Contents


Overview


About Age of Empires
	About Age of Empires Sheets of ice up to three miles high covered much of the Earth’s northern hemisphere during the last Ice Age. Our human ancestors persevered in the harsh Ice Age environment by developing new technologies and survival strategies at unprecedented rates. When climate changes melted and removed the ice 12,000 years ago, humans were uniquely suited to take advantage of the new worlds that were beckoning. During the next 5,000 years, an insignificant span in terms of geological time, humans expanded to become the dominant species on Earth. Human populations exploded because new technologies for hunting and food gathering put all other species at a disadvantage. Within 3,000 more years, humans had established the first great civilizations on Earth. The theme of Age of Empires is the rise of the first great civilizations over the 10,000 years that followed the last Ice Age. You are the guiding spirit of a tribe that predates one of the great cultures of antiquity. Your goal is to build your tribe into a mighty civilization that can vie for world (game) dominance (victory). You begin the game in the Stone Age with a small tribe of men on an unexplored map. As you move your tribesmen over the map, you reveal different terrain types and locate sources of food, wood, stone, and gold, which villagers gather by hunting, fishing, foraging, farming, chopping trees, and mining stone and gold. You must gather enough resources and build enough housing to support your growing civilization. Constructing buildings lets you train military units and boats to defend your civilization or attack enemy civilizations on land or at sea. Constructing buildings also lets you research technologies that benefit your civilization, such as increasing the resources you can gather or the strength of your military units. As you advance through the ages, you can build new buildings, create new boats and military units, and research new technology. You can establish alliances with other civilizations, exchange tribute, and establish trade routes. Other civilizations are controlled by human or computer players. The winner of a game is determined by the victory conditions of the scenario. You can play a variety of predesigned single player campaigns, as well as single player or multiplayer random maps or scenarios. Or you can use the scenario builder to create your own custom scenarios.


Getting started
	Getting started Learning to play The best way to learn the basics of Age of Empires is to play the Rise of Egypt learning campaign provided with the game. You’ll learn how to hunt, build a stockpile of resources, construct buildings, and engage in combat. To play the learning campaign 1 On the Age of Empires menu, click Single Player. 2 Click Campaign. 3 Type your player name, or click a player name in the Name list. 4 Click OK to display the list of campaigns. 5 Select the Rise of Egypt Learning Campaign. Only the first scenario is displayed. After you complete a scenario, the next scenario in the campaign appears in the list. 6 Select the Difficulty Level (the skill of civilizations controlled by the computer). The levels range from Caveman (easy) to Immortal (hardest). 7 Click OK to start the scenario. After the cinematic plays, the scenario instructions are revealed. To display the scenario instructions while you are playing the game, click the Menu button on the menu bar, and then click Scenario Instructions. Setting up a game Before you start a game, you must choose which type of game to play -- single player or multiplayer, and random map, scenario or campaign. The type of game you choose determines what you must do to win the game. You can play one of twelve mighty civilizations, each with different strengths and weaknesses. Starting on an unexplored map You start the game with a few villagers and a Town Center on an unexplored (black) map. Moving a villager into the black area reveals the map terrain. To move a villager, click the villager, and then right-click the location to move to. Enemy buildings and walls are not visible until you explore the area of the map where they are located. For more information, see Exploring, Grouping units, and Moving units. As you explore the map, you discover resources to increase your stockpile of food, wood, gold, and stone. Villagers can chop trees for wood, forage berry bushes and hunt animals and fish for food, and mine for stone and gold. To assign a villager a task, click a villager, and then right-click a work site, such as a tree, animal, or stone mine. For more information, see Villager tasks. You can also increase your stockpile by trading with or receiving tribute from other civilizations. Building your civilization You use the resources (food, wood, stone, gold) in your stockpile to construct buildings. You must build enough Houses to support the population of your civilization. Each House supports four villagers, boats, or military units. Each civilization can create a maximum of 50 units. Increasing your stockpile of resources and constructing buildings lets you create villagers, boats, and military units. Advancing through the ages The resources in your stockpile are also used to advance through the different ages. There are four ages: Stone Age, Tool Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. You typically start the game in the Stone Age and strive to advance to the Iron Age. To advance to the next age, you must have a Town Center and build two different buildings from the current age. Then click the Town Center, and click the Advance to Next Age button. As you advance through the ages, you can build new buildings and military units and research new technologies that benefit your civilization. For example, researching leather armor decreases the damage your military units receive in combat. The buildings, military units, and technology that are available depend on which civilization you are playing. Engaging in combat Military units and villagers can engage in combat on land. War ships can engage in combat at sea. To achieve a military victory over a civilization, you must destroy all of a civilization’s villagers, military units, boats, and buildings (excluding walls). You can pursue an allied victory with other civilizations. Wounded villagers and military units can be healed by a Priest. Enemy villagers, military units, buildings, and boats can be converted by a Priest. Damaged buildings and boats can be repaired by a villager.


Choosing a game
	Choosing a game You can play single player and multiplayer games based on randomly generated maps, scenarios, or campaigns. • Campaign – Single player – A predesigned series of related scenarios that chronicle the rise of one of the mighty civilizations of antiquity. New players should play the Rise of Egypt learning campaign to learn the basics of Age of Empires. For information about campaigns, see "Playing a campaign" in this chapter. • Scenario – Single player or multiplayer – A predesigned game that is not part of a campaign. For information about single player scenarios, see "Playing a random map, death match, or scenario" in this chapter. For information about multiplayer scenarios, see "Playing a multiplayer game" in this chapter. • Random map – Single player or multiplayer – A game based on a randomly generated world map. You can change the game settings and the victory condition. For information about random maps, see "Playing a random map, death match, or scenario" in this chapter. • Random map (death match) – Single player or multiplayer – A variation of a random map in which players start with stockpiles of 20,000 food, wood, stone, and 10,000 gold and then fight to the death. For information about death matches, see "Playing a random map, death match, or scenario" in this chapter. • Random map (score) – Single player or multiplayer – A variation of a random map in which the victory condition is based on the players' scores. For information about random maps, see "Playing a random map, death match, or scenario" in this chapter. • Random map (time limit) – Single player or multiplayer – A variation of a random map in which the victory condition is based on who earns the highest score within the time limit. For information about random maps, see "Playing a random map, death match, or scenario" in this chapter. • Cooperative game – Multiplayer – A variation of a multiplayer random map or scenario in which two or more human players share control of a single civilization. Each player can give unrestricted (and even conflicting) orders to all units. For information about cooperative games, see "Playing a multiplayer game" in this chapter.


Victory conditions
	Victory conditions [Winning a game] In a random map or death match, you can win the game by achieving any one of the standard victory conditions:  Artifacts (the first player to control all Artifacts wins), Ruins (the first player to control all Ruins wins), Wonders (the first player to build and hold a Wonder wins), or Conquest (the first player to achieve a military conquest wins). Players can pursue any of the standard victory conditions to win. For example, player 1 might try to control all Artifacts, player 2 might try to build a Wonder, and player 3 might try to achieve military conquest. The first player to be successful wins the game. Or, if you do not want to use the standard victory conditions, you choose your own victory condition: Conquest (all players must try to achieve military conquest), Score (all players compete to achieve the highest score) or Time Limit (all players compete to achieve the highest score within the time limit). To change the victory condition in a single player game, see "Playing a random map, death match, or scenario" in this chapter. To change the victory condition in a multiplayer game, see "Playing a multiplayer game" in this chapter.


Artifacts
	Artifacts Artifacts are objects akin to the Ark of the Covenant that were crafted by now-lost cultures. They can be found in the hidden parts of the world, captured, and moved, bringing prestige to the civilization that possesses them. They can be captured from other civilizations in a game and carried away. Control of Artifacts counts toward your score. Some random maps do not contain Artifacts. In a random map with standard victory conditions, the first civilization (or team) to control all Artifacts for 2000 years wins the game. An Artifact is controlled by the last civilization to move a villager, military unit, or boat nearby. The color of an Artifact indicates which civilization controls it. The owner of the Artifact can move it on land or on a transport vessel. Artifacts cannot be destroyed. For example, if a transport vessel sinks with an Artifact on board, the Artifact appears on a nearby shore. When a civilization controls all Artifacts, the other civilizations are notified and a countdown clock appears in the upper-right corner of the game screen. The first civilization to control all Artifacts for 2000 years (until the clock reaches zero, approximately 15 minutes), wins the game. If an Artifact changes ownership before 2000 years have passed, the countdown is terminated.


Ruins
	Ruins Ruins are ancient structures resembling Stonehenge that can be found in the hidden parts of the world. Ruins were built by now-lost cultures. Controlling a Ruin brings prestige to your civilization by linking you to mysterious ancients. Ruins can be controlled but not moved. Ownership may be taken away by another civilization. Control of Ruins counts toward your score. Some random maps do not contain Ruins. In a random map with standard victory conditions, the first civilization (or team) to control all Ruins for 2000 years wins the game. Ruins are controlled by the last civilization to move a villager, military unit, or boat nearby. The color of a Ruin indicates which civilization controls it. Ruins cannot be destroyed. When a civilization controls all Ruins, the other civilizations are notified and a countdown clock appears in the upper-right corner of the game screen. The first civilization to control all Ruins for 2000 years (until the clock reaches zero, approximately 15 minutes), wins the game. If a Ruin changes ownership before 2000 years have passed, the countdown is terminated.


Wonders
	Wonders A Wonder is a massive structure, a crowning achievement of technology, resources, and construction time for civilizations who build one. Examples of historic ancient Wonders that have become icons for their civilization are the Egyptian Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, and the Athenian Acropolis. A civilization can build a Wonder after advancing to the Iron Age. In a random map with standard victory conditions, the first civilization to build a Wonder that stands for 2000 years wins the game. When a civilization begins to build a Wonder, the other civilizations are notified and shown its location on the diamond-shaped map in the lower-right corner of the game screen. When the Wonder is completed, the other civilizations are again notified and a countdown clock appears in the upper-right corner of the game screen. The first civilization to build a Wonder that stands for 2000 years (until the clock reaches zero, approximately 15 minutes), wins the game. If a Wonder is destroyed before 2000 years have passed, the countdown is terminated. A civilization can build more than one Wonder. Wonders standing at the end of the game (even if they were not the first Wonder to stand for 2000 years) provide the owning civilization with points, as explained in the "Score" section.


Conquest
	Conquest In a random map with standard victory conditions, you can win the game by achieving military conquest, even if the other players are pursuing one of the other standard victory conditions (Artifacts, Ruins, or Wonders). If you do not want to play the standard victory conditions, you can set the victory condition to Conquest.  To win a game by military conquest, your civilization (or team) must destroy all opponents' villagers, military units, boats, and buildings (except walls).


Time limit
	Time limit If you do not want to play the standard victory conditions, you can set the victory condition to Time Limit. In a time limit game, you select the time limit after which the game automatically ends. A countdown clock is displayed in the upper-right corner of the game screen. The civilization (or team) with the highest score when the clock reaches zero wins the game. The team score is the average of all team members' scores.


Score
	Score If you do not want to play the standard victory conditions, you can set the victory condition to Score. In a score game, the game creator chooses the score to achieve. The first civilization (or team) to achieve the score or military conquest wins the game. In a score game, constructing Wonders and owning Artifacts and Ruins provides points but does not automatically end the game. The team score is the average of all team members' scores. Score can be set as a victory condition or left simply as a measure of achievement. The great civilizations of antiquity were those that achieved a high level of cultural and technological development. Greatness was also measured by influence over distance and over time. The Sumerian civilization, for example, was never particularly large but the importance of the wheel and writing, for which they are credited, was enormous. The Greeks, more than any other ancient culture, had the greatest impact on the modern world. Greatness was somewhat dependent on military prowess. Most of the important ancient civilizations were military powers at one time and spread their culture by conquest. Those cultures that did not develop a strong military did not usually last long enough to have a significant impact on world events. A strong military insured longevity and the opportunity to become great. Great civilizations left a lasting legacy of architecture, literature, language, ideas, and technological innovation that influenced those that followed. Age of Empires encompasses this definition of civilization with its score system. The greatness of your civilization is measured by the points you earn for a variety of achievements during the play of a game. The civilization score for your civilization can be compared to that of others in your game during play and at game end. Civilization scores are calculated for all players (human and computer) as the game progresses. To display civilization scores The civilization scores are shown in the lower-right corner of the game screen. [insert one-step]To turn the display on or off, click the S button above the diamond-shaped map in the lower-right corner of the game screen. The scores are shown as civilization score/team score. The list of players is ranked by team score and then by civilization score. The team score is the average of all team members' scores. [insert one-step]To display the details of your score, click the Menu button on the menu bar, and then click Achievements. The bonus points (such as most military units) change ownership throughout the game. For example, if player 1 has 30 military units and player 2 has 35 military units, player 2 receives the 25-point bonus. However, if player 1 builds 6 more military units (or kills 6 of player 2's military units), player 1 receives the 25 point bonus. Military Kills -- one-half point/unit. Buildings destroyed -- 1 point/building. Generalship -- # kills - # losses (value must be positive). Most military units and towers -- 25 point bonus. Economy Gold from mining and trade -- 1/100 of value. Net resources tributed -- 1/60 of value. Villager population (includes fishing, trade, and transport vessels) -- 1 point/Villager. Largest Villager population (includes fishing, trade, and transport vessels) -- 25 point bonus. Exploration -- 1 point/3 percent of map. Largest area explored -- 25 point bonus. Religion Conversions -- 2 points/conversion. Most conversions -- 25 point bonus. Temples built -- 3 points/Temple. Ruins controlled -- 10 points/Ruin. Artifacts controlled -- 10 points/Artifact. Control of all Ruins or Artifacts -- 50 point bonus. Technology Technologies researched -- 2 points/technology. Most technologies researched -- 50 point bonus. First civilization to Bronze Age -- 25 point bonus. First civilization to Iron Age -- 25 point bonus. Survival and Wonders Elimination before game end -- -100 points. Wonders held -- 100 points/Wonder.


