and disrupt morale at long range. Enemy armies that could be softened and shaken before the hand-to-hand clash of infantry were at a decided desadvantage. ============ = Ballista = ============ Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, Archery Range, and Siege Workshop. Cost: 100 Wood, 80 Gold Hit points: 55 Attack: 40 Armor:0 Range: 9 Speed: Slow Special: Fire rate once/3 seconds; minimum range 3. Build at: Siege Workshop The Ballista can be upgraded to the Helepolis. Other siege weapons include the Catapult and Heavy Catapult. Ballistas are used to attack military units, buildings, towers, and walls. Researching Alchemy increases attack strength. Ballistics increases accuracy. Engineering increases range. The ballista was an early artillery weapon that fired missiles, primarily large bolts or spears. It was used in attacks on cities or fortified positions because it could cause structural damage and casualties from a great distance. When it could be deployed on a battlefield, it was especially useful against dense formations of troops. In this situation, one shot could cause multiple casualties. The ballista was invented in the second half of the first millennium B.C., probably by Greek engineers. It functioned like a large crossbow. Tension was built up in the engine by twisting leather, and then released, propelling the missile down a guided trough and into flight. ============= = Helepolis = ============= Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Barracks, Archery Range, Siege Workshop, research Craftsmanship, upgrade to Helepolis. Upgrade cost: 1500 Food, 1000 Wood Cost: 100 Wood, 80 Gold Hit points: 55 Attack: 40 Armor:0 Range: 10 Speed: Slow Special: Fire rate once/1.5 seconds; minimum range 3. Upgrade of: Ballista Build at: Siege Workshop The Helepolis has more range and a faster fire rate than the Ballista. You must research Craftsmanship before you can upgrade to the Helepolis. Other siege weapons include the Catapult and Heavy Catapult. The Helepolis is used to attack military units, buildings, towers, and walls. Researching Alchemy increases attack strength. Ballistics increases accuracy. Engineering increases range. The helepolis (Greek for "city killer") was one of the most advanced weapons of antiquity and a remarkable demonstration of ancient engineering ingenuity. It was in fact an automatic siege weapon that fired ballista bolts. The top loading lagazine of the helepolis was a horizontal funnel in which were laid bundles of bolts. These were fed by gravity into the chanber of the weapon. A clever gearing mechanism automatically recocked the helepolis and fired. Human operators needed only to keep it loaded and aimed, plus providing power by cranking. The original of the machine was abandoned outside the city of Rhodes when a besieging army withdrew. It has been reconstructed on paper from contemporary sketches and descriptions of that only known example. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Boats -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ================ = Fishing Boat = ================ Age: Stone Prerequisites: Build the Town Center and the Dock. Cost: 50 Wood Hit points: 45 Attack: 0 Armor: 0 Range: 0 Speed: Medium Special: Boats are twice as resistant to conversion as other units. Build at: Dock The Fishing Boat provides food by gathering fish and depositing them at the Dock. The cargo capacity of a Fishing Boat is greater than the carrying capacity of a villager. The Fishing Boat can be upgraded to the Fishing Ship. The Fishing Boat represents a small, vessel for use by one or a few fishermen. The first boats were probably dugout canous, made from a single large log. These were excavated by fire and adze. Despite the passage of time and great technological advances in all areas, there are more log- hull boats in use today of any other single type. ================ = Fishing Ship = ================ Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Dock, and upgrade to Fishing Ship. Upgrade cost: 50 Food, 100 Wood Cost: 50 Wood Hit points: 75 Attack: 0 Armor: 0 Range: 0 Speed: Fast Special: Boats are twice as resistant to conversion as other units. Upgrade of: Fishing Boat Build at: Dock The Fishing Ship has more hit points and is faster than the Fishing Boat. The never-ending quest for food eventually enticed humans out onto lakes, rivers, and oceans in search of fish. Fish of greater size and variety were often found in deeper offshore waters. Fishing ships, larger than small canoes, were developed to control larger nets. Fishing ships were able to hold greater quantities of processed fish before return to land was required. ============== = Trade Boat = ============== Age: Stone Prerequisites: Build the Town Center and the Dock. Cost: 100 Wood Hit points: 200 Attack: 0 Armor: 0 Range: 0 Speed: Fast Special: Boats are twice as resistant to conversion as other units. Build at: Dock The Trade Boat lets you trade with other civilizations to increase your stockpile of gold. The Trade Boat can be upgraded to the Merchant Ship. Small boats were used by Stone-Age peoples for trading across rivers, lakes, and oceans. We know, for example, that tool stone found on Aegean Islands was brought to the mainland and other islands by traders long before large seagoing boats existed. Primitive trading boats were usually dugout canoes, papyrus bundles, or hide boats with a limited cargo capacity. They probably carried only limited quantities of valuable trade goods, such as carvings, ivory, furs, tool stone, decorative minerals, and amber. Large bulk cargos could not be carried profitably in small trading boats. ================= = Merchant Ship = ================= Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Dock, and upgrade to Merchant Ship. Upgrade cost: 200 Food, 75 Wood Cost: 100 Wood Hit points: 250 Attack: 0 Armor: 0 Range: 0 Speed: Fast Special: Boats are twice as resistant to conversion as other units. Upgrade of: Trade Boat Build at: Dock The Merchant Ship lets you trade with other civilizations to increase your stockpile of gold. It is faster and has more hit points than the Trade Boat. As civilization spread around the Mediterranean Sea, Indian Ocean, and China Sea, larger trading ships came into use to carry bulk cargos such as olive oil from Greece, cedar wood from Lebanon, grain from Egypt, and rice from China. Typical ancient Merchant Ships had keels and were built of planks, but did not have interior framing. They carried a single mast for a mainsail and were steered with a large paddle. Their broad beam allowed for cargos far beyond those of dugout canoes. Recent underwater discoveries of ancient merchant ships indicate they had good sailing qualities and required only a small crew. =================== = Light Transport = =================== Age: Tool Prerequisites: Build the Town Center and the Dock. Cost: 150 Wood Hit points: 150 Attack: 0 Armor: 0 Range: 0 Speed: Medium Special: Boats are twice as resistant to conversion as other units. Build at: Dock The Light Transport lets you transport up to five villagers, military units, or Artifacts across water. The Light Transport can be upgraded to the Heavy Transport. The earliest use of boats in war was probably to carry men across rivers, lakes, or seas to raid and plunder. The most suitable boat for this purpose was built as a compromise between speed and capacity. Raiders did not want to spend long periods in boats making a crossing and needed to surprise their enemies. The boat also had to carry a reasonable number of raiders and have room for anyone to be brought back. The fastest boats of ancient times were galleys powered by sails when possible but mainly by oars. The Greek penteconter with 50 oars was a common transport from troops. In most cases, the crew of oarsmen became raiders when they reached their destination. =================== = Heavy Transport = =================== Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Dock, and upgrade to Heavy Transport. Upgrade cost: 150 Food, 125 Wood Cost: 150 Wood Hit points: 200 Attack: 0 Armor: 0 Range: 0 Speed: Fast Special: Boats are twice as resistant to conversion as other units. Upgrade of: Light Transport Build at: Dock The Heavy Transport lets you transport up to ten villagers, military units, or Artifacts across water. The Heavy Transport has more hit points, is faster, and carries more units than the Light Transport. Ships build carrying military units replaced smaller galleys when armies grew larger and targets became more valuable and better defended. It became necessary to move ever-larger armies for invasion, and to bring siege engines and supplies along for extended sieges of coastal cities. The Heavy Transport represents a large sailing ship, something like a Merchant Ship, build mainly for capacity at the expense of speed. ============== = Scout Ship = ============== Age: Tool Prerequisites: Build the Town Center and the Dock. Cost: 135 Wood Hit points: 120 Attack: 5 Armor: 0 Range: 5 Speed: Fast Special: Boats are twice as resistant to conversion as other units. Build at: Dock The Scout Ship is the weakest of the war vessels. Upgrades include the War Galley and Trireme. Other war ships include the Catapult Trireme and Juggernaught. War vessels fire at enemy villagers, military units, and boats within range. Researching Alchemy increases attack strength. Ballistics increases accuracy. Woodworking, Artisanship, and Craftsmanship increase range. The first true warships built to attack and sink other ships were galleys with a heavy ram mounted at the front. The warship attempted to ram an enemy ship and stave in its hull, causing it to take on water if not sink. Early warships were almost oar-powered torpedos, consisting of a light, floating hull manned by oarsmen. A sail, if present, was used only in transit, not in battle. ============== = War Galley = ============== Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Dock, and upgrade to War Galley. Upgrade cost: 150 Food, 75 Wood Cost: 135 Wood Hit points: 160 Attack: 8 Armor: 0 Range: 6 Speed: Fast Special: Boats are twice as resistant to conversion as other units. Upgrade of: Scout Ship Build at: Dock The War Galley has more hit points, attack strength, and range than a Scout Ship. The War Galley can be upgraded to the Trireme. War vessels fire at enemy villagers, military units, and boats within range. Researching Alchemy increases attack strength. Ballistics increases accuracy. Woodworking, Artisanship, and Craftsmanship increase range. The appearance of the ram triggered an arms race in ship design. Hulls were strengthened to support ever-heavier rams on the bow. As hulls grew larger, more oarsmen were required to provide power. A deck was added and a second group of oarsmen was placed there. This increased power without increasing length, but the deck made the ship somewhat instable. A ship with two levels of rowers was called a bireme. =========== = Trireme = =========== Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Dock, upgrade to War Galley, and upgrade to Trireme. Upgrade cost: 250 Food, 100 Wood Cost: 135 Wood Hit points: 200 Attack: 12 Armor: 0 Range: 7 Speed: Fast Special: Boats are twice as resistant to conversion as other units; fire rate once/2 seconds. Upgrade of: War Galley Build at: Dock The Trireme has more hit points, attack strength, and range than a War Galley. The Trireme cannot be upgraded. However, you can research the Catapult Trireme, which is stronger than the Trireme. War vessels fire at enemy villagers, military units, and boats within range. Researching Alchemy increases attack strength. Ballistics increases accuracy. Woodworking, Artisanship, and Craftsmanship increase range. Ancient ship designers tried numerous tricks to get more power for warships, including putting more men on single oars. The most successful was a trireme, three tiers of single rowers per side. This ship provided resonable maneuverability and speed. It appeared around 600 B.C. and made up the bulk of Mediterranean navies for several hundred years after 500 B.C. ==================== = Catapult Trireme = ==================== Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Dock, upgrade to War Galley, upgrade to Trireme, and research Catapult Trireme. Research cost: 300 Food, 100 Wood Cost: 135 Wood, 75 Gold Hit points: 120 Attack: 35 Armor: 0 Range: 9 Speed: Fast Special: Boats are twice as resistant to conversion as other units; fire rate once/5 seconds; small damage area. Build at: Dock The Catapult Trireme is not an upgrade of the Trireme. It is a separate vessel with fewer hit points and a slower fire rate than a Trireme but it has much more attack strength, range, and is armed with a Catapult, which can fire at a location instead of at a particular unit. The Catapult Trireme can be upgraded to the Juggernaught. War vessels fire at enemy villagers, military units, and boats within range. Researching Alchemy increases attack strength. Ballistics increases accuracy. Engineering increases range. The ultimate warships of antiquity were advances on the trireme that occurred after the death of Alexander the Great. These ships were first broadened so that multiple rowers could apply power to each oar. Based on limited descriptions and detailed figures from crew and rowers, it is believed that the largest ships of this perios may have had catamaran hulls. The broadening of ships and decks added weight and further reduced speed and maneuverability, but increased stability. Decks supported catapult artillery and large marine contigents. Ships engaged each other primarily with missile fire and boarding. ================ = Juggernaught = ================ Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build the Town Center, Dock, upgrade to War Galley, upgrade to Trireme, research Catapult Trireme, research Engineering, and upgrade to Juggernaught. Upgrade cost: 2000 Food, 900 Wood Cost: 135 Wood, 75 Gold Hit points: 200 Attack: 35 Armor: 0 Range: 10 Speed: Fast Special: Boats are twice as resistant to conversion as other units; fire rate once/5 seconds; medium damage area. Upgrade of: Catapult Trireme Build at: Dock The Juggernaught has more hit points and range and causes damage to a larger area than the Catapult Trireme. Like the Catapult Trireme, the Juggernaught is armed with a Catapult, which can fire at a location instead of at