I finally enter the Middle Ages in 430 AD.
That annoying Zulu city is gone in 440 AD. There is another reason I wanted the GA at this point. Snagging a 6-culture point wonder before 750 AD greatly increase my odds of having the most cultured city.
I finally give Spain the gift of wines in 580 AD. They took forever to build a harbor. Russia can be done at the same time with a very scary trade route. One ship in the wrong place and my rep will be trashed.
The GA push really did its job with culture, as the capitol is #1 for the moment along with worldwide culture.
Despite a riot in the capitol the wonder parade continues. I got it before 750 AD, and I won't argue with some free military units.
This was the war I really didn't want to see. It lasted until 1300 AD, when they finally signed peace. Egypt definitely came out the worse in the war. Civ3 just doesn't give you much in the way to help another civ outside of declare war on their enemy. That wasn't a viable option within the variant rules. I didn't need Spain too annoyed with us.
What is crazy is how long I milked the Great Library.
I build it in 520 AD with already having 4 MA techs. It lasted until 1010 AD. This actually worked out well for me at the push for libraries, and churches left my civ barely afloat. I really appreciated the time to catch up on marketplaces and aqueducts. At one point I was barely cash even at 0% science.
Things heat up when the Zulu demand our precious wines. I have no desire to help them out, as they are the only civ that could kill off the Byzantines. They are also the stronger civ for tech somehow, and that doesn't work well with the bonus points for certain wonders. 1050 AD marks the beginning of a second war with them. The war ends in 1170 AD after I razed one of their cities. To bad for the Zulu that the human player knows how to work with stacks of galleys and ship units over. The crusaders did punish the Zulus for thinking of stealing from us. I was very happy when the Byzantines replaced the city.
The Royal Palace is pretty much set for the top city. This also works great with my push for Churches to get the cultural leader points.