Choosing a civilization
	Choosing a civilization Play one of history's twelve mightiest civilizations! Command the Greek phalanx, the world’s best infantry for hundreds of years. Lead the chariots of the Hittites, or Assyrians. Build up the vast agricultural empire of Egypt, Babylon, or Sumeria. Guide the Persians from their small enclave to prominence as a world power. Guide the Shang (China), Choson (Korea), or Yamato (Japan) for control of Asia. Dominate world sea trade as the Phoenicians or Minoans. Each civilization has strengths and weaknesses and can research different technologies. The skills of each civilization are shown below. The technology trees for each civilization are in the Appendix. The civilization technology trees are also provided in the Docs folder on the Age of Empires disc. The civilization you choose to play depends on the victory conditions of the game and the strengths and weaknesses of your opponents. For example, if a world has extensive seas, choose to play a civilization with advantages in ship building or speed (Yamato, Phoenician, Minoan). If you are competing with the Persians, prepare for eventual clashes with War Elephants. More than one player can choose the same civilization. In a multiplayer cooperative game, two or more players can choose the same player number and share control of a single civilization. • Assyrian Archery Range units fire rate increased by 40 percent. Villagers 30 percent faster. • Babylonian Hit points of walls and towers doubled. Priest rejuvenation rate increased by 30 percent. Stone mining ability increased by 30 percent. • Choson Long Swordsman and Legion hit points doubled. Range of towers increased by +2. Priest cost decreased by 30 percent. • Egyptian Gold mining ability increased by 20 percent. Chariot and Chariot Archer hit points increased by 33 percent. Priest range increased by +3. • Greek Hoplite, Phalanx, and Centurion 30 percent faster. War ships 30 percent faster. • Hittite Stone Thrower, Catapult, and Heavy Catapult hit points doubled. Archery Range units attack increased by +1. War ship range increased by +4. • Minoan Cost of ships decreased by 30 percent. Composite Bowman range increased by +2. Farm production increased by 25 percent. • Persian Hunting ability increased by 30 percent. Farm production decreased by 30 percent. War Elephant and Elephant Archer 30 percent faster. Trireme fire rate increased by 50 percent. • Phoenician War Elephant and Elephant Archer cost reduced by 25 percent. Catapult Trireme and Juggernaught fire rate increased by 65 percent. • Shang Villager cost reduced by 30 percent. Wall hit points doubled. • Sumerian Villager hit points increased by +15. Stone Thrower, Catapult, and Heavy Catapult fire rate increased by 50 percent. Farm production doubled. • Yamato Horse Archers, Scout, Cavalry, Heavy Cavalry, and Cataphract cost decreased by 25 percent. Villagers 30 percent faster. Ship hit points increased by 30 percent.


Gameplay


Using the interface
	Using the interface [INSERT SCREEN SHOT OF GAME SCREEN (MULTIPLAYER so chat is on menu bar) with callouts to the following areas: stockpile counters, Chat button, Diplomacy button, Menu button, S(core) button, ? Help button, Diamond-shaped map, Status Box (in the lower left corner), status line]] Saving and exiting Chatting To chat during a multiplayer game 1 Click the Chat button on the menu bar, or press ENTER. 2 Select which players should receive the message: allies, enemies, everyone, or a particular player. 3 Type a message. To taunt your opponents with a recorded message, type a number from 1 to 25. 4 Press ENTER to send the message. Getting Help Age of Empires provides online and popup Help. To display online Help [insert one-step]On the Age of Empires menu, click Help. -or-  From within a game, press F1 or click the Menu button on the menu bar, and then click Help. To display popup Help [insert one-step] Click the ? mark button in the lower-right corner of the game screen, and then click an item on the screen. To display the online Help from popup Help, click the More Help button.


Saving
	Saving and exiting If you save a multiplayer game, all civilizations played by human players will be played by the computer when you restart the game. To save a game 1 Click the Menu button on the menu bar. 2 Click Save. 3 Type a name for the game, or select the game to save. To exit a game 1 Click the Menu button on the menu bar. 2 Click Quit Game.


Single player
	Single player Playing a random map, death match, or scenario Playing a campaign Playing a saved game


Playing a random map
	Playing a random game, death match or scenario [INSERT SCREEN SHOT FOR STEP #4 STUFF] [INSERT SCREEN SHOT FOR STEP #5 STUFF] A random map is a single player or multiplayer game based on a randomly generated world map. You can win the game by achieving any one of the standard victory conditions, or you can set the victory condition to Conquest, Score, or Time Limit. A death match is a random map in which players start with stockpiles of 20,000 food, wood, stone, and 10,000 gold and then fight to the death. A scenario is a predesigned game that is not part of a campaign. The victory conditions are revealed when you start the scenario. You can create custom scenarios using the scenario builder and share them with other players. For information about playing a multiplayer random map, death match, or scenario see "Playing a multiplayer game" in this chapter. To play a random map, death match, or scenario 1 On the Age of Empires menu, click Single Player. 2 Click Random Map, Death Match, or Scenario. 3 If you are playing a random map or death match, proceed to Step 4. If you are playing a scenario, select the scenario to play, and then click OK. 4 Select the player settings: • Civ – Each civilization has special skills and can research different technology, as explained in "Choosing a civilization" in this chapter. More than one player can choose the same civilization. • Player – Starting position on the game map. To change the setting, click the player number. The color of the player number corresponds to the color of the civilization. • Team – Players who want to start the game as allies can select a team by clicking the Team number. A dash (-) in the Team box indicates no team. Players on the same team automatically have their diplomatic stance set to Ally and Allied Victory set. To change these settings during the game, click Diplomacy on the menu bar. • Number of Players – In a single player game, your opponents are computer players. 5 If you want to change the scenario settings, click Settings. You can change the following settings: • Map Size – (Random map and death match only) The size of the map. The larger the map, the longer the game. • Map Type – (Random map and death match only) The distribution of land and water on the map. • Victory Condition – The first civilization (or team) to achieve the victory condition wins the game. For information about the victory conditions, see "Winning a game" in this chapter. Some scenarios contain individual victory conditions, which cannot be changed.  • Starting Age – The age at which the game begins. For example, if the game begins in the Bronze Age, the Bronze Age has just begun and all Stone Age and Tool Age technology has been completed. To use the default age setting for the scenario, select Default. • Difficulty Level - The skill of civilizations controlled by the computer. The levels range from Caveman (easy) to Immortal (hardest). • Resources determines the quantity of resources (food, wood, stone, gold) in each player's stockpile. To use the default Resources setting for the scenario, select Default. • Fixed Positions – Determines whether civilizations begin the game in random positions on the map or in fixed (clockwise) positions based on their player number. Team members with consecutive player numbers are located adjacent to each other if you select Fixed Positions. • Full Tech Tree – Allows all civilizations to research all technologies in the game. The special attributes usually associated with each civilization are removed. • Reveal Map – Determines whether the map terrain is visible at the beginning of the game or revealed as you explore it. 6 Click Start Game.


Playing a campaign
	Playing a campaign [INSERT SCREEN SHOT OF STEP #5 STUFF] A campaign is a predesigned series of related scenarios that chronicle the rise of one of the mighty civilizations of antiquity. You must play the scenarios in a campaign in sequence, using the settings and victory conditions with which each scenario was designed. New players should play the Rise of Egypt learning campaign to learn the basics of Age of Empires. You can create your own campaigns using the campaign editor, as explained in "Using the campaign editor" in Chapter 6. To play a campaign 1 On the Age of Empires menu, click Single Player. 2 Click Campaign. 3 Type your player name, or click a player name in the Name list. To add a new name to the list, click New, and then type a name. To delete a name from the list, click the name to delete, and then click Remove. 4 Click OK to display the list of campaigns. 5 Select the campaign to play. The scenarios in the campaign are displayed in the Select Scenario list. If you have not previously played the Campaign using your current player name, only the first scenario is displayed. After you complete a scenario, the next scenario in the campaign appears in the list. 6 If more than one scenario is listed, select the scenario you want to play. 7 Select the Difficulty Level (the skill of civilizations controlled by the computer). The levels range from Caveman (easy) to Immortal (hardest). 8 Click OK to start the scenario. After the cinematic plays, the scenario instructions are revealed. To display the scenario instructions while you are playing the game, click the Menu button on the menu bar, and then click Scenario Instructions. The map that appears before a campaign scenario shows the area where the current scenario takes place and the area(s) where previous scenarios in the campaign have taken place.


Starting a single player saved game
	Playing a saved game To play a saved game 1 On the Age of Empires menu, click Single Player, and then click Saved Game. -or- From within the game, click the Menu button on the menu bar, and then click Load. 2 Select the saved game to play, and then click OK.


Creating or joining a multiplayer game
	Playing a multiplayer game You can play a random map or scenario with up to eight players connected across a network or the Internet and two players across a modem or serial connection. A multiplayer game requires the following number of discs per player: 2-3 players (1 disc); 4-6 players (2 discs); 7-8 players (3 discs). Two or more players can play a cooperative game in which they share control of a single civilization. Each player can give unrestricted (and even conflicting) orders to all units. To play a cooperative game, players must select the same player number before starting a multiplayer game. If you save and restart a multiplayer game, the computer plays all positions. If a player's connection is lost during a multiplayer game, the player cannot rejoin the game. If a multiplayer game becomes out of sync due to network problems, all players receive a message, and the game is stopped. To select a multiplayer connection 1 On the Age of Empires menu, click Multiplayer. 2 Type your player Name. 3 Select the Connection Type: • IPX Connection for DirectPlay – Connect using a network that uses the IPX protocol. If you do not know which protocol your network uses, check with your network administrator. • Internet TCP/IP Connection for DirectPlay – Connect using the Internet or a network that uses the TCP/IP protocol. If you do not know which protocol your network uses, check with your network administrator. • Modem Connection for DirectPlay – Connect two computers using a modem. Age of Empires requires a modem speed of 28.8 Kbps or faster. • Serial Connection for DirectPlay – Connect two computers using a null-modem cable. • Internet Gaming Zone – Connect across the Internet using the matchmaking services on Microsoft's Internet Gaming Zone. The Internet Gaming Zone is a quick and easy way to find other Age of Empires players. 4 Click OK, and then join or create a multiplayer game as explained in the following sections. Joining a multiplayer game [INSERT SCREEN SHOT OF STEP #5 STUFF] To join a multiplayer game 1 Select a multiplayer connection, as explained in the previous section. 2 Click Show Games to update the list of multiplayer games. 3 Select the game to join, and then click Join. 4 Select the player settings: • Civ – Each civilization has special skills and can research different technology, as explained in "Choosing a civilization" in this chapter. More than one player can choose the same civilization. • Player – Starting position on the game map. To change the setting, click the player number. The color of the player number corresponds to the color of the civilization. To play a cooperative game, two or more players can select the same player number and share control of a single civilization. Each player can give unrestricted (and even conflicting) orders to all units. • Team – Players who want to start the game allies can select a team by clicking the Team number. A dash (-) in the Team box indicates no team. Players on the same team automatically have their diplomatic stance set to Ally and Allied Victory set. To change these settings during the game, click Diplomacy on the menu bar. 5 The game creator controls the other game settings shown on the screen. You can discuss the game settings with the game creator and other players by typing in the Chat box. To send your message, press Enter. To chat with other players during a game, press ENTER or click the Chat button on the menu bar. For information about chatting, see "Using the interface" in this chapter. 6 When you are ready to begin the game, click I'm Ready! If you change your mind before the game starts, click the button again. The game does not begin until all players are ready and the creator starts it. Creating a multiplayer game [INSERT SCREEN SHOT OF STEP #5 STUFF] To create a multiplayer game 1 Select a multiplayer connection, as explained at the beginning of this section. 2 Click Create. 3 Type a name for the game. 4 Select the player settings: • Name – If you want to limit the number of players that can join the game, close some of the positions. Closing a position that is filled by a player ejects the player from the game. Open indicates that the position is available for a human player. Computer indicates that the position is played by the computer. Closed indicates that position is not available. • Civ – Select a civilization for yourself and each computer player. Human players choose their own civilization. Each civilization has special skills and can research different technology, as explained in "Choosing a civilization" in this chapter. More than one player can choose the same civilization. • Player – Starting position on the game map. To change the setting, click the player number. The color of the player number corresponds to the color of the civilization. To play a cooperative game, two or more players can select the same player number and share control of a single civilization. Each player can give unrestricted (and even conflicting) orders to all units. • Team – Players who want to start the game allies can select a team by clicking the Team number. A dash (-) in the Team box indicates no team. Players on the same team automatically have their diplomatic stance set to Ally and Allied Victory set. To change these settings during the game, click Diplomacy on the menu bar. 5 Click Settings to select a game to play (random map, death match, or scenario). A list of scenarios appears showing the name and number of players for each scenario. Select the scenario to play. A description of the scenario appears in the Scenario Instructions window. You can change the following settings: • Map Size – (Random map and death match only) The size of the map. The larger the map, the longer the game. • Map Type – (Random map and death match only) The distribution of land and water on the map. • Victory Condition – The first civilization (or team) to achieve the victory condition wins the game. For information about the victory conditions, see "Winning a game" in this chapter. Some scenarios contain individual victory conditions, which cannot be changed. • Starting Age – The age at which the game begins. For example, if the game begins in the Bronze Age, the Bronze Age has just begun and all Stone Age and Tool Age technology has been completed. To use the default Age setting for the scenario, select Default. • Difficulty Level – The skill of civilizations controlled by the computer. The levels range from Caveman (easy) to Immortal (hardest). • Resources – The quantity of resources (food, wood, stone, gold) in each player's stockpile. To use the default Resources setting for the scenario, select Default. • Enable Cheating – Determines whether players can use the cheat keys. • Fixed Positions – Determines whether civilizations begin the game in random positions on the map or in fixed (clockwise) positions based on their player number. Team members with consecutive player numbers are located adjacent to each other if you select Fixed Positions. • Full Tech Tree – Allows all civilizations to research all technologies in the game. The special attributes usually associated with each civilization are removed. • Reveal Map – Determines whether the map terrain is visible at the beginning of the game or revealed as you explore it. 6 When you are finished changing the settings, click I'm Ready! so players know the game settings will not change. All players must click the I'm Ready! button before you can click Start Game.