a particular unit. You must research Engineering before you can upgrade to the Juggernaught. War vessels fire at enemy villagers, military units, and boats within range. Researching Alchemy increases attack strength. Ballistics increases accuracy. Engineering increases range. The most remarkable advances in war ships appeared on the Mediterranean before the conquest of the entire region by Rome. These ships could reach enormous size, carrying crews of several thousand rowers and marines. They fought by firing catapults at each other until close enough to grapple and board. The largest were too slow to effectively ram each other. Because of their size and slowness, they could not operate far from shore and needed substantial support from supply ships carrying food and water for the crew. The largest were show ships, built in an arms race that emphasized size and expense instead of practicality. ================================================================================ Codes ================================================================================ To enter the following cheats, you must press [Enter] anytime during gameplay. Next, type the letters to the left, and press [Enter]. BIG BERTHA- Turns Heavy Catapults into Big Berthas BIGDADDY- A black sports car with a rocket launcher BLACK RIDER- Turns Horse Archers into Black Riders COINAGE- 1000 gold bonus DARK RAIN- Turns a Bowman into a Composite Bowman which turns into a tree when not moving DIEDIEDIE- All enemy units die E=MC2 TROOPER- Creates a guy in a white suit with a slow- firing nuke gun HARI KARI- You lose the game HOMERUN- You win the game HOYOHOYO- Priests are faster and stronger ICBM- Your Ballistas and Helepolis have a 99+1 range, if I remember correctly JACK BE NIMBLE- Your catapults and stone throwers fire villagers, cows, etc. KILLX- Kill player X NO FOG- Removes the fog of war PEPPERONI PIZZA- 1000 food bonus PHOTON MAN- Create a guy in a white suit with a quick- fire laser gun QUARRY- 1000 stone bonus RESIGN- You resign REVEAL MAP- Reveals the map STEROIDS- Buildings and units are created instantly WOODSTOCK- 1000 wood bonus ======== = TIPS = ======== (A lot of these are taken from Xiphoid's Age of Empires Atrium. I've edited some of them so they make a little more sense) - Get to the highest age as fast as you can. The player with the better and powerful units will win the game. - If you like getting points, or the game's victory conditions is set on points, be the first to advance through the ages. This will boost your points drastically. - Pay attention to what map terrain you are going to play on. This will allow you to choose a more suitable civilization. Some civilizations are better set for the sea, for example. - Don't forget to build your defenses early. Many players wait until they get into the Bronze Age or later. This will often turn into a terrible and deadly mistake. - Play defensively, building up your forces early on, so you can catch the enemy off- guard and defend yourself. - Pay attention to what civilizations the other players pick and try to pick a civilization that would counter them easily. - Try to get to the Bronze Age as fast as possible. Twenty-one villagers is the perfect number for a fast Bronze Age advancement. As soon as you hit it, make about three Chariot Archers or Cavs (Cavalries) to go mess with the enemy's villagers. - If the game condition is set to standard or artifacts, always try to have at least one artifact and hold it until you attack to get more. - Building a wonder can sometimes ask for trouble. If you are behind your opponents, it is not often a good idea to build one if you are undefended. - Protect and defend your wonder. It must stay up for 2000 years. Build layers of walls and towers around it, and have villagers beside it to repair it. - Winning the game on collecting all ruins is difficult. If you are trying, build walls around each ruin with towers, and have some units around it. - If playing on a water map, make sure you have a stable supply of wood coming in. This is to build your navy, which requires a lot of wood. - You should always gather a group of villagers if you are being defeated and send them over to your ally's town, where you can rebuild and start anew. - In the Iron Age, make a group of four Catapults (Heavy, if possible) and back them up with four Helipolis's. This combo in enemy territory is an easy win. - Try to get five horses, five bowmen (Composite, if possible), and a catapult or two. This is a great fighting team and always works with me. - If it is late in a non- deathmatch game, and you have a lot of resources, but the enemy has not yet discovered your location, build a wonder far away from your town. While the enemy is attacking your wonder, you can get a jump-start on attacking his town. - To attack an army of priests, you will need a cheap unit (preferably not a fighting unit), about five Chariot Archers, and a Catapult. - If you've got idle military units, send them after the elephant. They'll do better than your villagers will. Also be sure to send lots of villagers to harvest the food - you don't want all of it to go bad now. - Always have more than one Towncenter. It allows you to get villagers when you are upgrading to the Iron Age. - Build Towncenters instead of Storage Pits and Granaries. They are a little more expensive, but you can build villagers in them and take anything to them. - Always look at the map after the game is over. It can help you learn your enemies' strategies, and you will better be able to defend against those attacks in the future. You may also pick up a few ideas. - Though a lot of people don't know it, the best civilization is Phoenician. Their farming is more efficient, they have much better war ships, they have the powers of Persia, Greece, and the other civilization good with legions. They're pretty good for everything but Siege Weapons. - If you notice an enemy transport coming for you, try your best to convert it before it lands. When you have, move the boat to where you can protect it; this is because all the units inside the transport will still belong to your enemy, and since he can't delete them, this will screw with his population limits... (Do this with three of his boats, and he's history!) - If you fail to take out Babylonian or Egyptian players before they reach the Bronze Age, you will be faced with gobs of priests. If your main offensive unit is cavalry, send club or axemen in first, keeping cavalry out of sight and range. Once priests start converting, bring the cavalry in. Most of the priests will be regenerating and you can really sweep them. The same works against the Chosen, but their tower range makes things trickier. - If you are Hittite and have access to water, five or six Galleons can reek havoc on priests and stone throwers, primarily because of their range (agility and firing rate also help). Use three of the Iron Age upgrades available at the Government Center to further increase range, damage and accuracy of the Galleons. Keep the group of Galleons on the move - that is, move them after every two volleys of arrows to avoid thrown stones. Concentrate fire on one stone thrower at a time. Once stone throwers are toast, finish off the priests and then the one or two Galleons they managed to convert. - If you haven't already, learn ALL the keyboard shortcuts thet you ever use more than once in a game. They will save you time when it really matters. - Build about ten Helepolis (the upgrade is very costly - 1500 F, 1000 W - but worth it) and send them out to destroy the enemy. Nothing will come in their way. War Elephants, Heavy Cavalry, and Centurion units will be destroyed before they come close. Also very effective against towers (as long as you have the Engineering Upgrade). - If you don't want your Catapults to destroy each other, set their defensive stances to Neutral. - This is the Carthaginain Advance Tactic: First have about four Swordsmen in front, then four elephants right behind them. The next line will be ten Academy units and the final Auxileries and Archers. - Group your Helepolis and Catapults. The catapults do more damage, but the Helepolis is much faster. - First, if you don't have Reveal Map on, find the nearest forest and build a Storage Pit there. While your villagers are being built, chop down some wood to enable you to build a Granary. Stop all of your wood guys, and send them to the Berry bushes. The next seven guys should go to chopping wood. You should be advancing to the next Age soon. The next six or seven should go to Gold, or if you have a feeling that the enemy is better, they should go to Stone. You should have plenty of resources, and will probably be one of the strongest forces in the game. - If you are more of the Defensive type of player, go with Babylon. They have double wall and tower HPS, which are good for holding out seige weapon attacks until you get a guy to fight them. I usually build a wall of towers so if someone is attacking, most of the towers should be able to attack it. Although people say Babylon isn't very good in offensive purposes, it actually has some good attacking units. It has a heavy catapult, a horse archer, and legions. - Early in the game, use a "Bowman Rush." When you reach the Tool Age, build an Archery Range, and train 5 or 6 bowmen. Send these to the enemy base and kill as many villagers as you can. They will fall way behind because of this small attack. - If you are near large amounts of stone, build walls. They can keep all of the enemy units blocked out of your towncenter early in the game. - Use up all of your berry bushes and animals before you farm because these methods are more efficient and faster. - If you are low on resources and your teammate is way ahead of the others, don't be afraid to ask for 100 or so resources. - Don't waste resources on units and upgrades you don't need or won't use. You probably don't need all of the storage pit upgrades. - If you have run out of resources, trading with your allies is always an option. Be sure to get the resource you need and trade the resource you have the most of. - Search the map early on for resources. If you control the resources first, you will probably hold them until they are gone. - Go after any elephant that you see. Be sure to have a group of villagers to take it down. This prevents any death and gets more food. - When hunting Gazelles, be sure to move them in close to your storage pit or town center. If you approach them with a hunt, they will run in the opposite direction. - Fishing boats are not the most efficient form of food collection. They eat away at your population count and are sometimes troublesome to look after. - When starting the game, put 6-8 villagers on collecting berries. Then you can focus and wood and other resources after that. - Get villagers on gathering the shore fish before going for the berries - much faster return. - To prevent your opponents from getting all of the resources, send a couple priests to convert the working villagers. Usually, they are unprotected. - Fishing ships are a lot faster at getting food than most other ways: farming, berry picking, etc. They help a lot. - Take three villagers and attack the elephant. When the elephant comes towards you, run away and then attack again. - Sometimes it's wise to build up your villager and resource count before you advance into the advanced ages. - Have your villager total at least 15 before you advance into the Bronze Age. Twenty or above will give you a tremendous advantage when in the Bronze. - If you find that an enemy club man or axe man is attacking your town, don't be afraid to group your villagers together and attack the enemy. You will be the victor. - Make sure your villagers aren't standing around idle. This usually happens when villagers finish mining or farming. Keep an eye on them once every so often. - If cavalry or other enemy units are attacking or approaching a lone villager, lure the enemy to towers nearby to take care of them. - In the Stone, you won't have scouts to scout the nearby vicinity. Use villagers right off the bat to find your berries, shorefish, and wood. - You should always have at least 18-20 villagers (unless you're rushing) before you upgrade to Tool. This way, you can get resources faster and progress through the ages quicker. - The Sumerian villager is equal to most clubmen. - In the Stone Age, do at least eight forager/hunters and six woodcutters. That way you will be able to build lots of building in the Tool or Bronze Age. - Always use four villagers to go after an elephant. If you send 3, they will all die, and the fourth will be required to finish the elephant. The fourth will take damage doing so. Sending four kills the elephant, and non of the villagers take damage. This principle could be applied to all attacks. If you send enough attackers, you take far less damage. - Build your blocks of houses early on so you won't be lacking houses if you run out of wood or free villagers. - Build granaries as close to your farms or berry bushes as possible. That way you collect more food in less time. - If your town is surrounded by trees, don't go cutting them all down. Trees are a barrier that the enemy units cannot pass (except Heavy Catapults). - Spread out your town. This way you can build units more quickly and efficiently as well as expand in the future. - Don't build your towncenter too close to the water. That way the enemys' triemes or other war ships can't damage your towncenter. - If playing a deathmatch game, figure out somewhat before the game starts what buildings and units you are going to build. - If you have extra villagers handy, put them on helping building. Two villagers are better and faster than one. - It is always a good idea to build more than one towncenter. This way you can produce more villagers in a less amount of time. - Expand your civilization's control over the map. Don't just build your town in one corner; build posts across the map. This will be very helpful. - Wonders seem like they take forever to build, but not with a lot of villagers. Put as many villagers as you can on the wonder. - If playing islands, send a stealth operation of a transport ship and a few villagers over to your enemy's island and start building there. - Build multiple docks. This is very important in the production of war ships. If your only