| Age of Empires Strategy Guide for PC|
| Author: Jim Chamberlin |
| Last Time Updated: 08/04/99 |
+-------------------------------------+
Any questions, e- mail me at: jjchamber4@aol.com
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Table of Contents
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I. Introduction
II. Game Modes
III. The Villagers
IV. The Resources
V. The Technologies
VI. War!
VII. Creating Your Own Scenarios
VIII. Assyrians
IX. Babylonians
X. Chosens
XI. Egyptians
XII. Greeks ***** Still Under Construction *****
XIII. Hittites ***** Still Under Construction *****
XIV. Minoans
XV. Persians ***** Still Under Construction *****
XVI. Phoenicians
XVII. Shangs ***** Still Under Construction *****
XVIII. Sumerians
XIX. Yamato
XX. The Buildings
XXI. The Units ***** Still Under Construction *****
XXII. Extra Stuff ***** Still Under Construction *****
XXIII. Credits
XXIV. Farewell!
======================================
I. Introduction
======================================
It isn't totally impossible to make a walkthrough for Age of Empires.
First, you would have to list all contingencies within the game.
This, along with all the other things you'd have to mention, if you
were writing a walkthrough for Silent Hill (PSX), for example, would
take a lot of time. Perhaps I'll attempt to do it when I get really,
really bored. However, I'm not at that stage, yet. Anyway, this is a
general strategy guide for a remarkable game for its type. Any
questions or additions, e- mail me at: jjchamber4@aol.com.
======================================
II. 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.
======================================
III. 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, Gazelles,
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.
======================================
IV. 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.
=======================================
V. The Technologies
=======================================
_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 th espread 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.
=====================================
VI. 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!!
=====================================
VII. Creating Your Own Scenarios
=====================================
What exactly could I say in this section? Well, be creative. Try not
to cheat your opponents too badly. For example, don't build a
fortification surrounding your opponents, so they can't even move.
Try to build some scenarios which are simple, just like the scenarios
already within the game. But the point is to be creative! If you
would like to learn more on this subject, check out the manual. I
don't really feel like writing too much in this section, since it's
pretty self- explainable.
=====================================
VIII. 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.
=====================================
IX. 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.
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.
=====================================
XI. 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 adundance 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.
=====================================
XII. Greeks
=====================================
Under Construction
=====================================
XIII. Hittites
=====================================
Under Construction
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XIV. 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.
=====================================
XV. Persians
=====================================
Under Construction
=====================================
XVI. 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.
=====================================
XVII. Shangs
=====================================
Under Construction
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XVIII. 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.
=====================================
XIX. 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.
=====================================
XX. The Buildings
=====================================
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 plants 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 Pyramide, 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.
=====================================
XXI. The Units
=====================================
Under Construction
=====================================
XXII. Extra Stuff
=====================================
_Cheats_
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
I hope you enjoyed the guide. If not, I got two words for 'ya, S*CK
IT!! This guide is Copyright 1999 Jim Chamberlin. You can't
copyright facts, only style. If you would like me to include something
else in the guide, then e- mail me at the address at the beginning of
the guide. Make sure you just didn't overlook it and missed it. Also
there will also be a file for each of the groups, which will have
information about which technologies they have and which ones they
lack. Until Next Time...