Hot keys
	Hot keys A list of hot keys is also provided on the Technology Tree Foldout. Spacebar -- View selected units. CTRL+H -- Select and view Town Center (repeat for other buildings of same type). CTRL+B -- Select and view Barracks. CTRL+D -- Select and view Dock. CTRL+A -- Select and view Archery Range. CTRL+K -- Select and view Siege Workshop. CTRL+L -- Select and view Stable. CTRL+P -- Select and view Temple. CTRL+Y -- Select and view Academy. + (Plus key) -- Increase game speed. - (Minus key) -- Decrease game speed. ESC -- Unselect or cancel. ENTER -- Send chat message. Arrow Keys -- Scroll game view. CTRL+1-9 -- Assign group number to units. 1-9 -- Select group assigned to this number. ALT+1-9 -- Select and view group assigned to this number. SHIFT+1-9 -- Select this group in addition to currently selected units. TAB -- If multiple units are selected, display next unit in lower-left status box. SHIFT+TAB -- If multiple units are selected, display previous unit in lower-left status box. F3, PAUSE -- Pause. F10 -- Game menu. F1 -- Help. SHIFT+F1 -- ? Help.


Game settings
	Changing the game settings You can change the game speed, music volume, sound volume, screen size, and mouse interface used in the game. To change the game settings 1 Start a game. 2 Click the Menu button on the menu bar. 3 Click Game Settings. You can change the following settings: • Speed – The higher the game speed, the faster villagers, military units, and boats move. Game time also elapses more quickly than "real time." Changing the game speed affects all civilizations. • Music Volume – Move the slider down to decrease the music volume. • Sound Volume – Move the slider down to decrease the volume of sound effects. • Screen Size – The default screen size is 800 x 600. • Mouse Interface – The default setting is Two Buttons, which means that the left mouse button is used to select a unit, and the right mouse button is used to execute a command. For example, to instruct a villager to hunt using Two Buttons, you would left-click the villager and then right-click the animal to hunt. To instruct a villager to hunt using One Button, you would left-click the villager and then left-click the animal to hunt. • Roll-over Help – The default setting is On, which displays tips on the status line when you move the cursor over items such as trees, foraging sites, buildings, etc.


Using the scenario builder
	Using the scenario builder [INSERT SCREEN SHOT OF SCENARIO BUILDER] The scenario builder lets you create randomly generated or custom maps for up to eight players. You can use the scenario builder to: • Customize the map -- Create randomly generated or custom maps. • Customize the terrain -- Place resources, elevation, cliffs, forests, and water. • Customize the players -- Choose the starting age, starting stockpiles, civilization, starting technology level, and computer personality for each player. • Customize the units -- Place buildings, villagers, military units, and boats for each player. • Customize diplomacy -- Choose whether players are allies, neutral or enemies. • Customize the global victory conditions  -- Specify one or more victory conditions that all players must achieve. • Customize the individual victory conditions  -- Specify unique victory conditions for each player. • Customize the options -- Enable the cheat codes and the full tech tree or disable technology and ages for a particular player. • Customize the messages -- Write your own scenario instructions, hints, win message, loss message, and historical information that are displayed at the beginning and end of the scenario. • Customize the cinematics -- Choose the cinematics that play at the beginning and end of the scenario. To create or edit a scenario 1 On the Age of Empires menu, click Scenario Builder. 2 To create a scenario, click Create Scenario. To edit a scenario, click Load Scenario, and then select the scenario to edit. 3 Customize the scenario map, terrain, players, units, diplomacy, victory conditions, options, messages, and cinematics as explained in the following sections. 4 To begin playing your customized scenario, click Menu, and then click Test. This option lets you play through the scenario you have created or edited without leaving the scenario builder. To return to the scenario builder after testing your scenario, click Menu, and then click Quit Game. To save the scenario, click Menu, and then click Save or Save As.


Customizing the map
	Customizing the map You can create randomly generated or custom maps. To customize the map 1 In the scenario builder, click Map. 2 Select the Map: • Blank Map displays the default terrain, with no resources (food, wood, stone, gold). If you select Blank Map, select the Default Terrain (the map background). • Random Map displays a random distribution of land, water, and resources. If you select Random Map, select the Map Type (the distribution of water and land). • Seed Map displays a random distribution of land, water, and resources based on the seed (number) you type. For example, if you type 532, the same map always appears. If you select Seed Map, select the Map Type (the distribution of water and land) and type the Seed number. You can type any five-digit number up to 99999. 3 Select the Map Size. The larger the map, the longer the game. 4 Click Generate Map to display the map.


Customizing terrain
	Customizing terrain You can fine tune the map terrain, including elevation and cliffs. To customize the terrain 1 In the scenario builder, click Terrain. 2 Select the Brush Type: • Map lets you paint background terrain (grass, forest, water, etc.). If you select Map, select the Terrain to paint and the Brush Size (area to paint). • Elevation lets you paint hills. If you select Elevation, select the elevation to paint and the Brush Size (area to paint). The larger the elevation number, the higher the elevation. Water can only be painted on flat terrain (Elevation 2). • Cliffs lets you paint cliffs. Cliffs should only be placed on flat terrain (Elevation 2). Placing cliffs on higher elevations creates breaks between the cliffs that villagers and military units may have difficulty moving through. 3 To paint a single area of terrain or elevation, click a location on the map. To paint cliffs or a large area of terrain or elevation, drag the mouse. To delete cliffs, right-click and drag the mouse over existing cliffs.


Customizing the players
	Customizing the players You can choose the number of players, starting age, starting stockpiles, civilization, starting technology level, and computer personality for each player. To customize the players 1 In the scenario builder, click Players. 2 Select the Number of Players. 3 Select the player number to customize, or type 1-8. 4 Select the player's Starting Age. The player starts the game at the beginning of the selected age, with all technology research in the previous age(s) completed. For example, if the starting age is Bronze Age, all Stone Age and Tool Age technology is complete. If the starting age is Post-Iron Age, the player starts at the end of the Iron Age, with all Stone, Tool, Bronze, and Iron Age research complete. 5 Type the amount of Food, Stone, Wood, and Gold the player has at the beginning of the game. 6 If you want to replace the civilization name with a unique name, type a Tribe Name. The tribe name replaces the civilization name only when the scenario is played as part of a campaign. 7 Select the Player Type. If you select Computer, the position is played by the computer. If you select Either, the position can be played by a human or by the computer (if it is not filled by a human). 8 Select the player’s Civilization. Each civilization has special skills and can research different technology, as explained in "Choosing a civilization" in Chapter 1. More than one player can choose the same civilization. 9 Select the City Plan (where on the map the computer constructs buildings). To let the computer design its own city plan, select Default. Advanced players can customize the city plans by using a text editor to edit the .cty files in the Data folder where Age of Empires is installed. 10 Select the Strategy (which buildings, military units, boats and research items the computer builds). For most situations, you can choose Random. Many of the strategies are designed specifically for campaign scenarios. The strategy name indicates the primary unit the computer player uses to attack and the age in which the attack occurs. For example, Archers Bronze indicates that the computer player attacks with archers in the Bronze Age. For more information about the strategies, refer to the Strattyp.doc file in the Docs folder on the Age of Empires disc. Advanced players can customize the strategy by using a text editor to edit the .bld files in the Data folder where Age of Empires is installed. The content of the .bld files is explained in the Stratsmp.doc file in the Docs folder on the Age of Empires disc. The strategy (.bld file) you want to include in your scenario must be located in the Data folder where Age of Empires is installed. 11 Select the Personality of the computer player. For most situations, you can choose Random. Many of the personality choices are designed specifically for campaign scenarios. Advanced players can customize the personality files by using a text editor to edit the .ai files in the Data folder where Age of Empires is installed. The content of the .ai files is explained in the AI.doc file in the Docs folder on the Age of Empires disc. The personality (.ai file) you want to include in your scenario must be located in the Data folder where Age of Empires is installed.


Customizing the units
	Customizing the units You can place buildings, villagers, military units, and boats for each player, as well as generic objects such as resources, Artifacts, Discoveries, Ruins, and terrain accents such as bones, grass clumps, etc. If you do not place any units on the map for a particular player, a Town Center and three villagers appear in a random location on the map at the beginning of the game each time you play the scenario. To customize units 1 In the scenario builder, click Units. 2 To place buildings, villagers, military units, and boats for a particular player, select the player number, or type 1-8. To place world objects that are not associated with a particular player, click Gaia. 3 To place an item on the map, click Place, click an item in the list box, and then click a location on the map. The item appears in red if you cannot place it in a location. If the Starting Age (under Players) is more advanced than the Stone Age, duplicate units may appear in the list because of upgrades. Duplicate units are identical. To delete an item on the map, click Delete and then click the item to delete. To move an item on the map, click Move, click the item to move, and then drag it to a new location. To rotate a villager, military unit, or boat, click Rotate, and then click the unit to rotate. Right-click to rotate in the opposite direction. You cannot rotate buildings or other immobile objects. To select all objects so you can see how much space they occupy, press CTRL+A.


Customizing diplomacy
	Customizing diplomacy You can determine the diplomatic stance of players (ally, neutral, or enemy) and choose whether any players pursue allied victory. To customize diplomacy 1 In the scenario builder, click Diplomacy. 2 Select the player to customize. 3 Select the player’s diplomatic stance toward each of the other players: • Ally – Military units do not attack other players' buildings, villagers, military units, or boats. • Neutral – Military units attack all buildings and military units (but not villagers) who enter their sight. • Enemy – Military units attack all buildings, military units, and villagers who enter their sight. 4 Select whether any players pursue an allied victory. For allied victory, any player who achieves the victory condition wins the game for all mutually allied players.