dock is destroyed, your chance of winning is slim. - Don't forget that you need two buildings from each age to advance into the next Age. Build them early on in whatever age you are in. - Always remember to build a barracks in the Stone or in the Stone/Tool transition. A barracks is necessary for building stables and archery ranges in the Tool. - You will need more than one storage pit in the game. Most players build anywhere from three to ten. This is so your villagers don't have to walk long distances. - What I do is when I am building the last villager I can with the houses I have, I use the previous one to build a house. This is why I am continuously building houses to supply my next set of villagers while collecting the maximum amount of food. - When building houses or large numbers of buildings adjacent to each other have one villager, build the building and just after the floor plan is laid out, tell him to build another. When he is done building one, he will automatically move on to another. This is useful when building a lot of houses. - If your civilization supports shared exploration, buy it right away. It's very helpful to know the map. - If the winning conditions are set to artifacts, then strive from the beginning to control the artifacts ASAP. Once you get them, wall them in, leaving about four spaces in between the artifacts and the wall so they can't be converted, and build towers around the vicinity to ensure that they are protected. - Know where the enemy is. If you are playing on a team, ask your teammates if they have spotted the enemy. This is vital. - In the Tool, one of the first things you should do is build a stable and get a scout out and around roaming the map. You will find a lot more out about the map. - If you are playing on a team, set your chat to allies only and tell your allies where you are on the map. - Have towers or scouts or other units and long ranges around the map to see what is going on in different parts of the map. They can alert you of an attack. - One of the first things you should do is scout out the area around your towncenter. Have one villager go one way and the other the opposite way and have them circle around your towncenter. - Scout ships are much like the land-based scouts. They are great for scouting out the area and have exceptional range. - Scout using groups and waypoints. This way you can scout more efficiently and in a less amount of time. - If the enemy has a large town, send over a spy unit such as a scout or lone villager to a part of your opponent's town where there is not much action. - If you are not sure where the enemy is, look on the little map for a spot with good gold and stone right by it. That's where the enemy always is so they can get the resources. - If you think you know where the enemy is, get a villager and make him build a building (not a house) where you think they are but make him stop before he builds it, then is it gets blown up, that's a tip where they are. - Towers are great to have surrounding your town and your resources. If you're in the Iron Age, get Ballista Towers if you have the food and stone. - Don't wall yourself in. If you build walls, build them so you can expand later in the game. You are stuck with fewer options if you do. - Always be sure to get the tower and wall upgrades in the granary for each age. These ugrades are worth it and you can tell the difference. - Walling in your towncenter early can keep out those annoying clubmen, axemen, scouts, and bowmen. - Use the towers offensively as well as defensively. Have a group of villagers build a tower in the vicinity of the enemy either around their resources or in their town. - Scout out the area before you build walls and towers. Knowing where you are on the map can greatly cut down on stone use. - Look for breaks in the trees. These open areas between forests are great places to build walls and towers since they are the only passage into your town. - On an inland map, you should always find the land bridges and wall them up, putting towers around the path. Leave an opening for units though. - If you are going to focus on defense, walls and towers, start mining stone early, putting a few villagers on stone in the Stone or Tool. - One villager on mining stone will not be enough for wall and tower production. At least put three on the job to ensure you have enough when you need it. - If playing against a computer opponent, you do not have to finish the wall for it to be utilized. A wall under construction will serve as a barrier the computer will not attack. - If you fear catapults destroying your towers from their longer range, get Woodworking, Artisanship, and Craftsmanship from the market. - When dealing with island terrain, surrounding it with towers will greatly protect your territory but destroying any enemy that comes near it. - Houses and other structures can be used as walls if they surround your town. - If you build a tower (sentry, guard, etc), don't surround it with walls. It won't be able to be repaired. - If you are going to attack early, build some towers inside your town so you won't have to bring your army back to help out if you are attacked. - Always place cavalry units behind your towers. Catapults and heavy catapults have a much longer range than towers. When the catapults attack, send the cavalry to wipe them out. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Tools of the Trade By James Mecham (ThumP) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Take charge of Age of Empires and win in the Tool Age! ================ = Introduction = ================ The beginning is undoubtedly the most important time period of the game; those who master this phrase are likely to do well throughout all the various Ages of the game. Understanding what to do in the first 10- 15 minutes of the game doesn't necessarily guarantee your victory, but without this understanding, you'll find yourself losing a lot. The best players have a prettu good idea of what they may do and what strategy they may employ before even starting the game. It is the strategy that enables them to select a civilzation (which is appropriate to counter the enemy's choice of civilizations on the map type and resource level being played). Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a martial art that focuses exclusively on fighting your opponent while both of you are on the ground. The theory behind this philosophy is that most martial arts train people to fight people in the upright position. If you're proficient at this style of jiu-jitsu, you're at a distinct advantage in a fight that ends up with both combatants on the ground. The key is to first get your opponent where you want him. After all, while you're standing up, you're playing the opponent's game. Once you've taken your enemy down, however, you have the "home court advantage." The good news is, in Age of Empires, all players must pass through the Tool Age. As in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, it is extremely beneficial to excel in a certain timeframe of the game and to understand how to make your opponent fight you there. If you're an expert Tool player and you force your opponent to fight you in the Tool age, you'll be at a tremendous advantage. The purpose of this document is to explain what you should be doing in this, the most important time of the game... the first 15 minutes. I am going to focus on fighting during Tool. I know that the majority of multiplayer games today focus on the Bronze Rush. The Bronze Rush is strong, but common. Players that know how to fight a Tool battle, or use Tool as a springboard to weaken the enemy and gain a competitive advantage are likely to excel in Bronze. Since many players already know how to fight in Bronze, I'm going to explain how to beat them in an environment foreign to them... the Tool Age. ================== = Key Strategies = ================== Several successful strategies are commonly used today in the multiplayer environment. Strategies in one-on-one games can be very different than strategies in team games. Since most one-on-one strategies can also be used in team games, but several team strategies cannot be used in the one on one environment, I'm going to focus on one-on-one strategies. Also, different map settings allow different strategies. As a general rule of thumb, the smaller the map and the less water separating you from your enemy, the more powerful your Tool attack will be. For the purposes of this discussion, I'm going to focus on the most common multiplayer setting, a large, inland map with default resources and starting in the Stone Age. Know the enemy and know thyself, and you can fight a hundred battles without fear of defeat. -Sun Tzu In order to beat your opponent, you must have a pretty good guess about how he plays the game. What are the current trends in strategy? To help you better understand and predict what your opponent will do, I'll now explain the background behind current strategies and techniques. I'll explain what the "masses" are doing in their games, and the logical development of strategies that lead them to where they are today. ============================= = Evolution of AoE Strategy = ============================= In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void... -Genesis Phase 1: What to do? When AoE was first released to the public in October of '97, very few people had any idea what to do. Those that had played other real-time strategy (RTS) games understood the importance of quickly developing an economy while disrupting the enemy's economy. It was at this point that "the masses" of multiplayer competitors learned how to Tool Rush (or at least, they learned an early version of a Tool Rush-I use the term loosely while describing this first step in the development of AoE strategy). It seemed that everybody selected either Shang or Assyria because both are strong Tool Rushing civilizations. The basic plan was to advance as quickly as possible to the Tool Age, then develop a Tool army to attack the enemy fast. For a few months, everyone complained about how the Tool Rush was unstoppable and that, therefore, AoE was a dumb game. The funny thing is... they kept playing. Phase 2: Envelopment Amidst the monotonous Tool Rushers, small groups of strategists worked to develop a plan for consistently beating the Tool Rush. Soon (sometime in November of '97), a few people started using a spreading out technique (also called map envelopment or locusting) to counter the Tool Rushers. I remember frequently building about 35 Villagers and moving groups of workers all over the place on the map. I'd often delay advancing from the Stone to the Tool Age until the enemy came running into my (deserted) town with Tool units (usually archers). At this point the enemy had wasted vast amounts of resources to build a Tool-Age army, but simply couldn't find your Villagers (and if he did find them, he'd just find a few because the rest were scattered all over the map). The next step was to advance to the Bronze Age (or "to Bronze") as quickly as possible. Once in Bronze, you could make Cavalry units (which slice through Tool-Age units like a hot knife though butter). Since the enemy had spent so much of his resources to develop his (now obsolete) army, he would be a long ways away from Bronzing and would have no hope of competing with your Bronze troops. Due to the lack of forums to discuss strategies and the fact that there were very few groups of people that shared information (since the game was still new), people continued to Tool Rush for quite a while. You could be certain that in 95 percent of the games you played the enemy would Tool Rush you. Eventually (perhaps in December of '97 and January of '98) the masses started learning how to use the "spread out and build" strategy. At this point only the less-skilled players would attempt a Tool Rush. It was clearly determined that Bronze troops were so much more powerful than Tool troops, it made little sense to make any Tool-Age military units at all. Phase 3: The Bronze Rush Once everyone started to spread out and build, the threat of facing a Tool Rush diminished. Again, the thought leaders in the AoE community had to develop a new strategy to beat their old strategy-that of spreading out and creating an enormous economy. It was soon learned that the faster you Bronzed, the faster you could make units that were highly effective for killing Villagers. Suddenly people started focusing on the importance of Bronzing quickly. Everybody strove to develop strategies to Bronze quickly, and those that were fastest wore their "Bronze times" like crowns. The most common civilizations played were Assyria and Yamato (with a sprinkling of Shang). We had now entered the day of the Bronze Rush. At first the very best Bronze times hovered around 16 minutes. Elite players could get Bronze times in the low 15's, but rarely did anyone get a sub-15 minute Bronze time. The game was all about speed. How many Villagers could you make to get you to Bronze faster than your enemy? What Bronze units were the most effective in the early Bronze Age? It was determined that about 18-24 Villagers were optimal to get the fastest possible Bronze times, and that Yamato (with its fast Villagers and cheap Cavalry) was the strongest civilization. Phase 3a: A Revolutionary Discovery It was learned that farming for food was much less efficient than foraging for berries or hunting. People stopped making farms in the Tool Age and started focusing on natural food. Bronze times across the board dropped about a minute with this revolutionary discovery. Now we were seeing the best Bronze times hovering close to 14 minutes. The game was still all about speed. Some players were using Assyria to counter Yamato, having discovered that if they could survive the first five minutes or so in the Bronze Age, hordes of Chariot Archers would dominate hordes of Cavalry. Yamato players understood the techniques of Assyria, and pressed even further to get fast Bronze times. Since Assyria needs to research the Wheel upon arriving at the Bronze Age before making Chariot Archers, Cavalry had to strike quickly to take advantage of Assyria's weakness. Phase 3b: Another Breakthrough! Soon another breakthrough made its way into the game. People discovered that the much-overlooked method of gathering food