Customizing the global victory conditions
	Customizing the global victory conditions Global victory conditions apply to all players. A scenario can have more than one global victory condition, in which case you must specify whether players must achieve one or all of the global victory conditions to win the game. For allied victory, all allies must work as a team to achieve their global victory condition(s). Allies must work together to control the designated number of Ruins, Artifacts, or Discoveries, but only one ally must explore the specified percentage of the map. In addition to global victory conditions, you can also assign individual victory conditions to each player, as explained in the following section. The interaction between global and individual victory conditions is also explained in that section. To customize the global victory conditions 1 In the scenario builder, click Global Victory. 2 Click the victory condition(s) that players must achieve to win the game. • Standard – The game is won by Conquest, Wonders, Artifacts, or Ruins as explained in "Winning a game" in Chapter 1. • Conquest – The first civilization (or team) to destroy all opponents' villagers, military units, boats, and buildings (excluding walls) wins the game. • Score – The game is won by the first civilization (or team) to achieve the specified score. Wonders, Artifacts, and Ruins add points to your score as explained in "Winning a game" in Chapter 1. • Time Limit – The game is won by the civilization (or team) to achieve the highest score within the specified time. • Custom – Choose your own victory condition: Conquest –The first civilization (or team) to destroy all opponents' villagers, military units, boats, and buildings (excluding walls) wins the game. Exploration – The first civilization (or team) to explore the specified percentage of the map wins the game. An allied victory is achieved when any one of the allies explores the specified amount. Ruins – The first civilization (or team) to control the designated number of Ruins wins the game. The game ends immediately. There is no countdown clock. An allied victory is achieved when the Ruins are owned by any of the allies. Artifacts – The first civilization (or team) to control the designated number of Artifacts wins the game. The game ends immediately. There is no countdown clock. An allied victory is achieved when the Artifacts are owned by any of the allies. Discoveries – The first civilization (or team) to locate the specified number of Discoveries wins the game. Discoveries are natural sites of significance represented by a white horse etched into the ground. Discoveries only appear in a scenario when they are a possible victory condition. To locate the Discovery, move a unit near it. A colored flag indicates which civilizations have located the Discovery. More than one civilization can locate a Discovery. 3 To allow players to achieve any one of the victory conditions you selected, click Any One. To require players to achieve all of the victory conditions you selected, click All.


Customizing the individual victory conditions
	Customizing the individual victory conditions Individual victory conditions let you create highly customized scenarios with up to twelve unique victory conditions for each player. Individual victory conditions are not required for a scenario. If used, they can be assigned in addition to or instead of global victory conditions (explained in the previous section). Players cannot change the victory condition of scenarios that include individual victory conditions. In addition to the possibility of a scenario having both individual and global victory conditions, a player can be allied with other players who have the same or different victory conditions. In these cases, the game is won as follows: • Individual victory conditions – If a scenario includes only individual victory conditions (no global victory conditions), players must achieve all of their individual victory conditions to win the game. For example, if player 1 has three individual victory conditions, he must achieve all three of them to win the game. For allied victory, each ally must achieve all of their individual victory condition(s) to win the game. • Individual and global victory conditions – If a scenario includes both individual victory conditions and global victory conditions (standard, conquest, score, or time limit), players must achieve the global victory condition to win the game. Individual victory conditions are ignored. For allied victory, all allies must work together to achieve the global victory condition(s). • Individual and global custom victory conditions – If a scenario contains both individual victory conditions and global custom victory conditions, players can achieve their individual victory conditions OR the global custom victory condition(s). For allied victory, allies must work as a team to achieve the global custom victory condition(s) OR all allies must achieve their individual victory condition(s). To customize the individual victory conditions 1 In the scenario builder, click Individual Victory. 2 Select the player to customize. You can select the player from the list box, or type 1-8. 3 Click the button of the Victory Condition to set. For example, to set the first victory condition, click button 1. You can assign one victory condition to each button (up to 12 victory conditions to each player). 4 Select the victory condition: • None. Sets no individual victory conditions. • Bring Object to Object.  To specify the object to bring, click Set Object, and then click a mobile unit (military unit, Artifact, etc.) on the map. To specify the destination, click Set Destination, and then click a unit (building, Ruins, etc.) on the map. • Bring Object to Area.  To specify the object to bring, click Set Object, and then click a mobile unit (military unit, Artifact, etc.) on the map. To specify the destination, click Set Destination, and then click an area on the map or click and drag to draw an area box. To display the area, click Go to Destination. • Create # of Objects.  To specify the object to create, select a unit from the list box. To specify the number of units to create, type a number in the Quantity box. • Create Objects in Area.  To specify the object to create, select a unit from the list box. To specify the number of units to create, type a number in the Quantity box. To specify the destination, click Set Destination, and then click an area on the map or click and drag to draw an area box. To display the area, click Go to Destination. • Destroy # of Objects.  To specify the object to destroy, select a unit from the list box. To specify the number of units to destroy, type a number in the Quantity box. To select whose units to destroy, select Which Player. • Destroy Specific Object.  To specify the object to destroy, click Set Object, and then click an object on the map. • Destroy All Objects.  To specify the object to destroy, select a unit from the list box. To specify whose unit to destroy, select Which Player. • Destroy Player.  Select Which Player to destroy. • Capture an Object.  To specify the object to capture, click Set Object, and then click an object on the map. • Gold Stockpile. To specify the amount of gold to gather, type a number in the Quantity box. • Food Stockpile. To specify the amount of food to gather, type a number in the Quantity box. • Wood Stockpile. To specify the amount of wood to gather, type a number in the Quantity box. • Stone Stockpile. To specify the amount of stone to gather, type a number in the Quantity box. • Population.  To specify the population, type a number in the Quantity box. Population includes all units (villagers, military units, and boats). • Age.  Click the Age to research. For example, Bronze Age indicates that you must advance to the Bronze Age. • Exploration. To specify the percentage of the map to explore, type a number in the Quantity box. • Technologies. Select the technology to achieve. • Other Attributes. Select the attribute to achieve: Razings – Specify the number of enemy buildings that must be destroyed. Conversions – Specify the number of villagers, military units, buildings, or boats that must be converted by Priests. Kill Ratio – Specify the number of villagers, military units, and boats that must be killed compared to those that are lost. For example, a Kill Ratio of 10 indicates that a player must have 10 more kills than losses. Wonders – Specify the number of Wonders that must be controlled. Military Population – Specify the number of military units that must be created. Technologies – Specify the number of technology nodes that must be researched. Villager Population – Specify the number of villagers that must be created. Kills – Specify the number of villagers, military units, or boats that must be killed (buildings are not included). 5 Buttons that have been assigned a victory condition display an asterisk. To view, edit, or delete an assigned victory condition, click the numbered button. For example, to edit the victory condition assigned to button 2, click 2 and then select a different victory condition or None to delete the victory condition.


Customizing the options
	Customizing the options You can determine whether the full technology tree and cheat codes are used. To customize the options 1 In the scenario builder, click Options. 2 To allow players to use the cheat codes, click Enable Cheating. [This is not in the 7/4 build. Has it been removed permanently?] 3 To allow all civilizations to research all technologies in the game and to remove the special attributes usually associated with each civilization, click Full Tech Tree. 4 To Disable Technology for a particular player, select the player, and then click the technology buildings or ages to disable.


Customizing the messages
	Customizing the messages You can customize the scenario instructions, hints, victory message, loss message, and historical description. To customize the message 1 In the scenario builder, click Messages. 2 Click the type of message to create/edit: • Scenario Instructions – Describes what you must do to win the game. Displayed before the scenario begins. If the scenario includes custom global victory conditions or individual victory conditions, you must provide scenario instructions so the player know which victory condition(s) to achieve. For more information, see "Customizing the global victory conditions" and "Customizing the individual victory conditions" in this chapter. • Hints – Provides information about how to win the game. Displayed before the scenario begins. To display the Hints, click the Hints button at the bottom of the Scenario Instructions screen. Hints are not required for a scenario. • Victory – Displayed for the winner(s) of the scenario. A victory message is not required for a scenario. • Loss – Displayed for the loser(s) of the scenario. A loss message is not required for a scenario. • History – Provides historical information background about the scenario. Displayed before the scenario begins. To display the History text, click the History button at the bottom of the Scenario Instructions screen. History text is not required for a scenario. To display the scenario instructions, hints, and history while you are playing the game, click the Menu button on the menu bar, and then click Scenario Instructions. 3 Type the message text in the box. Right-click to copy, cut, paste, etc.


Customizing the cinematics
	Customizing the cinematics You can choose the cinematics that play at the beginning and end of a scenario. The cinematics (.avi files) you want to include in your campaign must be located in the Avi folder where Age of Empires is installed. To customize the cinematics 1 In the scenario builder, click Cinematics. 2 Select the cinematic to customize: • Pre-Game Cinematic – Plays before a scenario begins. • Victory Cinematic – Plays for the winner(s) of the scenario. • Loss Cinematic – Plays for the loser(s) of the scenario. • Scenario Instruction Map – Type the filename of the bitmap that appears when you start a scenario. The maps (.bmp files) you want to include in your campaign must be located in the folder that contains the file Empires.exe. You can create your own map by editing the MAPDEFAULT.BMP file located in the folder that contains Empires.exe. You must use the color palette provided with this file.


Using the campaign editor
	Using the campaign editor The campaign editor lets you create your own campaigns by combining scenarios into a custom campaign that you can distribute to other players. Editing the campaigns provided with the game prevents you from playing them multiplayer. Before you can create a campaign, you must have the following files: • The scenarios (.scn files) you want to include in your campaign must be located in the Scenario folder where Age of Empires is installed. For information about creating custom scenarios to include in your campaigns, see "Using the scenario builder" in this chapter. • (optional) The maps (.bmp files) you want to include in your campaign must be located in the folder that contains the Empires.exe file. For information about creating custom maps, see "Using the scenario builder (Customizing the cinematics)" in this chapter. • (optional) The cinematics (.avi files) you want to include in your campaign must be located in the Avi folder where Age of Empires is installed. For information about including custom cinematics, see "Using the scenario builder (Customizing the cinematics)" in this chapter. • The strategy (.bld files) you want to include in your campaign must be located in the Data folder where Age of Empires is installed. For information about creating custom strategy files, see "Using the scenario builder (customizing the players)" in this chapter. • The personality (.ai files) you want to include in your campaign must be located in the Data folder where Age of Empires is installed. For information about creating custom personality files, see "Using the scenario builder (Customizing the players)" in this chapter. To use the campaign editor 1 On the Age of Empires menu, click Scenario Builder. 2 Click Campaign Editor. 3 In the Campaign Filename list, click the name of the file to edit, or type the name of the campaign to create. 4 To add a scenario to the campaign, select the name of a scenario in the Scenarios list, and then click Add. The scenario appears in the Campaign Scenarios list. To remove a scenario from the campaign, select the name of the scenario in the Campaign Scenarios list, and then click Remove. 5 To save the changes to the campaign, click Save. The campaign editor creates a campaign (.cpn) file located in the Campaign folder where Age of Empires is installed. To distribute the campaign to other players, you must provide them with the campaign (.cpn) file you created as well as the cinematics (.avi) files for each scenario in the campaign.


Movement


Exploring
	Exploring As the great ice sheets receded, humans followed in their wake, exploring and settling newly uncovered lands modified by the changing climate. The world changed dramatically in a short period. Human populations multiplied, coalesced into groups, and began competing among each other, rather than with other species, for the best food and resources. The foundations of the first great civilizations were laid in some part by those groups that found and controlled the best areas. Discovery and control of the Nile, Tigris, and Euphrates River valleys determined which of the wandering tribes in those regions would become Egypt, Sumeria, and Babylonia. At the start of a typical Age of Empires game, exploration is vital. Sources of food and wood need to be found quickly. Artifacts and Ruins that are nearby should be controlled and moved to safety, if possible. Nearby geography may suggest where defenses should be built to stave off potential attackers. More distant resources should be noted for your eventual expansion. And learning the location of enemies helps you plan your attacks. Unexplored areas of the map are black. Moving a villager, military unit, or boat into a black area reveals the map. You cannot explore beyond the edge of the map. Enemy buildings and walls are not visible until you explore the area of the map where they are located. Once an area has been explored, buildings and walls remain visible, however, changes to the buildings, such as age upgrades, damage, and destruction are not visible unless the building or wall is within the sight of a villager, military unit, or boat from your civilization. Enemy villagers, military units, and boats are only visible when they attack or are within the sight of a unit from your civilization. To scroll the map [insert one-step]On the large map, move the mouse to the edge of the game screen in the direction you want to scroll. -or- On the diamond-shaped map in the lower-right corner of the game screen, click a location, or drag the white box to the location.


Moving units
	Moving villagers, military units, and boats How quickly villagers, military units, and boats move depends on the speed of the unit and the game speed, as explained in "Using the interface (Changing the game settings)" in Chapter 1. Units near each other move in formation unless they are ordered to move to or attack an object, in which case they converge on the object. You can use way points to make units follow a defined path to their goal. To move a villager, military unit, or boat Click a villager, military unit, or boat (or select a group), and then right-click a location. To move a villager, military unit, or boat using way points 1 Click a villager, military unit, or boat (or select a group). 2 Press SHIFT, and then right-click each point along the path. A way point marker appears. 3 Release the SHIFT key, and then right-click the last point in the path. The unit or group moves along the path you created.


Grouping units
	Grouping villagers, military units, and boats Grouping lets you command several villagers, military units, or boats at the same time. To select a group [insert one-step] Drag the pointer over the villagers, military units, or boats to group. Or hold down the SHIFT key and click each unit. To create a group [insert one-step]Select a group, and then click the Group button. When you click one member of the group, the other members are also selected. To ungroup units [insert one-step]Click a member of the group, and then click the Ungroup button. To assign a number to a group 1 Select a group. 2 Press CTRL and the number to assign to the group. For example, to assign the number two to a group, press CTRL+2. The number appears in the lower-left corner of each unit in the group. 3 To select the group, press the number assigned to it. For example, to select group 2, press the 2 key.


Transporting units across water
	Transporting units across water Villagers, military units, and Artifacts can be loaded aboard a transport vessel and moved across water. Allied units can also be transported. Each transport vessel can carry a limited number of villagers, military units, and Artifacts in each trip. To load a transport vessel 1 Build a Light Transport or Heavy Transport at the Dock. 2 Click a villager, military unit, or Artifact (or select a group), and then click the transport vessel to load. The units are loaded onto the transport. To unload a transport vessel 1 Click the transport vessel. 2 Click a location on shore. To unload in shallows, you must click the Unload button.


Terrain
	Terrain Terrain provides resources and has tactical or strategic uses in combat. The types of terrain include: • Water — Impassable to villagers and military units. • Shallows — Water that is passable to villagers, military units, and boats. • Forest — Impassable to villagers and military units. • Cliff — Impassable to villagers and military units. Provides a 25 percent chance that the attacking unit will cause triple damage on each hit when the target is on the low side of the cliff. • Elevation — Provides a 25 percent chance that the attacking unit will cause triple damage on each hit when the target is at a lower elevation.


Civilization


Resources
	Gathering resources Stone Age humans obtained the basic necessities of life (food, shelter, and clothing) by gathering food and raw materials or by killing animals. Providing the basics of life was a full-time job. Native Americans on the northern plains, for example, had several hundred different uses for parts of a slain buffalo. We can presume that Siberian hunters made similarly extensive use of slain woolly mammoth. Advances in Stone Age tools and techniques gradually improved the lot of humans by making it easier to acquire resources (better weapons and skills), to make more efficient use of them (better tools), and to make it easier to store them (pottery, drying, salting) for later use. The advent of animal domestication and agriculture increased the rate of technological innovation by reducing the time needed for providing basics. Some of the new-found leisure time was spent developing even more innovations that led in turn to food surpluses, more efficient techniques, more leisure, and more innovation. In Age of Empires, the four resources of food, wood, stone, and gold are the building blocks of your civilization. Stockpiles of these items are converted into buildings and people. Most importantly, resources are expended to advance to new technological ages and achieve new technology. The use of these resources represents the costs in time and innovation required to take an important step forward. The resources in your stockpile are used to create villagers, train and upgrade military units and boats, construct buildings, research technology, and advance through the ages. Villagers increase your stockpile of resources by farming, fishing, hunting, etc., as explained in the following section. You can also increase your stockpile by trading (as explained in "Trading" in this chapter) and by receiving tribute from other civilizations (as explained in "Tribute" in Chapter 5). The resources in your stockpile are shown in the upper-left corner of the game screen. They include: • Wood – Used to construct buildings, boats, and some military units. You increase your stockpile of wood by assigning villagers to chop trees. • Food – Used to create villagers, train and upgrade military units, research technology, and advance to the next age. You increase your stockpile of food by assigning villagers to hunt, forage, farm, and fish. Fishing Boats and Fishing Ships also fish for food. Berry bushes represent foraging sites, where ancient man collected fruits, nuts, roots, and wild grains. • Gold – Used to research technology in later ages, create some military units, advance to the Iron Age, and pay tribute to other civilizations. You increase your stockpile of gold by trading with other civilizations and by assigning villagers to collect gold from gold mines, which contain all types of precious metals including gold, silver, bronze, and copper. • Stone – Used to build and upgrade buildings and walls and research some technology. You increase your stockpile of stone by assigning villagers to collect stone from stone mines. Stone mines contain the stone and clay used to construct buildings.  To display the resources at a work site Click the work site. For example, to display the amount of gold a gold mine contains, click the gold mine. The quantity of resources is displayed in the status box in the lower-left corner of the game screen. Sources of food, wood, stone, and gold are depleted as the resources are gathered. For example, when a stone mine is depleted, it disappears.


Villager tasks
	Villager tasks Villagers perform a variety of tasks, including constructing and repairing buildings and increasing your stockpile of resources by hunting, chopping wood, mining, etc. Researching certain technology increases a villager's abilities. Villagers perform the following tasks and take different names (shown in the status box in the lower left corner of the game screen) according to the task they are assigned: • Builder – Constructs buildings. • Farmer – Gathers food from a Farm. • Fisherman – Gathers food from fishing sites (jumping fish) near the shore in streams and oceans. Food from fishing is deposited at the Town Center or Storage Pit, whichever is closer. Fishing Boats and Fishing Ships also fish for food, which they deposit at the Dock. • Forager – Gathers food from foraging sites (berry bushes). Food from foraging is deposited at the Town Center or Granary, whichever is closer. • Gold Miner – Gathers gold from gold mines. Gold is deposited at the Town Center or Storage Pit, whichever is closer. • Hunter – Kills wild game (gazelles, elephants, lions, and crocodiles) for food. Food from hunting is deposited at the Town Center or Storage Pit, whichever is closer. Military units can also kill predators, but food cannot be gathered from the carcass. • Repairman – Repairs buildings and boats damaged in combat. • Stone Miner – Gathers stone from stone mines. Stone is deposited at the Town Center or Storage Pit, whichever is closer. • Villager – Engaged in combat or not assigned a task. • Woodcutter – Chops trees for wood. Wood is deposited at the Town Center or Storage Pit, whichever is closer. To assign a villager task 1 Click a villager. 2 Right-click a work site. For example, to assign a villager to mine for gold, click a gold mine. The villager goes to the work site, gathers as much of the resource as he can carry, and deposits it at the Town Center, Granary, or Storage Pit (where it is added to your stockpile), and returns to the work site to gather more. Fishing Boats and Fishing Ships deposit food at the Dock. The villager continues to perform a task until you assign a different task or until the resource is depleted. If a resource is depleted, he searches for a new work site within his sight and continues working. If the villager does not find a new work site, he becomes idle.


Creating units
	Creating villagers, military units, and boats With new techniques and an improving tool kit, humans were able to expand into more demanding climates as the Ice Age ended. As humans spread and adapted, the need arose for better shelter from the elements as the seasons changed. Where natural caves and other sources of shelter did not exist, humans improvised. In ancient Russia, for example, large multifamily dwellings were framed with mammoth bones and covered with mammoth skins. As humans became more agricultural and sedentary, shelter became more elaborate and long-lasting. Creating villagers, military units, and boats costs resources (food, wood, stone, and gold). You must also have enough Houses to build a new villager, military unit, or boat (1 House supports 4 units). The Town Center also supports 4 units. If a House is destroyed, you do not lose the units it supported, but you must build new housing to support any new units. Each civilization can support up to 50 villagers, military units, or boats. In a multiplayer cooperative game (two or more players share control of a single civilization), each player increases the population limit by 10. For example, for two players, the population limit is 60, for three players the population limit is 70, etc. For descriptions of the villagers, military units, and boats you can build, refer to the Units section of the Age of Empires online Help. To create a villager 1 Click the Town Center. 2 Click the Create Villager button. After a brief training period, the villager appears beside the Town Center. To train a military unit 1 Build a Barracks, Archery Range, Stable, Siege Workshop, Academy, or Temple. 2 Click the building. 3 Click the button of the military unit to train. For example, to train a Clubman (at the Barracks), click the Train Clubman button. After a brief training period, the military unit appears beside the building. To build a boat 1 Build a Dock. 2 Click the Dock. 3 Click the button of the boat to build. For example, to build a Fishing Boat, click the Build Fishing Boat button. After a brief training period, the boat appears beside the Dock. To delete a villager, military unit, building, or boat Click a unit that belongs to your civilization, and then press the DELETE key. You can delete units if you do not have the housing or resources to support new units. If you delete a building while it is under construction, 50 percent of the resources from the un-built portion of the building are returned to your stockpile. For example, a Storage Pit costs 120 wood. If you delete a Storage Pit immediately after you begin building it, 60 wood is returned to your stockpile. If you delete a Storage Pit after it is half built, 30 wood is returned to your stockpile.


Constructing buildings
	Constructing buildings Constructing buildings costs wood and/or stone. You can build more than one of each building. For example, you might build two Town Centers or three Barracks. There are two types of buildings: • Technology buildings, such as the Barracks, let you create new military units, upgrade military units, and research technology. • Non-technology buildings, such as walls and Farms, provide a benefit to your civilization but do not let you research new military units or technology. As you advance through the ages, the appearance of each building evolves and new military units, upgrades, technologies, and buildings become available. Allied civilizations cannot help each other construct buildings. For descriptions of the buildings you can construct, refer to the Units section of the Age of Empires online Help. To construct a building 1 Click a villager (or select a group). The more villagers assigned to a building, the faster it is built. 2 Click the Build button. 3 Click the button of the building to build. For example, to build a House, click the Build House button. To display more buildings, click the arrow button to the right of the building icons. 4 Click a location on the map. The building is shown in red if you cannot build in a particular location.


Repairing buildings
	Repairing buildings and boats Damaged buildings and boats catch fire. They can be repaired to full strength by villagers. Repairing buildings and boats requires resources. Destroyed buildings are reduced to rubble and eventually disappear. Destroyed boats sink. To repair a building or boat 1 Click a villager (or select a group of villagers). The more villagers assigned to a building, the faster it is repaired. 2 Click the building or boat to repair.


Trading
	Trading Trading lets you exchange the food, wood, and stone in your stockpile for gold. You trade with other civilizations by establishing trade routes to and from foreign Docks. Trade Boats and Merchant Ships travel to foreign Docks with a cargo of trade goods (20 food, wood, or stone), exchange the trade goods for gold, and return to your Dock to deposit the gold. The farther you travel to the foreign Dock, the more gold you receive. Trade vessels can carry a maximum of 20 trade goods. If the stockpile of resources you are trading drops to zero, the trade vessel becomes idle. To trade with another civilization 1 Click a Trade Boat or Merchant Ship. 2 Click the button at the bottom of the game screen that corresponds to the resource you want to the vessel to carry (food, wood, or stone). The resource you select is automatically deducted from your stockpile each time the vessel returns. 3 Click the Dock to trade with. To display a vessel’s cargo Click a Trade Boat or Merchant Ship. The cargo it carries is displayed in the status box in the lower-left corner of the game screen. To display the gold paid at a Dock [insert one-step]Click the Dock. The amount of gold you receive for your trade goods is displayed in the status box in the lower-left corner of the game screen.


Technology


About technology
	About technology In the span of time represented by Age of Empires (roughly 12,000 BC to 0 AD), humans advanced from being just one of the animals roaming the land (albeit the most dangerous) to being the dominant species on Earth. This ascendance occurred because of human intelligence and the harnessing of technology by that intelligence. A naked human with no tools or weapons was at a great disadvantage in the post-Ice Age wilderness. But a group of humans, working together, wellarmed and equipped (for the time), carrying in their heads the shared wisdom of their ancestors passed down orally for generations, was a competitive force of awesome power. Paleontologists believe, for example, that small bands of big game hunters spread south from what is now Canada to the tip of South America in about 1000 years, hunting to extinction 31 genera of big game herbivores (mammoth, mastadon, giant beaver, giant sloth, horse, a variety of camels, and others). Technology was the underlying dynamic for the rise of civilization throughout the period covered by Age of Empires. Those cultures that learned a key new technology first often had an advantage over their neighbors. Technology was often the key factor in survival, expansion, and longevity. Egypt and Mesopotamia grew strong early once they mastered irrigation. The Minoans established a monopoly on sea trade and grew rich. The Greeks expanded on the basis of trade, mining, and a culture that encouraged and rewarded original thought. The Hittites mastered metalworking and fielded well-equipped armies. The Assyrians, surrounded by enemies, forged a powerful and innovative army out of necessity. The Technology Tree Foldout shows the various technology paths you can pursue in Age of Empires. New buildings, military units, and technology become available as you build technology buildings and advance through the ages. The technology available to you depends on the civilization you are playing. The technology trees for each civilization are in the Appendix.