by shore fishing was extremely fast-about twice as fast as foraging for food. Once people discovered and started taking advantage of this fact, Bronze times dropped again. We were now seeing the best players Bronze at about 13 minutes in a good game. Phase 3c: Digging In The next major development in gameplay was actually a result of the crafty Assyrian players that needed to buy a few extra minutes for their Chariot Archers to develop. It's an interesting phenomena that one Cavalry beats one Chariot Archer, and that two Cavalry beat two Chariot Archers, but that twenty Chariot Archers often beat twenty Cavalry. In order to buy a little time, the Assyrian players began experimenting with various walling techniques. It wasn't long before Yamato players found their Cavalry running smack into walls all over the place (often with a few archers or priests behind the walls). By the time the offensive Yamato players could build a dock and a Transport to get around the walls or a Stone thrower to chew through the walls, the Assyrian had gone offensive and was picking off Yamato Villagers with his highly effective Villager-killing Assyrian Chariot Archers. Happiness in AoE is directly proportional to the length, breadth, and thickness of your walls -Celestial_Dawn (taken from http://www.ns.net/~thump/quotes.htm) With little variation, this has been the state of the game strategy for the last six months or so. More and more people abandoned Yamato to join the Assyrian throngs, and many people were forced to learn how to wall effectively in order to combat both Assyrian and Yamato speed-Bronzers. People perfected and polished Bronze rushing techniques until now we see Bronze times approaching 11 minutes (in best-case scenarios). Even "just average" players can reach Bronze in under 15 minutes. This is the mindset of the masses right now (August, '98). In a typical one-on -one game you'll find that 70 percent of your opponents will select Assyria. About 15-20 percent will select Yamato. You'll see a few Sumerian and Phoenician players, too, with a smattering of Shang (not much, though). Other civilizations are pretty rarely found. The strategy that is "en vogue" right now is the generic rush to Bronze (with little or no Tool military efforts). When playing an unknown opponent in a one-on-one game, you can be pretty safe assuming that he'll be rushing directly to Bronze. Phases 4 & 5: Villager Boom and Return of the Tool Rush Once again, key AoE strategists have been working to devise ways to beat the typical "Bronze Rush". Two different techniques have evolved (both highly uncommon among "the masses" at this point). Both have been implemented in parallel and are effective at beating the Bronze Rush. The first is a technique known as Villager Booming (or a Power up strategy). In a nutshell, the plan here is to play a defensive game while building a huge economy. If your enemy doesn't hit you hard at precisely the right moment, you'll both be in the Bronze Age and you'll have an economy that just won't quit. I won't go into extensive detail about this strategy, but suffice it to say that if you have twice as many workers as your opponent in the Bronze Age you have a decisive advantage. From this point you can either overwhelm the enemy with Bronze units or advance quickly to the Iron Age and attack with superior units. If you opt for the Iron Hop (proceeding directly to Iron Age), A well-executed Villager Boom will allow you to Iron in around 17 minutes. In my opinion, Villager Booming is an extremely effective strategy that will replace Bronze Rushing among the general population within the next three months or so (and grow exponentially as the Age of Empires Expansion Pack-Rise of Rome-becomes popular). The other strategy used to counter the Bronze Rush is a group of refined techniques that revolve around the Tool Rush (from phase 1). These tactics will be the focus of this article. Since Tool Rushing essentially became obsolete when people began to employ spreading out strategies, people stopped worrying about them. People were realizing the futility of Tool Rushing because the enemy usually spread out Villagers all over the map and it was extremely difficult to hunt them down with Tool-Aged troops. With time, however, spreading out made way for Bronze Rushing. When people began to focus their efforts on efficiently Bronzing quickly, they did everything they could to reduce the distances their Villagers had to walk to get work done. The result was that large, sprawling economies (that were spread out) started becoming more and more compact. Spreading out was what allowed people to defeat the Tool Rush, but Bronze Rushing beat spreading out. So, to sum it up: Tool Rushing became less of a threat, so people didn't spread out as much (no need to), which opened the door for Tool Rushing again. The nice, compact economies of the Bronze Rushers were ripe for destruction by a solid Tool Rush. ============================== = Importance of the Tool Age = ============================== As I mentioned earlier, everybody has to pass through the Tool Age (if you're playing in a default settings game). During the Stone Age you learn about your surrounding environment. The layout of the map is crucial because good players gain key input from the map that will enable them to decide which strategy to employ. Attacks during the Stone Age, however, are usually futile. The only Stone Age attack that has any merit (in a very few limited situations) is a Villager Rush. A Villager Rush involves charging towards the enemy with a group of from 12-16 Villagers en masse and teaming up on his Villagers to kill them. In the Tool Age, however, you can develop a formidable attack (especially if the enemy is unprepared for it). The majority of the AoE multiplayer gamers today sprint through the Tool Age. The Tool Age, however, is where several important strategies develop. During the Stone Age you should form a high-level game plan. During the Tool Age you should begin to solidify that plan. It is important to develop a high-level game plan in the Stone Age because you must decide how many Villagers to create before hitting the "Tool" upgrade at your Town Center. Tooling with 16 Villagers gives you different advantages (and disadvantages) than tooling with, say, 24 Villagers. Decide what strategy you're going to use during the game in Stone, then implement in Tool. ================= = Pass or Play? = ================= You need to decide early in the game where and when you want to fight your opponent. It almost always makes more sense to fight the enemy in HIS town, so that you can cripple his economy by killing his Villagers. The question is when will you attack? Will you attack in the Tool Age (play) or sprint through it to attack in the Bronze/Iron Age (pass)? A pass or play decision should be made in the Stone Age and based upon a few key pieces of information, including: Is your spot defensible? Can you wall in easily? (lends itself to a pass strategy). Do you have access to a lot of resources (primarily food)? Qualify that food... if you have access to lots of shore fish (which is considered "fast food"), you can be assured a quick Tool and, if you want it, a quick Bronze. (could be used for either a pass or a play strategy). What civilization are you using? What civilization is your enemy using? If you are using a civ. that is strong in the Tool Age (and/or a civ. that can Tool quickly), and your opponent is using a civ. that is particularly strong in the Bronze or Iron Age, a play strategy makes sense. Hit the enemy before they arrive to a point in the game where they can take advantage of their strengths. Have you located your enemy? How defensible is his position? If the enemy can wall easily you may want to attack before he can build walls (play). What else is the enemy doing? Does the enemy have a stronger economy than you? (defined by the number of Villagers he has) If he has, say 24 Villagers and you Tooled with 16, you darn well better hit him fast (play) before he has a chance to use that overpowering economy against you in the Bronze Age. In any case, you need to decide whether it makes more sense to pass though the Tool Age with little or no conflict or to play (to give battle during the Tool Age). This decision should be made in the Stone Age. After you've started the Tool upgrade, you can't make more Villagers (boats, maybe. Villagers no.) ====================== = Dominant Timerames = ====================== A Dominant Timeframe is a time in which a particular civilization (and its available units and resources) make it more powerful than other civilizations. Obviously, different civilizations have different Dominant Timeframes. The primary factor that contributes to a civilization's Dominant Timeframe is access to military units that are more powerful than the enemy's military units. For reference, see the graphic on the next page. The X-axis represents time. The Age is represented along the top of the X-axis and the units that tend to dominate during that period are represented along the bottom of the X-axis. The Y-axis is the scale of "overall power" on a scale from 1-20. Let me walk through an example of a Dominant Timeframe. In the early Bronze Age, Cavalry dominate the battlefield. This results primarily from the fact that there are no upgrades needed once you reach the Bronze Age before you can make Cavalry units. Cavalry have the speed to allow them to outrun all other Bronze Age units except Chariot Archers and Chariots. Additionally, small groups of Cavalry beat small groups of Chariot Archers and Chariots in battle. You must not only research the wheel before you can make Chariot Archers, but you must also gather a pretty good sized group of them (maybe about a dozen) before they can deal with groups of Cavalry. Therefore, any civilization that can get cavalry units before the enemy can get something to defend against them (or something equally powerful to attack you with) has a Dominant Timeframe, to some extent, in early Bronze. Yamato's fast Villagers allow it to get to the Bronze Age faster than most other civilizations. Yamato can also produce Cavalry at a cheaper cost than other civilizations. Therefore (logically), Yamato has a Dominant Timeframe in early Bronze. Shang's cheap Villagers allow it to progress to the Bronze Age faster than any other civilization. Shang also gets Cavalry, but they're not at a discount (like Yamato's). Shang's ability to Bronze quickly also gives it a Dominant Timeframe in early Bronze relevant to many other civilizations. Later in the Bronze Age ranged units (Composite Bowman and Chariot Archers) become more powerful (because you have the time needed to get them en masse. Civilizations with bonuses and advantages for these units (such as Assyria, Hittite, and Minoa) enter a Dominant Timeframe in late Bronze. Again, another factor that allows a Dominant Timeframe is the ability to obtain powerful units cheaper than other civilizations. Phoenicia with its woodcutting bonus essentially gets Chariot Archers at a discount. Therefore, since Chariot Archers are powerful in the late Bronze Age, Phoenicia enters Dominant Timeframe relative to many other civilizations in late Bronze. Take a look at the graph of Dominant Timeframes on the following page (it may be tough to interpret if you print it in black and white. Check out http://www.nsnet.com/~thump/power.jpg to see it in your browser). You can use this graph as a rough guideline to help devise a game strategy. Decide which civilization you'll be using and note which civilization your opponent is using. Look at the lines representing the power of the two civilizations over time. If I'm Shang and my opponent is Babylonian, I have a distinct advantage in the early stages of the game. Notice that Shang is particularly strong in the Tool Age and early Bronze Age, but becomes much weaker in the later stages of the Iron Age. My strategy should be to try to take advantage of this Dominant Timeframe and attack my Babylonian buddy before he can build solid defenses. On the other hand, what do you think the Babylonian's strategy should be? The Babylonian should immediately be thinking about a way to defend in the early stages of the game (perhaps lots of walls and towers). The Babylonian wants to buy time to advance to his Dominant Timeframe relative to Shang, which occurs during the late Iron Age. ================ = Tool Options = ================ Now that I've explained the evolution of AoE strategy and the importance of Dominant Timeframes, I will describe the different options available to you in the Tool Age. It is essential to understand these two concepts because they allow you to make intelligent guesses about what to expect from your enemy and because they allow you to select an appropriate civilization for your planned strategy. For the purposes of this discussion, I intend to focus on Tool Age attacks (and skim over Tool openings that are primarily designed to set the stage for attacks in Bronze). The following is a list of potential game strategies and potential platforms for game strategies as they relate to the Tool Age: 1. Boom (move to bronze) 2. Pass (move to bronze) 3. Probe to Play (move to bronze) 4. Push (option) 5. Rush (attack) 6. Blitz (attack) In nearly every game (during the Stone Age) a good player will decide which of these strategies to use. A key component in determining which strategy to use is your civilization selection and which units you plan to use. I'll now review the best Tool Rushing civilizations and units. Then I'll talk about recipes for success in RTS gaming. After that I'll outline a generic start, which will describe what to do with your first five Villagers. This start will essentially be the same in all games, regardless of which strategy you're using. Next I'll briefly highlight the key points of the Boom, the Pass, and the Probe to Play (none of these strategies involve a serious Tool attack). Then I'll discuss with some degree of depth the Tool Push, the Tool Rush, and the little-known Tool Blitz. ============================= = Which Civilization To Use = ============================= If Yamato Villagers moved at +75% speed and could build flying fortresses of Spam, it really wouldn't matter to me as long as there were at least 8-10 civilizations that were equal in playability. -FallOfRome (taken from http://www.ns.net/~thump/quotes.htm) Several civilizations work well for Tool-Rushing strategies, but the best include the traditional "Fast Four": Shang, Assyria, Yamato, and Phoenicia. Shang Shang is my personal favorite civilization. Shang's real strength rests in its versatility. Shang can build every Bronze-Age unit, has cheap Villagers (35 food instead of 50), has double-strength walls, and has great Priests. The cheap Villagers result in less food being used at the start of the game- allowing you to move to Tool and Bronze Age more quickly than any of the other civilizations. This ability to Tool quickly make Shang's Tool Rushes among the most deadly in the game. Shang Tool Rushes best with food-based units (Scouts and/or Axers). Assyria Assyria boasts fast Villagers (which make it much easier to locate the enemy and aid in escaping cranky wildlife) and the Rate of Fire (ROF) bonus for the Tool-Age Bowman. In groups, Assyrian Bowmen are extremely tough. Bowmen are much cheaper to make than Scouts, are very effective Villager killers, and only require one upgrade to make them effective (the +2 Leather Archer Armor upgrade). The disadvantage with Bowmen is that Villagers can evade them and relocate elsewhere (especially Yamato or Assyrian Villagers with their speed bonus). Yamato Yamato has fast Villagers (as with Assyria, this speed facilitates finding the enemy and avoiding lions) and cheaper Scouts (75 food each instead of 100 food). This discount results in a net savings of 25 food per Scout. However, you get a savings of 15 food per Villager if you're using Shang and you will likely be making a lot more Villagers than you will Scouts. For this reason I consider Yamato the weakest Tool Rusher of the "Fast Four". Phoenicia Phoenicia's woodcutting bonus means that you'll have to allocate fewer Villagers to the collection of wood to get the lumber for the buildings you need. Phoenician Villagers do more than their share of work; you essentially have extra Villagers. Phoenicia is a good civilization to use if you're planning on attacking with Tool Bowmen (converting the woodcutting bonus into savings on both buildings and military units). ========================== = Analysis of Tool Units = ========================== The Tool-Age military units available include the Clubman (or "Clubber"), the Axeman ("Axer"-an upgraded Clubber), the Bowman, the Scout, the Scout Ship, and the Tower. I'll now evaluate each of these units: Clubman/Axeman These units are made at your barracks and are very cheap. Since you have to make a barracks anyway, it often makes sense to attack with Clubbers or Axers. They are great at killing Villagers, but can be easily outrun and have a very small Line of Sight (LOS), making it difficult to locate Villagers that have escaped. Clubbers and Axers excel in destroying buildings, and are great for "cleaning up" a city in the Tool Age. If you use this unit to kill Villagers, you definitely need the defensive upgrade (Leather Infantry Armor). The offensive upgrade (Toolworking) is only important if you're fighting Villagers, as a Clubber will destroy a building just as fast with or without the offensive upgrade (Toolworking). Bowman Because of their range, Bowmen are extremely effective Villager killers. Bowmen require a single defensive upgrade (Leather Archer Armor) to be ready for Tool-Aged combat. Also, Bowmen are extremely low-maintenance units; they will fire upon all enemy Villagers within their range until none are left. Consequently, Bowmen are one of the most common Tool Rush units. The biggest weakness of Bowmen is their slow speed (meaning Villagers can escape from them) and their limited LOS relative to the Scout. Scout Scouts are my weapon of choice in the Tool Age. Scouts have a larger LOS and are faster than any other Tool-Aged unit. This means that you'll be able to get from your military building to the enemy quicker, you'll be able to chase down fleeing Villagers, and you'll be able to find hiding Villagers. Although Scouts can beat Bowmen in a one-on-one, groups of Bowmen destroy groups of Scouts. Scouts also lose handily to Axers. Scouts should use their speed to avoid fighting other Tool-Aged military units, focusing on killing Villagers. Since Scouts don't attack willingly, they are extremely high-maintenance units. You must instruct your Scouts to attack each unit individually or they'll just stand there and... well... scout! If you make Scouts, you should probably get both Tool Working and Leather Cavalry Armor. Scout Ships Scout Ships are extremely powerful for their cost. Since you cannot usually target enemy Villagers with them, though, they're usually useless in a Tool Rush (but may be necessary if the enemy is dock fishing). Towers Towers are tough to destroy in the Tool Age and are great for defending an area. They usually don't work very well, though, for Tool Rushes because of the fact that Towers are stationary; the enemy Villagers can simply run away. A few strategies exist for Choson or Babylonian Tower Rushing, but against equally skilled opponents they will most likely fail. Mixed Units Most Tool attacks are relatively homogeneous. You usually don't have the resources to build more than one type of unit (with the necessary upgrades). However, if you attack with either Clubbers/Axers or Bowmen, it often makes sense to follow up with Scouts to ensure that the enemy hasn't escaped with a small group of Villagers. A Note on Walls If you find yourself in a situation where you're fighting an extended Tool-Age battle or your opponent makes it to the Bronze Age, it is extremely important to protect your Villagers. The fastest and easiest way to do this is to build walls. Once you've made the decision to wall and spent food for the upgrade, immediately move SEVERAL Villagers to the areas you wish to wall. Never use just one Villager to wall a large area if there is a threat of enemy invasion. If you wall 14 tiles out of 15, you might as well not have spent the time and resources because only a completed wall will keep out the enemy military units. Take a break from production, use many Villagers, and do it right. ======================= = Recipes For Success = ======================= Show me a guaranteed formula for success in Age of Empires and I'll show you someone that has yet to fully grasp the game. -ThumP Some RTS games have little variety and are conducive to static strategies and techniques that work every time with the exact same results. These games can give you a recipe, or formula to use (use workers number 1 and 2 to gather gold, worker number 3 chops wood, build a barracks with worker number 7...). These patterns have been mathematically proven to give optimal results and there is no flexibility. Age of Empires is not one of those games. The concept of random maps has revolutionized RTS gaming, and now players must be able to keep an eye on their resources and gather what they need instead of relying on memorized patterns. A "recipe for success" simply doesn't exist for Age of Empires. The reason you can't use the same recipe every time is that the game doesn't give you the same ingredients every time you play. You may have a great recipe for chocolate cake, but when you're asked to make it without flour you'll quickly learn the importance of diversity. It is this diversity that makes Age of Empires a great game. People can give general guidelines for what to do when, but true experts watch their resources and rely on instinct to tell them how to allocate their resource gatherers. "What do I do with Villager number nine?" Well, what are your objectives? Do you need more food or do you need more wood to meet your objectives? Obviously, if you need more food, assign the Villager to collect food and if you need more wood, assign the Villager to collect wood. The ability to create a high-level plan, understand what it will take (in terms of resources) to achieve that plan, and then to execute that plan in real time is essential to succeeding at a real-time strategy game such as Age of Empires. On that note, I'll provide high-level guidelines for the different Tool strategies. However, I expect that you will be able to improvise where appropriate to meet the objectives. ================= = Generic Start = ================= Your primary objective at the beginning of the game is to locate food. Your civilization is hungry, and before you worry about killing the bad guys you must worry about the good guys starving to death. You want to continuously produce Villagers without ever having to wait for more food or more houses. Always continue to make Villagers; never allow yourself to be distracted by less important tasks. -Rick Goodman (Creator/Lead Designer of Age of Empires) When the game starts in a multiplayer game, your mouse cursor will not move for a few seconds (it's waiting for everyone to get in synch). At this point all you can do is notice your immediate surroundings. Can you see any berries? If so, this is good. Can you see water? If so, this is good (if you can see fish in the water near the shore, which is VERY good). Are there any trees very close to your TC? These are called "straggler trees" and are very important. The more straggler trees you have, the better. During the first few seconds (while you're waiting for the game to start), quickly move your mouse back and forth so that you'll immediately be aware when things start (your cursor won't move until the game is ready for you to start playing). As soon as you gain control of your mouse, hit "H" on your keyboard (which is the hotkey to bring you to your TC), then "C" (which is the hotkey at your TC to build a new Villager). As soon as you've done this, grab two of your Villagers and have them build a house (hit "B" then "E"). Build the house somewhere within the area you can see. If you build it at the very edge of your field of vision, you may knock down a tree (if you build a house on top of a tree, it deletes it... and your "straggler trees" are very important for a good start). You usually start somewhere near the edge of the screen. It's best to grab the two Villagers nearest the inside of the map to build the house. Once you've started building the house, grab the third Villager (he should be the one that was originally located the closest to the edge of the map) and use waypoints to send him to the edge of the map (behind your TC) away from the TC. On many maps you'll find a band of water along the outside of the map. This first scouting Villager is looking for that water. Water is good because it's where you'll find shore fish. Fishing from the shore is the fastest way that your Villagers can get food. Now is a good time to quickly hit "F11" and "F4" (F11 shows you the time elapsed and F4 shows you the player's scores). All this should take about 5 seconds or less. About the time you finish this, your house should be about halfway completed. Grab one of the builders and have him start exploring. It's usually a good idea to have all of your Villagers explore in the same circular direction (either clockwise or counterclockwise). As soon as this Villager starts moving, the builder will probably finish the house. Send him exploring, too. As soon as he moves, your fourth Villager should be completed at your TC. Immediately hit "HC" (which jumps you to the TC and begins production of the next Villager). This is a good time to grab all of your Villagers with one big mouse click and assign them to a group (using Ctrl-1, for example). Now send the newborn Villager exploring. If there's a coastline, send him along the coast in the opposite direction of the first explorer. Here's what you're looking for (in order of importance): * Shore fish (at least 2 within a few tiles of a single storage pit) * Berry patches * Elephants * Gazelle You should almost always end up with either shore fish or berries. If you find two or more shore fish near each other with a forest near that (and/or elephants, gazelle, gold, or stone), you're off to a terrific start. Build a Storage Pit (from now on I'll just call this a "Pit") right on the shore near the shore fish. Bring all of your Villagers over to help build the Pit (using your group to grab all of them) and get a few of them started fishing. When Villager #5 is born, hit "HC" and bring him over to help with food. The only exception here is if you're using Shang. If you're using Shang and you find shore fish quickly, you can use one of your initial 4-5 Villagers to continue scouting (he doesn't need to help with food production). With Shang you can also use fewer Villagers for food gathering and more for wood, right from the beginning. If you don't have any shore fish, find your berries. It is very important to scout the area around your berries. Never build your granary right next to the first berry bush you see. When you find a berry patch, walk your Villager completely past it so that he's standing on the other side of the patch. You need to do this for two reasons: 1) you want to find the optimal place to build your granary (that will allow the best access to the most number of bushes), and 2) sometimes there is another berry patch not too far away. If there is another berry patch on the far side of the first one, you can often build a granary right in between the two patches, which will give you access to 1800- 2100 food at a single granary (instead of 1050). This is a very, very good thing, and if you don't explore around your berries you may waste the advantage. We've all been screwed by lousy starting positions; it's important to learn to take advantage of good ones, too! ======== = Boom = ======== Booming (Villager Booming or Powering Up) is a strategy that does NOT utilize a Tool-Aged attack, and starts off as a highly defensive strategy (later becoming highly offensive). If you have a large area surrounded by trees that can be easily walled that also has access to lots of fish (for dock fishing) and where gold can be walled in, it sometimes makes sense to Villager Boom. A Villager Boom strategy has the following objectives: - To make a lot of Villagers before Tooling (probably at least 24) - To continue making boats from docks during the Tool upgrade - To spread out your production and make walls quickly in the Tool Age to slow the enemy from infiltrating with his Bronze Army - To make more Villagers and boats once you