Advancing through the Ages
	Advancing through the ages Historians have divided the story of human development into a number of ages for reference. Age of Empires covers roughly four periods—the end of the old Stone Age (or Paleolithic), the Tool Age (or Neolithic), the Bronze Age, and the beginnings of the Iron Age. These periods are named after the predominant tool and weapon material. Stone Age tools were large stone choppers and spear points. Tool Age tools were small stone blades, called microliths, struck from stone core. The small blades were fixed into hafts to make scythes, knives, and others specialized tools. The Bronze Age was dominated by tools and weapons made of bronze metal, an alloy usually of copper and tin. The Iron Age was dominated by tools and weapons of iron. Tools and other technologies were cumulative in nature. Cultures had to master the preceding technology to proceed and advance. Newly rising cultures built on the technology of their predecessors. Even the Yamato culture, the last in Age of Empires to develop historically, had to build on Tool Age and Bronze Age technologies that developed farther in the West and spread gradually East. The advance from one age to another was usually a slow process that required a gradual but extensive conversion of an entire economy. New raw materials and new fabrication techniques were required. New skills and workshops came into being. The eventual cost in time and resources was enormous, but the new efficiencies recovered those costs quickly. Age of Empires spans 12,000 years of ancient history. This time period has been subdivided into four significant Ages: • Stone Age – Characterized by pursuit of the required tools of survival: the construction of shelter and the search for steadfast sources of food through hunting, fishing, and foraging. • Tool Age – Characterized by farming settlements, stable food supplies, defense of territory, accelerated population growth, simple economy, and emerging military. • Bronze Age – Characterized by competition for valuable resources, increasingly sophisticated technologies, metalworking, trade, colonization, centralized government, institutionalized religion, highly organized military systems, and conquest. • Iron Age – Characterized by a dependence upon precious metals to drive economies, empire building, expansion, construction of massive cities supporting huge populations, sophisticated military organizations, siege tactics, armor and weaponry, dominance of seaways with War Galleys and Triremes and enormous construction projects including the Wonders of the Ancient World. A game typically begins in the Stone Age and you strive to advance through the ages to reach the Iron Age. As you advance through the ages, new buildings, military units, and technology become available. Advancing through the ages costs resources and time. As a prerequisite for advancing to the next age, you must build two technology buildings from the current age. To advance to the next age 1 Build two different technology buildings from the current age. • To advance from the Stone Age to the Tool Age, you must have a Town Center and any two Stone Age technology buildings (Granary, Storage Pit, Dock, or Barracks). For example, you might build a Granary and Storage Pit. You must build two different buildings. • To advance from the Tool Age to the Bronze Age, you must build any two Tool Age buildings (Market, Archery Range, or Stable). For example, you might build a Market and Archery Range. • To advance from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age, build any two Bronze Age buildings (Temple, Government Center, Siege Workshop, or Academy). For example, you might build a Temple and Siege Workshop. 2 Click the Town Center. 3 Click the Advance to Next Age button. After you reach the next age, the technology buildings from that age are available to be built. After building certain buildings, you can create new units, upgrade existing units, research new technology or build new buildings.


Researching technology
	Researching technology The Sumerians are credited with inventing both the wheel and writing around 3500 BC. The invention of writing, especially, was a gradual process. Both technologies provided immediate and easily understood benefits that persist today. The wheel made carts possible, greatly improving the efficiency of moving goods. The wheel was also a prerequisite for the chariot and other engines of war. The pottery wheel came into use at the same time as the transport wheel. Writing was so important to the storage and communication of knowledge that it became a technology research accelerator. After its appearance, the rate of technology advances increased. The invention of both the wheel and writing contributed to the success of Sumeria and other Mesopotamian civilizations. In Age of Empires, new technologies can be researched as your civilization enters each successive age. Within an age there are opportunities to research entirely new concepts or upgrade one that already exists. For example, farming is a new technology that can be researched in the Tool Age. In contrast, Tool Age toolworking , Bronze Age metalworking, and Iron Age metallurgy are basically upgrades of the same concept. In ancient times, those cultures that progressed in technology tended to persevere. Those that did not fell by the wayside. The same correlation holds in Age of Empires. To be successful you must advance to keep up with, or surpass, your rivals economically and militarily. For descriptions of the technologies you can research, see the Technologies section of the Age of Empires online Help. To research technology 1 Click a technology building on the game map. The technology you can research appears on the buttons at the bottom of the game screen. 2 Click the button that corresponds to the technology you want to research. For example, to research Toolworking from the Storage Pit, click the Research Toolworking button. After you have researched a technology, your civilization immediately begins reaping its benefit(s).


Upgrading units
	Upgrading military units, boats, walls, and towers As you advance through the ages, you can upgrade your military units, boats, walls, and towers. When you upgrade, existing units of a particular type are replaced by more powerful units. The Axeman, Bowman, and Scout are not replaced when you upgrade to more powerful units. To upgrade a military unit, boat, wall, or tower 1 To upgrade a military unit, click the Barracks, Archery Range, Stable, Temple, Siege Workshop, or Academy. To upgrade a boat, click the Dock. To upgrade a wall or tower, click the Granary. 2 Click the button at the bottom of the game screen that corresponds to the unit you want to upgrade. For example, to upgrade to Heavy Cavalry (from the Stable), click the Upgrade to Heavy Cavalry button. All existing units (Cavalry, in this case) are upgraded to Heavy Cavalry and you can train new Heavy Cavalry.


Technologies
	Technologies You can research technologies from the following buildings: Storage Pit Bronze Shield Iron Shield Metallurgy Metalworking Chain Mail for Archers Chain Mail for Cavalry Chain Mail for Infantry Leather Armor for Archers Leather Armor for Cavalry Leather Armor for Infantry Scale Armor for Archers Scale Armor for Cavalry Scale Armor for Infantry Toolworking Market Artisanship Coinage Craftsmanship Domestication Gold Mining Irrigation Plow Siegecraft Stone Mining Wheel Woodworking Government Center Alchemy Architecture Aristocracy Ballistics Engineering Nobility Writing Temple Afterlife Astrology Fanaticism Jihad Mysticism Monotheism Polytheism


Toolworking
	Toolworking Age: Tool Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Storage Pit. Cost: 100 food Researching Toolworking provides +2 attack for hand-to-hand units (all Barracks, Academy, and Stable units, except the War Elephant). You can research Toolworking at the Storage Pit. 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
	Metalworking Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Storage Pit, research Toolworking. Cost: 200 food, 120 gold Researching Metalworking provides +2 attack for hand-to-hand units (all Barracks, Academy, and Stable units, except the War Elephant). You can research Metalworking at the Storage Pit. 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 increased productivity dramatically and led to so many new advances. In comparison to bronze, iron tools were less brittle, could hold sharper edges, and held edges for a longer time without sharpening. Most importantly, iron ore was much easier to locate than copper and tin, making iron tools cheaper and more readily available. By 1000 BC iron tools were being made that were as good as the best ones of bronze; by 500 BC iron had largely supplanted bronze from Europe to Asia. The expense and scarcity of bronze had restricted its use to the elite and wealthy. Iron tools and weapons were available to nearly everyone.


Metallurgy
	Metallurgy Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Storage Pit, research Toolworking, research Metalworking. Cost: 300 food, 180 gold Researching Metallurgy provides +2 attack for hand-to-hand units (all Barracks, Academy, and Stable units, except the War Elephant). Required to upgrade to Cataphract. You can research Metallurgy at the Storage Pit. The use of iron spread throughout the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Asia during the First Millennium BC, and some areas became especially adept at the new science. Certain compounds added to the molten metal increased the strength of the resulting tools. New forging techniques also resulted in better tools. The best iron workers made superior weapons that were an important advantage in battle.


Bronze Shield
	Bronze Shield Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Storage Pit. Cost: 120 food, 140 gold Researching the Bronze Shield provides +1 infantry armor against Ballista, Helepolis, and missile weapons (all Archery Range units, towers, Scout Ship, War Galley and Trireme). You can research the Bronze Shield at the Storage Pit. [need description from Bruce]


Iron Shield
	Iron Shield Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Storage Pit, research Bronze Shield. Cost: 160 food, 180 gold Researching the Iron Shield provides +1 infantry armor against Ballista, Helepolis, and missile weapons (all Archery Range units, towers, Scout Ship, War Galley and Trireme). You can research the Iron Shield at the Storage Pit. [need description from Bruce]


Leather Armor for archers
	Leather Armor for Archers Age: Tool Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Storage Pit. Cost: 100 food Researching Leather Armor for Archers provides +2 armor for all Archery Range units. You can research Leather Armor for Archers at the Storage Pit. 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
	Scale Armor for Archers Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Storage Pit, research Leather Armor for Archers. Cost: 125 food, 50 gold Researching Scale Armor for Archers provides +2 armor for all Archery Range units. You can research Scale Armor for Archers at the Storage Pit. 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
	Chain Mail for Archers Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Storage Pit, research Leather Armor for Archers., research Scale Armor for Archers. Cost: 150 food, 100 gold Researching Chain Mail for Archers provides +2 armor for all Archery Range units. Required to upgrade to Heavy Horse Archer. You can research Chain Mail for Archers at the Storage Pit. 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
	Leather Armor for Cavalry Age: Tool Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Storage Pit. Cost: 125 food Researching Leather Armor for Cavalry provides +2 armor for all Stable units. You can research Leather Armor for Cavalry at the Storage Pit. 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 Cavalry
	Scale Armor for Cavalry Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Storage Pit, research Leather Armor for Cavalry. Cost: 150 food, 50 gold Researching Scale Armor for Cavalry provides +2 armor for all Stable units. You can research Scale Armor for Cavalry at the Storage Pit. 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 Cavalry
	Chain Mail for Cavalry Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Storage Pit, research Leather Armor for Cavalry, research Scale Armor for Cavalry. Cost: 175 food, 100 gold Researching Chain Mail for Cavalry provides +2 armor for all Stable units. You can research Chain Mail for Cavalry at the Storage Pit. 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 Infantry
	Leather Armor for Infantry Age: Tool Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Storage Pit. Cost: 75 food Researching Leather Armor for Infantry provides +2 armor for all Barracks and Academy units. You can research Leather Armor for Infantry at the Storage Pit. 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 Infantry
	Scale Armor for Infantry Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Storage Pit, research Leather Armor for Infantry. Cost: 100 food, 50 gold Researching Scale Armor for Infantry provides +2 armor for all Barracks and Academy units. You can research Scale Armor for Infantry at the Storage Pit. 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 Infantry
	Chain Mail for Infantry Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Storage Pit, research Leather Armor for Infantry, research Scale Armor for Infantry. Cost: 125 food, 100 gold Researching Chain Mail for Infantry provides +2 armor for all Barracks and Academy units. You can research Chain Mail for Infantry at the Storage Pit. 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.


Architecture
	Architecture Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market, build Government Center. Cost: 150 food, 175 wood Researching Architecture increases the hit points of buildings by 20 percent and decreases construction time by 33 percent. You can research Architecture at the Government Center. [need text from Bruce]


Nobility
	Nobility Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market, build Government Center. Cost: 175 food, 120 gold Researching Nobility increases the hit points of all cavalry units, Chariot, Chariot Archer, Horse Archer, and Heavy Horse Archer by 15 percent. You can research Nobility at the Government Center. 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 strongman, 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's Companions, who commanded parts of his army and formed the core of his heavy cavalry squadrons.


Writing
	Writing Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market, build Government Center. Cost: 200 food, 75 gold Researching Writing allows allies to share exploration. You can research Writing at the Government Center. 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 BC 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 BC, and are thought to have been inspired by cuneiform, the Sumerian symbolic writing. Writing appeared in China after 1600 BC.


Aristocracy
	Aristocracy Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market, build Government Center. Cost: 175 food, 150 gold Researching Aristocracy increases the speed of Academy units by 25 percent. Required to upgrade to Centurion. You can research Aristocracy at the Government Center. [need text from Bruce]


Alchemy
	Alchemy Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market, build Government Center. Cost: 250 food, 200 gold Researching Alchemy provides +1 attack for Ballista, Helepolis, and missile weapons (Archery Range units, towers, Scout Ship, War Galley, and Trireme). You can research Alchemy at the Government Center. 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.


Ballistics
	Ballistics Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market, build Government Center. Cost: 200 food, 50 gold Researching Ballistics improves the accuracy of missile weapons (Archery Range units, towers, Scout Ship, War Galley, and Trireme) and siege weapons (Stone Thrower, Catapult, Heavy Catapult, Ballista, Helepolis, Catapult Trireme, and Juggernaught). Required to upgrade to Ballista Tower. You can research Ballistics at the Government Center. Ballistics lets a unit fire where the target is predicted to be when the arrow hits, as opposed to where the target is when the arrow is fired. [need description from Bruce]


Engineering
	Engineering Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market, build Government Center. Cost: 200 food, 100 wood Researching Engineering provides +2 range to siege weapons (Stone Thrower, Catapult, Heavy Catapult, Ballista, Helepolis, Catapult Trireme, and Juggernaught). Required to upgrade to Juggernaught. You can research Engineering at the Government Center. 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 multi-ton stone blocks using only the fulcrum and lever, wedge, ramp, sledge, and rollers. The pyramid builders of 2600 BC 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 new experimentation and techniques.


Woodworking
	Woodworking Age: Tool Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market. Cost: 100 food, 75 wood Researching Woodworking increases a villager's woodcutting ability by +2 and provides +1 range to missile weapons (Archery Range units, towers, Scout Ship, War Galley, and Trireme). You can research Woodworking at the Market. [need text from Bruce]


Artisanship
	Artisanship Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market, research Woodworking. Cost: 170 food, 150 wood Researching Artisanship increases a villager's woodcutting ability by +2 and provides +1 range to missile weapons (Archery Range units, towers, Scout Ship, War Galley, and Trireme). You can research Artisanship at the Market. [need text from Bruce]


Craftsmanship
	Craftsmanship Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market, research Woodworking, research Artisanship. Cost: 240 food, 200 wood Researching Craftsmanship increases a villager's woodcutting ability by +2 and provides +1 range to missile weapons (Archery Range units, towers, Scout Ship, War Galley, and Trireme). Required to upgrade to Helepolis. You can research Craftsmanship at the Market. [need text from Bruce]


Stone Mining
	Stone Mining Age: Tool Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market. Cost: 100 food, 50 stone Researching Stone Mining increases a villager's stone mining ability by +3. You can research Stone Mining at the Market. [Need description from Bruce]


Siegecraft
	Siegecraft Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market, research Stone Mining. Cost: 190 food, 100 stone Researching Stone Mining increases a villager's stone mining ability by +3 and allows villagers to destroy walls and towers. Required to upgrade to Heavy Catapult. You can research Siegecraft at the Market. [need text from Bruce]


Gold Mining
	Gold Mining Age: Tool Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market. Cost: 120 food, 100 wood Researching Gold Mining increases a villager's gold mining ability by +3. You can research Gold Mining at the Market. [Need description from Bruce]


Coinage
	Coinage Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market, research Gold Mining. Cost: 200 food, 100 gold Researching Coinage increases the productivity of gold mines by 25 percent and lets you pay tribute to other civilizations without incurring a fee. You can research Coinage at the Market. The first true coins were minted in ancient Lydia, now part of modern Turkey. These first coins were made from electrum, a naturally occurring 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 was adopted by the Greeks and spread by them throughout the Hellenistic world.


Domestication
	Domestication Age: Tool Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market. Cost: 200 food, 50 wood Researching Domestication increases the production of Farms by +75. You can research Domestication at the Market. [need description from Bruce]


Plow
	Plow Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market, research Domestication. Cost: 250 food, 75 wood Researching the Plow increases the production of Farms by +75. You can research the Plow at the Market. 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, Thomas Jefferson invented an improved version.


Irrigation
	Irrigation Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market, research Domestication, research Plow. Cost: 300 food, 100 wood Researching Irrigation increases the production of Farms by +75. You can research Irrigation at the Market. [need description from Bruce]


Wheel
	Wheel Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market. Cost: 175 food, 75 wood Researching the Wheel increases the speed of villagers by 30 percent. You must research the Wheel before you can build a Chariot or Chariot Archer. You can research the Wheel at the Market. The use of the wheel for transport was discovered in Sumeria sometime after 3400 BC 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.


Astrology
	Astrology Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market, build Temple. Cost: 90 gold Researching Astrology increases the effectiveness of Priest conversions by 30 percent. [Researching Astrology lets Priests convert enemy units 30 percent more effectively.] You can research Astrology at the Temple. 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 season, 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 influences of the stars and planets on human affairs could be divined from celestial positions and aspects.


Mysticism
	Mysticism Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market, build Temple. Cost: 120 gold Researching Mysticism doubles the hit points of Priests. You can research Mysticism at the Temple. [Need description from Bruce]


Polytheism
	Polytheism Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market, build Temple. Cost: 120 gold Researching Polytheism increases the movement speed of Priests by 40 percent. You can research Polytheism at the Temple. 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, etc. 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 multiple 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 only local deities, but others were held sacred throughout the country.


Fanaticism
	Fanaticism Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market, build Temple. Cost: 150 gold Researching Fanaticism lets Priests rejuvenation 50 percent faster after converting a unit. Required to upgrade to Legion. You can research Fanaticism at the Temple. Religion evolved to provide a spiritual foundation and understanding to life once humans became sufficiently intelligent to ponder the great terrifying questions of our existence. A disturbing byproduct of the spread of religion was fanaticism-the intense, unquestioning devotion to the ideas and leadership of other humans. Fanatics were capable of any act, even at great risk to their lives, and were especially dangerous enemies in war.


Monotheism
	Monotheism Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market, build Temple. Cost: 225 gold Researching Monotheism allows Priests to convert enemy buildings and Priests. You can research Monotheism at the Temple. 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.


Afterlife
	Afterlife Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market, build Temple. Cost: 175 gold Researching Afterlife increases the range of Priests by +3 so they can convert units from further away. You can research Afterlife at the Temple. [need description from Bruce]


Jihad
	Jihad Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market, build Temple. Cost: 120 gold Researching Jihad increases the attack, speed, and hit points of villagers and decreases their gathering efficiency. You can research Jihad at the Temple. [need description from Bruce]


Combat


About combat
	Engaging in combat The military units in Age of Empires are easily understood for the most part, with the exception of the Priest. This unit represents the spiritual leaders of your tribe who can heavily influence the morale of your people and that of your enemies. The leaders of a particularly powerful religion could exhort their people to work and fight harder. A strong religion could adversely affect the morale of a weaker culture. When the Persian army approached Babylon around 600 BC, for example, the Babylonians surrendered their weak king and culture to the Persians whom they perceived as more highly blessed and well-led. Military units and villagers can engage in combat on land. War ships can engage in combat at sea. Military units automatically attack units within their sight unless you order the unit to attack a different unit or stand ground. To achieve a conquest victory over a civilization, you must destroy all of a civilization’s villagers, military units, boats, and buildings (except walls). You can pursue an allied victory with other civilizations as explained in "Allied victory" in this chapter. Wounded villagers and military units can be healed by a Priest as explained in "Healing villagers and military units" in this chapter. Enemy villagers, military units, buildings, and boats can be converted to your civilization by a Priest, as explained in "Converting enemy units" in this chapter. Damaged buildings and boats can be repaired by a villager as explained in "Villager tasks" in Chapter 3. To order a military unit, villager, or boat to attack [insert one-step]Click a military unit, villager, or boat (or select a group), and then right-click the enemy villager, military unit, or building to attack. To order a military unit or boat to stand ground 1 Click a military unit or boat. 2 Click the Stand Ground button. The military unit or boat remains in the location instead of attacking any enemy villager, military unit, boat, building, or wall within its sight. To clear the Stand Ground order, move the unit. To order a catapult unit to attack an area The Stone Thrower, Catapult, Heavy Catapult, Catapult Trireme, and Juggernaught (which cause area of effect damage) can fire at a general area instead of at a specific target, such as a military unit or building. 1 Click a Stone Thrower, Catapult, Heavy Catapult, Catapult Trireme, or Juggernaught. 2 Click the Attack Ground button, and then click a location on the map.


Diplomacy
	Diplomacy Each civilization can choose its diplomatic stance toward other civilizations. Two civilizations can take different stances toward each other. If a civilization is allied with an enemy, the enemy civilization attacks, but the allied civilization does not. To set your diplomatic stance toward other civilizations 1 Click the Diplomacy button on the menu bar. 2 Select your diplomatic stance toward each of the other players: • Ally – Military units do not attack other players' buildings, villagers, military units, or boats. • Neutral – Military units attack all buildings and military units (but not villagers) who enter their sight. • Enemy – Military units attack all buildings, military units, and villagers who enter their sight.


Allied victory
	Allied victory In allied victory, two or more civilizations can work together to win or lose as a team. Any allied civilization who achieves the victory condition(s) wins the game for all allies. To pursue an allied victory, each player must set their diplomatic stance toward the other civilizations as Ally, and select the Allied Victory option. If you choose to play on a team when you start a single player or multiplayer game, the game automatically sets these options for you. When the standard victory condition is control of all Artifacts or Ruins, a team wins an allied victory regardless of which team member owns the Ruin or Artifacts. For more information about winning the different types of allied victory, see "Winning a game" in Chapter 1. To pursue an allied victory 1 Click the Diplomacy button on the menu bar. 2 Set your diplomatic stance to Ally for each civilization on your team. All players who want to pursue an allied victory must do this. 3 Click Allied Victory. All players who want to pursue an allied victory must do this.


Tribute
	Tribute The central governments of ancient empires were supported by tribute paid to the emperor or king by province governors and vassal states on their borders. Vassal states in particular paid tribute in order to retain some autonomy from the imperial sphere but still benefit from the protection of a bigger neighbor. The Persian kings, for example, collected camels, wheat, horses, gold, carpets, sheep, cattle, weapons, copper, pottery, and other goods from the corners of their empire. This tribute supported the king and government and supplied the armies that maintained peace within and outside the empire. The development of coinage facilitated the process of tribute because it was much easier to transport money than perishable and more bulky items. In Age of Empires, it is possible to send tribute in the form of food, wood, stone, or gold to any other player in the game. This can be done to buy off an impending attack or to encourage an attack against another player. Tribute can also be offered to help an ally or other player accumulate the resources needed to advance to the next age or build a Wonder. A civilization can tribute food, wood, stone, and gold to another civilization at any time. There is a 25 percent fee to pay tribute. For example, if you tribute 100 gold, 125 gold is deducted from your stockpile (100 gold is deposited in the other player's stockpile, and 25 gold is paid as a fee). Researching Coinage eliminates this fee. To pay tribute 1 Click the Diplomacy button on the menu bar. 2 Click the resource(s) to tribute to a civilization (food, wood, stone, or gold). Each time you click the button, the civilization receives 100 of the item. If you have less than 100 of an item in your stockpile, the civilization receives the amount you have minus the 25 percent fee. The button shows the amount of the tribute. Your stockpile of each item (minus the tribute) is shown at the top of the column. 3 To pay the tribute, click OK. The resources are deducted from your stockpile. Or, if you choose not to pay tribute, click Clear Tributes.


Healing
	Healing villagers and military units Priests can heal the hit points of wounded villagers and military units from their own and allied civilizations. A Priest automatically heals any nearby villagers and military units. A Priest must be able to stand adjacent to a unit in order to heal it. Priests cannot heal buildings or boats. To heal a villager or military unit 1 Click a Priest. 2 Right-click the villager or military unit to heal. -or- Click the Heal button, and then click the villager or military unit to heal.


Converting enemy units
	Converting enemy units Priests can convert enemy villagers, military units, boats, and most buildings to their civilization. Priests attempt to convert a unit as soon as it is within the their range. To convert buildings, Priests must move closer than their normal range. Boats are twice as resistant to conversion as other units. Priests must rejuvenate their strength after attempting a conversion. The rejuvenation percentage is shown in the status box in the lower-left corner of the game screen. Priests do not automatically convert nearby units. When the Priest has converted a unit, he stands idle until given another command. If a Priest converts a transport vessel carrying units, the ship is converted but its cargo is not. Priests cannot convert Town Centers, Wonders, or allied villagers, military units, or buildings. Researching the technologies at the Temple increases the Priest's abilities, including conversion. To convert enemy villagers, military units, and boats 1 Click a Priest. 2 Right-click the enemy villager, military unit, building, or boat to convert. -or- Click the Convert button, and then click the enemy villager, military unit, building, or boat to convert.


Unit attributes
	Unit attributes Villagers, military units, boats, and buildings can have the following attributes. For information about the specific attributes of each unit, refer to the Technology Tree Foldout or the Units section of the Age of Empires online Help. [insert bitmap of icon used in status box] Hit Points – How much damage a unit can suffer before it dies. To display a unit’s hit points, click the unit. The colored bar that appears above a unit shows its general health (green = healthy, red = wounded). The unit's hit points are shown in the status box in the lower-left corner of the game screen (current hit points/maximum hit points). Priests can heal wounded units, as explained in "Healing villagers and military units" in this chapter. [insert bitmap of icon] Attack – How much damage a unit inflicts. [insert bitmap of icon] Armor – Reduces the amount of damage a unit suffers in combat. For example, +5 armor reduces damage by 5. Armor does not provide protection against missile weapons (Archery Range units, towers, Scout Ship, War Galley, Trireme). [insert bitmap of icon] Range – How far a missile weapon (Archery Range units, towers, Scout Ship, War Galley, Trireme) can fire. Fire rate – How many seconds it takes a unit to attack again. Speed – How fast a unit moves.