have arrived to the Tool Age - To absorb and deflect the attack of your opponent (who will likely arrive in Bronze before you) - To hit Bronze a few minutes slower than normal, but with about 40 Villagers/ boats (instead of 20-24). You will know if your enemy is attempting to use a Villager Boom strategy because he will probably Tool with at least 24 Villagers, he'll usually hit the Tool Age pretty slow, and his Villager count will skyrocket as he begins to mass produce fishing boats. Villager Booming is most effective on maps with lots of water (either island maps or Coastal) and works particularly well with Shang, Phoenician, or Minoan. The best way to defeat this strategy is to either Tool Rush or Tool Blitz the enemy or to hit very fast in the Bronze Age (either finding a way through or getting around enemy walls somehow). You do not want to wait to attack someone who is Villager Booming because it won't be long before they'll be able to convert their massive economy into impenetrable defenses and unstoppable offenses. ======== = Pass = ======== Passing basically boils down to slamming through the Tool Age as fast as you can; it is a highly offensive strategy. When you use this strategy, little or no thought is usually given to walling or defending. The battle is expected to take place on the enemy's soil. A Pass is what you do during the Tool Age to enable you to get to the Bronze Age quickly. This is the ultimate Bronze Rush, where you spend no resources on upgrades, extra buildings, Villagers, or units in Tool. Generally this is done by Tooling with anywhere from 20-24 Villagers. The goal is to reach the Tool Age with a barracks completed, about 700 food, and 300 wood. Use at least 3-4 Villagers each to build two Tool-Aged buildings simultaneously (archery, stable, or market). While these buildings are being constructed, your remaining villagers should collect the extra 100 food to put you just above 800 food just as your two buildings finish construction. In a perfectly executed Pass strategy, you'll have zero food and zero wood after clicking the "Bronze" upgrade at your TC. The best Pass strategies enable Bronze rushes where people arrive at the Bronze Age in less than 11 minutes. As a general rule of thumb, any Bronze time under about 13 minutes isn't bad, though. You can recognize that your opponent is going for a Pass strategy in Tool when he doesn't make any additional Villagers in the Tool, his exploration isn't very high, and he only has one technology researched (the technology you get for reaching the Tool Age). If you research "The Wall", for example, and you have more technologies than your enemy does, odds are he's going straight for Bronze. The best way to defeat someone who is using the Pass strategy to Bronze Rush is to either 1) Tool Rush/Blitz or 2) wall your production and Boom. Of course, you can't wait for the signs of a Bronze Rush to decide to use a Blitz strategy (it'll be too late to use that strategy once you see the signs of a Bronze Rush). Since a Pass involves no attack whatsoever in the Tool Age, I won't go into more detail here. ================= = Probe To Play = ================= The final Tool-Age strategy with the objective of passing through the Tool Age and attacking in the Bronze Age is the Probe to Play strategy. This strategy is very similar to the Pass strategy, but delays the Bronze time slightly to use a minor attack in the Tool Age. Sometimes this attack is made using units that are created before the Bronze upgrade has started (at the expense of Bronze time being slightly compromised). Other times the attack is made with units that are created after the Bronze upgrade has started (in exchange for a weaker offensive army directly after reaching the Bronze Age). In any case, the objective is usually to reach the Bronze Age quickly while using a minimal Tool-Aged attack to slow the enemy down. The concept of a minimal attack in Tool on your way to a relatively quick bronze is often called Resource Equalisation (notice how the word "equalization" is spelled. Celestial_Dawn, an excellent player from Australia, spelled it that way when he defined the technique.) A Probe to Play strategy is essentially offensive (with its primary objective being to arrive at Bronze shortly after your enemy but with a better economy). However; since this technique is often used by slow-civilization players (a slow civilization is any civilization except Shang, Yamato, Assyria, or Phoenicia) to buy time for their military to develop, it sometimes involves defensive elements. Attacking with a minimal force in the Tool Age buys time to wall in your resources. When used against a player that is employing a Pass strategy (rushing straight for the Bronze Age), a Probe to Play strategy can be very effective because the Tool troops attack an undefended economy. The enemy may reach the Bronze Age first, but typically the disruption in economy caused by the early attack leaves him unable to launch a strong attack immediately in the Bronze Age. Additionally, the Probe to Play strategy gives you a "probing view" of the enemy's town layout. By sending a few Tool units to the enemy early, you can learn where his pockets of resources are located. This means that your Bronze troops know exactly where to attack (while your enemy's Bronze troops will still be searching for your Villagers). An advantage of a Probe to Play strategy is that it is difficult to detect. When the enemy is using this strategy, it will appear very similar to a Pass. You can usually differentiate a Probe to Play strategy from a Tool Rush by the number of Villagers its executor creates before Tooling. Typical signs of a Probe to Play strategy include: - Bronzing with somewhere between 20-24 Villagers - Researching a few technologies immediately after Tooling (especially the Wall upgrade) - An attack at about 11 minutes with Tool-Aged troops that aren't upgraded or that are very few in number Allow me to give you a quick example of a game I played recently where I saw this strategy used. Last night my enemy wandered into a group of my Villagers (who were gathering berries) with one of his Villagers. I immediately send about three Villagers to try to kill it, but since he was Assyrian and I was Shang (which has slower Villagers than Assyria) he got away. I returned my Villagers to work, but expected him to attack that spot before too long. I planned an escape route and actually moved a few more Villagers to those berries (hoping to finish gathering them and leave before the enemy attacked that spot). If my enemy had used a Pass strategy, I would have finished the berries before he could attack with Bronze units. However; soon the enemy attacked with a two Tool Bowmen (at about 11 minutes). I noticed that the Bowmen didn't have the defensive armor upgrade, and I had about 15 Villagers collecting berries there, so I attacked the Bowmen with my Villagers. I ended up losing about two or three Villagers and losing some production time. The fact that he hadn't researched armor, though, was a hint that he was probably using a Probe to Play strategy and well on his way to the Bronze Age. At about this time, I was doing the same thing to him (but with Scouts). I killed about an equal number of his Villagers with my Scouts as he did with his archers, but my Scouts survived the encounter because I retreated with them when I met heavy resistance. I had just finished the berries and was running away to the next pocket of resources when the enemy showed up at my granary with his first Chariot Archer. To sum up the rest of the battle (since I've already made my point of recognizing the signs of a Probe to Play strategy), he walled his production but I was able to make a transport and get 3 Cavalry units and a Scout behind his walls. I killed his wood production and that ended the game. ======== = Push = ======== The Push is the first strategy we've discussed that involves a potential full- scale Tool Age attack. The term Push is derived from the fact that this strategy is essentially a Probing Rush (P from Probe and ush from Rush = Push). Of the three Tool attacks (Blitz, Rush, and Push), it involves the most units and allows you a strong Tool attack, but it's the slowest. The Push is an offensive strategy that is the most versatile and unpredictable of all Tool attacks, allowing you the option of either progressing quickly to the Bronze Age or fighting a prolonged Tool battle. The objective of the Push strategy is to Tool before your opponent, attack quickly, then (based on what you find at the enemy's town) either wage a full- scale Tool-Age attack or continue to the Bronze Age. The strategy leaves you "sitting on the fence" between Tool and Bronze and delays the decision until you know what your enemy is doing. As with any Tool Rush strategy, with the Push early scouting is essential. Send one of your first Villagers (with Shang you can send one of your first three-with any other civilization you can use Villager number six or seven) to explore the map and find the enemy quickly. To implement the Push, jump as quickly as possible into the Tool Age after training 18 Villagers. This strategy doesn't involve fishing boats (but, as always, shore fishing is extremely helpful). To get a quick Tool time, gather ONLY enough wood for four houses and two tool-age buildings (most likely a granary and a storage pit). Once you have constructed two Tool buildings, ALL of your Villagers should be collecting food. In any case, for ANY Tool Rush strategy you want to find a sweet spot to build your storage pit. A sweet spot is a location that provides at least one food source located next to a forest. The very best sweet spots will have shore fish (the more the merrier) located next to a forest. Since your objective is to gather food quickly, if you have a choice of allocating Villagers to shore fish or berries, go with the shore fish first. Remember, though, that if you assign more than about two Villagers to collect each shore fish, they'll bump into each other and often one ends up standing around idle. I'm a big advocate of using Shang for any Tool Rush strategies because the "cheap Villagers" mean you'll be able to reach the Tool Age faster than any other civilization. Another benefit of using Shang is that you can use a single, standard berry patch and be able to build 18 Villagers and still have enough food to Tool. Other civilizations will need to use another food source. Once you've begun the Tool upgrade, you should have very little lumber. Now move most of your Villagers from food back to lumber. Hopefully you won't need to make another food-gathering building (this depends on how much food your storage pit accesses and whether or not you were lucky enough to have two berry patches within range of a single granary). In any case, your objectives at this point are to: 1. Locate the enemy 2. Complete a barracks before you arrive at the Tool Age (probably near your base somewhere, unless you found the enemy quickly and your Villager is idle near the enemy-then build it there) 3. Arrive at the Tool Age with no less than 350 food and 150 lumber You should hit the Tool Age somewhere between seven minutes (this assumes many, many shore fish and perfect execution) and nine minutes (any slower than this and you may be a bit late). Immediately build a Stable near the enemy and begin researching Toolworking and the Leather Cavalry Armor upgrades at your storage pit. As soon as your military building is done, start making Scouts. Quickly build another house (because you'll only have housing for two more units). It is important to use Scouts in the Push strategy because one of the key objectives of the attack is to explore the enemy territory. Don't spend your resources on building another military building unless your Scouts are doing a good job killing enemy Villagers. As soon as your first Scout is completed, make another one. With your first Scout your best bet is to kill Villagers that aren't in large groups. Once you have two or more Scouts, though, you'll do fine to attack concentrated areas of Villagers (such as the enemy lumberyard). If your Scouts are fighting a losing battle against a horde of angry Villagers, move them away. Try to entice the enemy Villagers to pursue; if they're chasing your Scout they're not working and if they're not working you're gaining ground on your opponent economically. If you encounter one or two Villagers trying to construct a building (especially a building required for the enemy to achieve the Bronze Age), do everything you can to stop them. When you hit the first builder, he will stop building and begin to run. Immediately move to the next builder and hit him. He'll stop building, too. Instead of following a single builder until it dies, keep harassing the builders. Often you can prevent the building from being completed (further delaying the enemy's progression to Bronze). If the battle is going well with your first two Scouts, continue training Scouts and consider making another military building near the enemy. Use your Scouts to sweep the area, searching for pockets of hidden Villagers. If you have three or four Scouts searching the enemy town and you can't find any more Villagers (you think you've killed them all), keep looking but stop training Scouts. Now you should start saving food to Bronze and finish your enemy in the Bronze Age. If your two Scouts encounter heavy resistance, stop training Scouts, wall your area (if possible), and move straight to the Bronze Age. With an economy of 18 Villagers you shouldn't be very far behind your opponent (especially if your Scouts have done their job and killed a few enemy Villagers). The Tool Push is a very strong strategy because it allows you to delay your pass or play decision depending on what your enemy does and how he reacts to your first, probing attack. The flexibility of the attack makes it one of the most powerful Tool attacks of the game. ======== = Rush = ======== You don't necessarily have to be fast to win, but if you are slow you will probably lose. -ThumP The generic Tool Rush, which is the foundation of Tool-Aged warfare, is fast, offensive, and powerful. The Tool Rush is very similar to the Tool Push, but it hits faster and is a more determined attack. Tooling with only 16 Villagers, a Tool Rusher will Tool in anywhere from just under seven minutes (in a perfectly executed Tool Rush with lots of shore fish) to nine minutes. Anything over about nine minutes is a little slow (and defeats the purpose). The primary objective of a Tool Rush is to attack your opponent while he's still undefended (likely while he's rushing to the Bronze Age). A Tool Rush typically involves a full-scale attack in the Tool Age. You attack relentlessly; continuing to produce military units until you kill all the enemy Villagers you can find or your attack is repelled. Even a failed Tool Rush usually wounds the enemy enough to buy you some time to move to the Bronze Age (but Bronzing is NOT a main objective of the Tool Rush). Just as with the Tool Push, switch your Villagers all to food once you have completed your first two Stone Age buildings, switch them back to wood as needed after clicking on the Tool upgrade, then distribute them among food and wood as appropriate. Obviously, if your main attack is with food-based units (Axers or Scouts), you need more (if not ALL) of your Villagers collecting food. If you're training Bowmen, keep a few Villagers chopping wood. It is usually pretty easy to recognize the symptoms of an enemy Tool Rush. If your opponent stops training Villagers near 16, Tools quickly, has a high exploration, and begins researching additional technologies immediately after Tooling, expect to be Tool Rushed. If your opponent gains the bonus for "largest military" in less than about 9 1/2 minutes, you can be even more certain that the Tool Rush is coming. The best way to defend against a Tool Rush is to NOT advance into the Bronze Age immediately. Moving into the Bronze Age while you're low in resources and under heavy attack in the Tool Age will likely lose the game for you. For a few moments you need to deal with the issue at hand-repel the rush. The first thing you should do is research either the Tower or the Wall upgrade. If your lumberjacks are in an area that is easily walled, wall off immediately. If you cannot wall, have all of your lumberjacks build a tower. Towers work very well for slowing down all Tool units except hordes of Axers. If your enemy is Tool Rushing, he is counting on Tooling before you. Watch his Villager count, and if he stops at 16, you should probably make no more than about 18-20 Villagers before Tooling. If his military units show up before you have arrived in the Tool Age, check to see if they have the defensive upgrades. If there are just a few (one or two) enemy units and they don't have the defensive upgrades, it's time for "mob warfare". Attack them with all available Villagers en masse. If the enemy units have the defensive upgrades, it's probably best to scatter and "ride it out" until you've arrived in the Tool Age (this is especially true if you're using Yamato or Assyria-with their fast Villagers). Immediately after arriving in the Tool Age build an Archery Range near your lumber. Begin making Bowmen and if the enemy is attacking with Scouts research Leather Archer Armor. Try to get a group of six to eight archers and keep them close together. This should be enough to repel any Tool- Aged attack (but it may be too late by then). One of the most classic finishes in the Tool Age is called The Kiss of Death. You can use this technique if you're attacking, you've researched the wall, you don't see any enemy Villagers or military near his TC, and your Villager near the enemy has survived. Build a wall directly around (and adjacent to) the enemy's TC. By surrounding the enemy's TC with a wall (or even the foundation of a wall that you're in the process of building), he will not be able to train any more Villagers. When he tries to train a Villager, he'll get the message Not enough room to place unit. You've now stopped him from making more Villagers. This will often end the game (hence the name Kiss of Death). In any case, your primary targets in a Tool Rush are Villagers. The classic successful Tool Rush ends with the enemy desperately trying to arrive in Bronze Age, starting the upgrade, then finally arriving in the Bronze Age without enough resources to build a single Bronze-Age unit (and no Villagers left). ========= = Blitz = ========= Tool Blitzing is the fastest (yet most dangerous) of the rushes. The highly offensive Blitz sacrifices all economy and any hope of Bronzing in exchange for pure Tool speed. It has been said that: My tool rush is always devastating, but not always to my enemy. -Malachi (taken from http://www.ns.net/~thump/quotes.htm) The Tool Blitz provides a great opportunity to kill yourself in a failed Tool- Aged attack because it is extremely risky. When a Tool Blitz is successful, though, it is one of the most beautiful achievements in the game. One reason the Blitz is loved by those who use it is because of the intense risk involved. There are few things that parallel the adrenaline rush you feel as you click on the "Tool" upgrade with a miniscule economy at just over four minutes into the game. The objective of the Blitz is to make about 12 (but no more than 14) Villagers and Tool extremely fast, often hitting your enemy with Tool units before he's even begun to upgrade to the Tool Age. The best Blitzes allow you to arrive to the Tool Age in around six minutes, but anything under about seven and a half minutes is acceptable. Due to the fact that you'll probably hit your enemy before he has enough resources (or technology) to mount any sort of a defense at all, Clubbers and Axers are great units to use in a Blitz. If you don't have a great starting spot (with shore fish near lumber), don't even think about Blitzing. You must have plenty of easily accessible food and wood AND find the enemy very quickly to make the Blitz a feasible strategy. Since you'll only be making 12 Villagers (and at least one of them will be scouting for the enemy), you need to make dramatic shifts in workload, allocating nearly everyone to food before Tooling, then wood, then food again as appropriate. With Shang you can scout for your enemy with one of your starting Villagers, but you still must find the enemy in just a few minutes (perhaps three-four minutes) or the Blitz will probably fail. Build a barracks near the enemy's town in the Stone Age and gather the wood so that you can make a 2nd military building immediately upon Tooling. In most cases, if I haven't found the enemy by the time I've completed my 10th Villager (time to build another house), I'll proceed to build the next house and NOT use the Blitz. I often use Axers in a Tool Blitz, and my first two military buildings are usually both barracks. While still in the Stone Age I'll begin making Clubbers. I can often train about three Clubbers from a single barracks before making it to the Tool Age. Always try to have extra food for upgrades when you arrive at Tool. Once you arrive at Tool, research the Leather Infantry Armor and Toolworking. Also build another Barracks and continue to train Clubbers while getting the Axer upgrade. I often hit with a group of about three or four Clubbers that will turn into fully upgraded Axers at about the same time they arrive in the enemy town. There are various tactics and techniques that work well at this point. My favorite is to send one or two of my first Axers to the enemy's berry patch and the rest to his lumberyard. Keep making Axers from both barracks, and if you can spare any extra food, continue to make Villagers, too. Don't forget to keep making houses as necessary to support the extra units. Other Tool units will also work for a Tool Blitz. If you're using Assyria or Phoenicia, build Bowmen (and get the Leather Archer Armor upgrade because you'll likely have a group of angry Villagers attacking your Bowmen). Once you've either killed all of the enemy Villagers or forced them to run away, try to follow them with a single Axer, then immediately have all the rest of your Axers start destroying buildings. If you've created a horde of Bowmen, send them all in different directions looking for enemy Villagers. Bowmen are very ineffective for destroying buildings. At this point in the game you'll often have about a dozen military units in the enemy Village. If you're using Axers, you'll be able to mow down buildings very quickly. One key target is the enemy's TC. This is because if he has no TC, he be unable to Bronze. In a well-executed Tool Blitz you can destroy the enemy's TC in under 12 minutes (and there are very few players that can Bronze in under 12 minutes while under attack). In the best-case scenario, the enemy will have just enough food to Bronze and will spend all 800 food for the Bronze upgrade. Then, just before he arrives at the Bronze Age, you'll finish destroying his TC (and he loses all the food). If you find yourself on the receiving end of a Tool Blitz, do not try to Bronze while under heavy attack. If you're in danger of losing your TC while upgrading to the next age, cancel the upgrade and you'll get food back before your TC is destroyed. Another favorite target is the Storage Pit. Without the Pit or TC the enemy won't be able to get wood, and without wood the enemy will be unable to relocate his workers. Concentrating on houses is secondary because you've usually killed enough Villagers that your opponent will not need more houses. If everything else seems to be gone, though, houses are good targets because they are quick to destroy (of course, there is no strategic reason to kill a Granary unless there is nothing left to destroy because you can, with a single Axer, prevent workers from gathering food). Soon you'll want to get a stable (especially if he escapes with a lot of Villagers). Hunt down the escapees with a Scout and use your Axer lynch mob (or Bowmen) to clean up. Be wary of bodies of water... you don't want your enemy dock fishing under any circumstances. If he's doing that, wage a scout ship war with him and/or destroy his Dock ASAP with your Axers. In a best case scenario, you arrive at Tool in under six minutes and are in the enemy town by about seven or seven and a half minutes with upgraded Axemen. Odds are he hasn't even started the Tool upgrade yet. This spells big trouble for your opponent. It is very easy to detect a Tool Blitz because the enemy will stop training Villagers at around 12 or so and will Tool extremely quickly. Defending against a good Blitz is very difficult (even if you know it's coming). The best solution is to gather lots of wood and have at least 120 wood before your enemy attacks. Once the attack rolls into your town, scatter your Villagers and find a nice, remote spot on the far side of the map to get lumber. Don't let the Axers follow you. If you've managed to Tool, research the Wall upgrade and wall in a hidden pocket of lumber production. Build a dock or two and start making boats to dock fish. If you can manage to arrive in the Bronze Age in less than about 17 minutes, you'll likely totally destroy the Blitzer; he'll likely stay in Tool and work on destroying your buildings. The shock value of the rush is amazing. Tooling with only 12 Villagers and attacking with Clubbers and Axers is such a bizarre strategy that even the best players will chuckle when they see it coming if they don't know what you're up to. I've played people that laughed in my face when they saw my first Clubbers enter their town ("Haha! Clubbers!?") It wasn't so funny, though, when the Clubbers turned into Axers and they just kept on coming. When the enemy TC is destroyed in less than 13 minutes (and he is unable to Bronze and doesn't have the wood to build another TC), it'll be your turn to laugh. One of the greatest advantages of the Blitz is that most people underestimate the damage you can do with a horde of angry Axers at the sub-10 minute mark. Since you'll often begin attacking before the enemy even begins the Tool upgrade, he'll have NO defense for quite a while. In some cases the enemy will never make it to Tool. In very few cases he'll make it to Bronze. If he makes it to Bronze with enough resources to make a Bronze-Age army, you've almost certainly lost. The Tool Blitz is an all-or-nothing, do-or-die attack. ============== = Conclusion = ============== Although most people view the Tool Age only as something that needs to be passed through to get to the Bronze Age (a necessary evil of sorts), it plays an extremely important part in an experienced player's game. If your opponent is planning to rush headlong through the Tool Age, you're liable to catch him unawares with a Tool attack. Many players are so focused on the Bronze Age that they don't watch for the signs of (much less prepare for) Tool warfare. Use this Bronze myopia to your advantage by controlling your enemy in the Tool Age. Master the first 15 minutes of the game and get a black belt in Age of Empires jiu-jitsu. Make the Tool Age your battlefield and force your enemy to fight you there. Have fun, good luck, and 'cya on the battlefield! *thump* *thump* -ThumP ================================================================================ Campaigns ================================================================================ It seems that almost all games are in one way or another trying to challenge the gamer even more. Age of Empires has something a little different in mind. Age of Empires made the campaigns to help the gamer(s) learn the basics and fundamentals of Age of Empires. As you get further in the campaigns, they naturally will get more and more difficult to complete. I have to admit that I haven't really written a Walkthrough for a game to date. This section of campaigns will allow me to get my feet wet. ********************************* Ascent of Egypt Learning Campaign ********************************* ================================================================================ Scenario: Hunting 8000 BC Objective: Create a population of 7 Villagers Starting Resources: 50 Wood 30 Food Starting Units: 1 Town Center, 1 Villager ================================================================================ As you begin this, the first level of the first campaign, you will notice that the area is all Black. In Age of Empires, the Black area represents an area that you have not explored. Sounds simple, right? Well, if you move your man in a Black area, it will appear normal, since it is now an explored area. If your man walks back, a "haze" will form. It's in between the Black and the normal color. In Age of Empires, this is commonly referred to as the "fog of war." If an enemy builds a building of some sort in the "fog of war," it will not appear until you walk close enough to the "fog of war" so it appears. This may sound a little confusing, but it's very easy to understand when you're actually playing Age of Empires. Since you only have 30 Food, you must locate some type of food source. On this level, Gazelle appear to be the primary source of food. With your Villager selected, Right-click on a nearby Gazelle. Your villager is now a hunter. He will throw spears at the Gazelle, cut meat from it, and deposit the meat in the Town Center. After two trips, you will have 50 Food saved up. Villagers require 50 Food to produce a villager. Left-click on the Town Center and select the "Make Villager" icon. You will see a progress meter appear. Once it reaches 100%, a villager will appear next to your Town Center. Select him and tell him to go after a Gazelle, just like you did with your first villager. Do this until you have a population of four. Now that you have four villagers, it's time to make a house. Select one of your four villagers, click the "build" icon, and select the "house" icon. Your villager will now build a house for your population. Once the house has been finished, return the villager to hunting for Gazelle. Since you have a house, you can now tell your Town Center to make more villagers. You can only do this one at a time. Make sure your villagers are constantly hunting food. You must maintain an amount of 50 Food to produce a villager. Once your population hits seven, you are victorious! Yahoo! You've successfully beaten the first level of the first campaign. Believe me, you've got a heck of a long way to go to finish up the campaigns. ================================================================================ Scenario: Foraging 7000 BC Objective: Build a Granary, Storage Pit, and Dock Starting Resources: Nothing Starting Units: 1 Town Center, 3 Villagers ================================================================================ Now that you've completed the most basic part of the campaign, you must learn how to forage for berries. It's more or less the same as killing a Gazelle. They've also thrown in the need to collect wood for building structures. As with the first part of the scenario, the "Black Fog" appears here. There are a few berry bushes east of your Town Center. Send one villager to collect the berries. Send another villager to chop the two or three trees that are standing near the berry bushes. As for the third guy, I took him for a little walk. I figured I should scout a medium- sized area so I know where to go and what to do next. I followed the banks of the lake south until I found an alligator. I didn't want to tangle with him, so I decided to search in another direction. I headed north, back up to the Town Center. I then headed west, along the nearby cliffs. Here I found a large grouping of trees, that would be sufficient for my Wood needs. I realized that I didn't have enough Wood to build a Storage Pit, so I headed in a different direction. Where the first small group of berry bushes lie, is a land bridge. A land bridge in Age of Empires is a shallow area in the water, usually with a bunch of rocks on the bottom, which simply goes from one island to another. I took my guy across that and came across maybe sixteen or seventeen berry bushes. This would certainly be much more than sufficient for my Food needs. By this time, I had enough Wood to build a Storage Pit. I also had enough Food to create a villager. After the villager was created, I took him, along with my "explorer" and went back to that large group of trees near the cliffs. There, I built a Storage Pit. Afterall, I needed a close place to deposit Wood. I then assigned one of the two builders to become a Lumberjack and chop down trees to collect Wood. I took my remaining guy back to the Town Center and made him build a House. Houses only require 30 Wood, and you should have this by now. By the way, you are required to build a House for every four people in your population. I also had enough Food to make a villager. I did so, and I told him to go chop Wood near the cliffs. I made another villager next. I told him to go chop down trees as well. If you haven't realized, I still had one guy doing nothing. I took him back to the shores of the lake. Remember, DON'T get too close to the alligator! I told him to make the required dock. After he was done, I told him to wander back up to the land bridge area. I took him across the water, and told him to build a Granary next to the berry bushes. Most people would have just placed the Granary near the Town Center, but at the time, I forgot that I only needed seven villagers, hehe. Create the remaining villager and you will win the level! ================================================================================ Scenario: Discoveries 6500 BC Objective: Locate 5 Discoveries before the Libyans do Starting Resources: 15 Wood 90 Food Starting Units: 1 Town Center, 1 Villager ================================================================================ With the first two levels under your belt, you are now supposed to be ready for the next part of Age of Empires, combat. I don't mean we're going to have a huge war or anything like that. However, the enemy is nearby, and has a Scout, which is much more powerful than a single villager wandering about. You will also encounter natural enemies, like alligators and lions. With the last level, you may have come across alligators, which move very slow when attacked. Well, lions are totally different. If you throw a spear at them, or get a little too close, they will run you down and attack. With lions on the territory, it is suggested that you explore for the "Discoveries" in groups, which is what I did. By the way, a "Discovery" is more or less the figure of a white horse that has been etched into the ground. To claim it, you must walk over the figure, and a little flag will pop up behind you. On with the campaign... You are lucky to be granted with 90 Food, because this is enough to make a villager, but not quite enough to make two villagers. While the Town Center was busy making my villager, I decided to do a little exploring with my starting villager. I immediately headed south, along the water. I came across some berry bushes, a herd of Gazelle, and my first Discovery. Yahoo!! One Discovery down, four more to go. My villager had been created by now. I made him collect the berries from the nearby berry bushes. Meanwhile, I decided to do a little more exploring, since you can't really see anything with everything Black. East of the Town Center is a large rock formation. These are cliffs. I walked aroung western side of the cliffs to come out on top. I didn't make it all the way, though. I saw Discovery number two, along with a lion guarding it. I quickly ran out of there, and back to safety. I decided to search the northern part of the map, and I found Discovery number three. It was surrounded by trees and Gazelle. I continued Southwest, along the map edge. I made it down to a lion, waiting for me. Oh great, another one of these darn things! I went back to camp and made another villagers. I figured that if I run into more lions, I had better have more than one guy doing the fighting. I continued South back into the area of Discovery number one. This time, I came across an alligator. I decided to kill him, since I could use the meat to make another villager. Make the fourth villager. Use the two gator hunters and the fourth villager to cut down some trees. You have 15 Wood, but you need 30 to build a House. Without a house, you can't have more than four people. Once you have 30 Wood, build a house. Continue to chop down two more trees. Once you're done with that, you will have more than enough wood for your housing needs. It wouldn't hurt to build another house now. After that's done, take your guys to the berry bushes, if any remain. If not, tell them to go after the Gazelle in the area of Discovery number one. You will need more Food if you are going to go after the remaining Discoveries and defend yourselves from the lions. Once you've collected a few hundred Food, it's time to make more villagers. Do this until you get a population of nine or ten. I took seven or eight people on the remaining exploration trip. I then left, the other two people behind to kill for food. Remember Discovery number two, with the Lion? Well, go back there to get it. I was caught off guard here. I never saw the enemy Scout. Get ready for the Scout to attack you. He will probably attack before you get to the lion, like it happened to me. You will end up having one villager banged up due to the attack. Now, go after the lion. I was lucky enough to kill the lion without ANY damage done to my group. If you notice, the enemy Town Center is right next to your location. Ignore it, because it isn't worth destroying. If you haven't claimed the Discovery, do so now. After claiming that Discovery, we continued Southeast, along the water near the enemy Town Center. Watch out for the alligator and the lion. Discovery number four is in here somewhere. My villagers accidentaly collected a small amount of meat when killing the gator and lion, so we returned to the Town Center. We dropped off what we had collected. I then looked at the mini-map, and saw a Black area. It was the location where I found that lion, along the map edge a while ago. I took the group over there, and huddled them in a tight pack, and sent them after the lion. They killed him, with no trouble at all. We continued into the corner, where we found Discovery number 5. This level is complete! ================================================================================ Scenario: Dawn of a New Age 6000 BC Objective: Advance to the Tool Age Starting Resources: Nothing Starting Units: 1 Town Center, 3 Villagers ================================================================================ The are really only two things that are new in this level. One is you are able to go fishing. That means you can use your villagers to go fishing or you can build Fishing Boats to do the fishing. Second, elephants now inhabit the land. Elephants offer quite a bit of Food for your villagers. Take two of your starting guys, and make sure they go after wood. There are quite a few trees in the area, so finding wood shouldn't really be a problem. Use your third villager to go fishing. There is a spot along shore with fish jumping from the sea. He'll spear fish. Once you have enough food to make a villager, do so. You can use the extra manpower. Have him go after more wood. You will need 100 Wood to build a Dock. Once you have the 100 Wood, have one of your villagers build a dock. Have your dock build two or three fishing boats when you have enough wood. Eventually, that villager, who was shore fishing, will run out of fish to go after. So, send him after more wood. Once you have 150 Wood or so, make a Storage Pit next to the large group of trees South of your Town Center. When I got this far, I still didn't have the required 500 Food to make the advance to the Tool Age. So, I made two houses, and a bunch of villagers. I had a group of nine villagers for a hunting party. I went South, along the water until I came across an elephant. I killed him for the food. Elephants provide a lot of food, and with nine villagers carrying a total of 90 Food each trip, the elephant will be stripped of all its meat in a minute or two. After the elephant was nothing but a pile of bones, we went searching. By the way, I had enough food to make the advance to the Tool Age. I decided that doing more hunting would give me something to do while the Town Center made the advance to the Tool Age. We searched until we came across a Lion. We killed him and started to make our way back to the Town Center to drop off our load of meat when the advance had finished, and the level was completed. By the way, there was another elephant next to the lion, which is West of your Town Center. [Note: Doing these walkthroughs is taking much longer than previously expected. There are way too many of them to do right now. I'm not sure if I'll add any more. If you need help, check out Scott Ong's Age of Empires: Rise of Rome FAQ at GameFAQs.com. His FAQ contains good walkthroughs for these campaigns.] ================================================================================ Credits ================================================================================ - Microsoft - Ensemble - Jeff "CJayC" Veasey and GameFAQs - http://www.gamefaqs.com - Scott Ong - AoE game manual and help file - Al Amaloo and Game Winners - http://www.gamewinners.com - Dave and Cheat Code Central - http://www.cheatcc.com - Xiphoid's Age of Empires Atrium - James Mecham (ThumP) for his Strategy for winning Age of Empires in the Tool Age =========================================================================== ASCII Art created using SigZag by James Dill: (freeware!) http://www.geocities.com/southbeach/marina/4942/sigzag.htm This FAQ was writen entirely using the GWD Text Editor: (shareware) http://www.gwdsoft.com/ - There are many, many text editors out there (even completely free), but this is certainly one of the absolute best editors out there. Also, be sure to support the software developer(s); they did a lot of hard work on this. =========================================================================== > This Document is Copyright 2001 Jim Chamberlin. All Rights Reserved. This guide can be FREELY distributed as long as you agree to a few things: - You do not alter this guide, leaving it in the original .txt file format - You do not charge for viewing this guide. This includes, but is not limited to websites, cds, dvds, magazines, etc. - You give me credit. - Visit GameFAQs (http://www.gamefaqs.com) on a regular basis and download any updates to the guide. Authors hate responding to questions that were answered in newer versions of the guide. ///, //// /, / >. /, _/ /. - (C)Jim Chamberlin _ /_/ /. _____ _____ __/_ >_._ / /_/ / _/_/ /_/ // /_/ / _~ / /_/ / _/_/ / /> ____/_____// ____/__//__/_____/_____/__//__/_//__/_ // ```` ======/============_/========[[email protected]]============((`======= Thanks to Revolution reader Red Phoenix!