Units


Buildings
	Buildings Technology Academy Archery Range Barracks Dock Government Center Granary Market Siege Workshop Stable Storage Pit Temple Town Center Non-technology Farm House Wonder Small Wall Medium Wall Fortification Watch Tower Sentry Tower Guard Tower Ballista Tower


Academy
	Academy Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, build Stable. Cost: 200 wood Hit points: 350 The Academy lets you train advanced infantry units, including the Hoplite, Phalanx, and Centurion. [need description from Bruce]


Archery Range
	Archery Range Age: Tool Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks. Cost: 150 wood Hit points: 350 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. The bow was developed as a hunting weapon long before the first towns appeared and was easily adapted to warfare. The bow allowed fighting from a distance and from behind cover, so 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.


Barracks
	Barracks Age: Stone Prerequisites: Build Town Center. Cost: 125 wood Hit points: 350 The Barracks lets you train infantry, including the  Clubman, Axeman, Short Swordsman, Broad Swordsman, Long Swordsman, and Legion. You must build the Barracks before you can build the Archery Range, Siege Workshop, Stable, or Academy. 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
	Dock Age: Stone Prerequisites: Build Town Center. Cost: 100 wood Hit points: 350 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. The earliest boats simply tied up to rocks or trees on shore to take on or drop off cargo or were physically pulled up on 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, further improving efficiencies.


Government Center
	Government Center Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market. Cost: 175 wood Hit points: 350 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, and Ballistics. [need descripiton]


Granary
	Granary Age: Stone Prerequisites: Build Town Center. Cost: 120 wood Hit points: 350 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 build the Market. Foragers and Farmers can deposit food at the Granary instead of the Town Center.


Market
	Market Age: Tool Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary. Cost: 150 wood Hit points: 350 The Market lets you build the Farm and lets you 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. [need description]


Siege Workshop
	Siege Workshop Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, build Archery Range. Cost: 150 wood Hit points: 350 The Siege Workshop lets you build siege weapons, including the Stone Thrower, Catapult, Heavy Catapult, Ballista, and Helepolis. [need description]


Stable
	Stable Age: Tool Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks. Cost: 150 wood Hit points: 350 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. [need description]


Storage Pit
	Storage Pit Age: Stone Prerequisites: Build Town Center. Cost: 120 wood Hit points: 350 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 Archers, Scale Armor for Archers, and Chain Mail for Archers. Hunters and Miners can deposit food, stone, and gold at the Storage Pit instead of at the Town Center. [need description]


Temple
	Temple Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market. Cost: 200 wood Hit points: 350 The Temple lets you train Priests and research technology that increases their powers, including Polytheism, Mysticism, Astrology, Monotheism, Afterlife, Jihad, Fanaticism. [need description]


Town Center
	Town Center Age: Stone Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market, build Government Center. Cost: 200 wood Hit points: 600 The Town Center lets you create villagers and advance to the next Age. It is also where villagers deposit food, wood, gold, and stone. The Town center supports 4 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. All villages 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 on 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.


Farm
	Farm Age: Tool Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market. Cost: 75 wood Hit points: 50 The Farm provides a reliable supply of food, which can be gathered by a villager. [insert description]


House
	House Age: Stone Prerequisites: Build Town Center. Cost: 30 wood Hit points: 75 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. [insert description]


Wonder
	Wonder Age: Ironl Prerequisites: Advance to the Iron Age. Cost: 1000 wood, 1000 stone, 1000 gold Hit points: 500 A Wonder is a massive structure, a crowning achievement of technology, resources, and construction time for civilizations who build one. Examples of historic ancient Wonders that have become icons for their civilization are the Egyptian Pyramids, 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 Wonders. Building a Wonder can be a victory condition that wins the game and it can provide score points.


Small Wall
	Small Wall Age: Tool Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, research Small Wall. Cost: 5 stone Hit points: 200 The Small Wall is the weakest of the walls. Upgrades include the Medium Wall and Fortification. You can research and upgrade walls at the Granary. 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 Helepoplis are particularly effective for destroying walls. [need description]


Medium Wall
	Medium Wall Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, research Small Wall, upgrade to Medium Wall. Cost: 5 stone Hit points: 300 The Medium Wall has more hit points than the Small Wall. The Medium Wall can be upgraded to the Fortification. You can research and upgrade walls at the Granary. 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 Helepoplis are particularly effective for destroying walls. [need description]


Fortification
	Fortification Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, research Small Wall, upgrade to Medium Wall, upgrade to Fortification. Cost: 5 stone Hit points: 400 The Fortification has more hit points than the Medium Wall. You can research and upgrade walls at the Granary. 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 Helepoplis are particularly effective for destroying walls. 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. Archaeology 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.


Watch Tower
	Watch Tower Age: Tool Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, research Watch Tower. Cost: 150 stone Hit points: 100 Attack: 3 Armor: -- Range: 5 Special: Fire rate once/1.5 seconds. The Watch Tower is the weakest of the towers. Upgrades include the Sentry Tower, Guard Tower, and Ballista Tower. You can research and upgrade towers at the Granary. Towers are a defensive structures that fire missiles at enemy villagers and military within range. [Towers are particularly effective against which units? Which units are particularly effective against Towers?] [need description]


Sentry Tower
	Sentry Tower Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, research Watch Tower, upgrade to Sentry Tower. Cost: 150 stone Hit points: 150 Attack: 4 Armor: -- Range: 6 Special: Fire rate once/1.5 seconds. The Sentry Tower has more hit points, attack strength, and range than a Watch Tower. The Sentry Tower can be upgraded to the Guard Tower. You can research and upgrade towers at the Granary. Towers are a defensive structures that fire missiles at enemy villagers and military within range. [Towers are particularly effective against which units? Which units are particularly effective against Towers?] [need description]


Guard Tower
	Guard Tower Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, research Watch Tower, upgrade to Sentry Tower, upgrade to Guard Tower. Cost: 150 stone Hit points: 200 Attack: 6 Armor: -- Range: 7 Special: Fire rate once/1.5 seconds. The Guard Tower has more hit points, attack strength, and range than a Sentry Tower. The Guard Tower can be upgraded to the Ballista Tower. You can research and upgrade towers at the Granary. Towers are a defensive structures that fire missiles at enemy villagers and military within range. [Towers are particularly effective against which units? Which units are particularly effective against Towers?] [need description]


Ballista Tower
	Ballista Tower Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, research Watch Tower, upgrade to Sentry Tower, upgrade to Guard Tower, research Ballistics, upgrade to Ballista Tower. Cost: 150 stone Hit points: 200 Attack: 20 Armor: -- Range: 7 Special: Fire rate once/3 seconds. The Ballista Tower has more attack strength than a Sentry Tower. You must research Ballistics before you can upgrade to the Ballista Tower. You can research and upgrade towers at the Granary. Towers are a defensive structures. Towers at the edge of your empire can fire missiles at enemy villagers and military within range. [Towers are particularly effective against which units? Which units are particularly effective against Towers?] [need description]


Boats
	Boats Fishing Fishing Boat Fishing Ship Trade Trade Boat Merchant Ship Transport Light Transport Heavy Transport War Scout Ship War Galley Trireme Catapult Trireme Juggernaught


Fishing Boat
	Fishing Boat Age: Stone Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Dock. Cost: 50 wood Hit points: 45 Attack: -- Armor: -- Range: -- Speed: Medium Special: Boats are twice as resistant to conversion as other units. The Fishing Boat provides food by gathering fish and depositing them at the Dock. The Fishing Boat has a cargo capacity approximately equal to that of one Villager. The Fishing Boat can be upgraded to the Fishing Ship. You can build and upgrade fishing vessels at the Dock. The Fishing Boat represents a small, primitive vessel for use by one or a few fishermen. The first boats were probably dugout canoes, made from a single large log. These were excavated by fire and adze. Despite the passage of time and great technological advances in all areas, there are more log-hull boats in use today than of any other single type.


Fishing Ship
	Fishing Ship Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Dock, upgrade to Fishing Ship. Cost: 50 wood Hit points: 75 Attack: -- Armor: -- Range: -- Speed: Fast Special: Boats are twice as resistant to conversion as other units. The Fishing Ship has more hit points, is faster, and has a larger cargo capacity than the Fishing Boat. You can build and upgrade fishing vessels at the Dock. The never-ending quest for food eventually enticed humans out onto lakes, rivers, and oceans in search of fish. Fish of greater size and variety, and fish in greater quantity were often found in deeper off-shore waters. Fishing ships, larger than small canoes, were developed to control larger nets. Fishing ships were able to hold greater quantities of processed fish (cleaned and salted at sea) before return to land was required.


Trade Boat
	Trade Boat Age: Stone Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Dock. Cost: 100 wood Hit points: 200 Attack: -- Armor: -- Range: -- Speed: Fast Special: Boats are twice as resistant to conversion as other units. The Trade Boat lets you trade with other civilizations to increase your stockpile of gold. The Trade Boat can be upgraded to the Merchant Ship. You can build and upgrade trade vessels at the Dock. Small boats were used by Stone Age peoples for trading across rivers, lakes, and oceans. We know, for example, that tool stone found on Aegean Islands was brought to the mainland and other islands by traders long before large seagoing boats existed. Primitive trading boats were usually dugout canoes, papyrus bundles, or hide boats with a limited cargo capacity. They probably carried only limited quantities of valuable trade goods, such as carvings, ivory, furs, tool stone, decorative minerals, and amber. Large bulk cargos could not be carried profitably in small trading boats.


Merchant Ship
	Merchant Ship Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Dock, upgrade to Merchant Ship. Cost: 100 wood Hit points: 250 Attack: -- Armor: -- Range: -- Speed: Fast Special: Boats are twice as resistant to conversion as other units. The Merchant Ship lets you trade with other civilizations to increase your stockpile of gold. It has more hit points than the Trade Boat. You can build and upgrade trade vessels at the Dock. As civilization spread around the Mediterranean Sea, Indian Ocean, and China Sea, larger trading ships came into use to carry bulk cargos such as olive oil from Greece, cedar wood from Lebanon, grain from Egypt, and rice from China. Typical ancient Merchant Ships had keels and were built of planks, but did not have interior framing. They carried a single mast for a mainsail and were steered with a large paddle. Their broad beam allowed for cargos far beyond those of dugout canoes. Recent underwater discoveries of ancient merchant ships indicate they had good sailing qualities and required only a small crew.


Light Transport
	Light Transport Age: Tool Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Dock. Cost: 150wood Hit points: 150 Attack: -- Armor: -- Range: -- Speed: Medium Special: Boats are twice as resistant to conversion as other units. The Light Transport lets you transport villagers, military units, and Artifacts across water. The Light Transport can be upgraded to the Heavy Transport. You can build and upgrade transport vessels at the Dock. [Does this boat let you transport military units?] The earliest use of boats in war was probably to carry men across rivers, lakes, or seas to raid and plunder. The most suitable boat for this purpose was built as a compromise between speed and capacity. Raiders did not want to spend long periods in boats making a crossing and needed to surprise their enemies. The boat also had to carry a reasonable number of raiders and have room for any booty to be brought back. The fastest boats of ancient times were galleys powered by sails when possible but mainly by oars. The Greek penteconter with 50 oars was a common transport for troops. In most cases, the crew of oarsmen became raiders when they reached their destination.


Heavy Transport
	Heavy Transport Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Dock, upgrade to Heavy Transport. Cost: 150 wood Hit points: 200 Attack: -- Armor: -- Range: -- Speed: Fast Special: Boats are twice as resistant to conversion as other units. The Heavy Transport lets you transport villagers, military units, and Artifacts across water. The Heavy Transport has more hit points, is faster, and carries more villagers than the Light Transport. You can build and upgrade transport vessels at the Dock. Ships built for carrying military units replaced smaller galleys when armies grew larger and targets became more valuable and better defended. It became necessary to move ever-larger armies for invasion, and to bring siege engines and supplies along for drawn-out sieges of coastal cities. The Heavy Transport represents a larger sailing ship, something like a Merchant Ship, built mainly for capacity at the expense of speed.


Scout Ship
	Scout Ship Age: Tool Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Dock. Cost: 135 wood Hit points: 120 Attack: 5 Armor: -- Range: 5 Speed: Fast Special: Boats are twice as resistant to conversion as other units. The Scout Ship is the weakest of the war vessels. War vessels fire at enemy villagers, military units, and boats within range. Upgrades include the War Galley and Trireme. Other war ships include the Catapult Trireme and Juggernaught. You can build and upgrade  war vessels at the Dock. The first true warships built to attack and sink other ships were galleys mounting a heavy ram at the front. The warship attempted to ram an enemy ship and stave in its hull, causing it at least take on water if not sink. Early warships were almost oar-powered torpedos, consisting of a light, floating hull manned by oarsmen. A sail, if present, was used only in transit, not in battle.


War Galley
	War Galley Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Dock, upgrade to War Galley. Cost: 135 wood Hit points: 160 Attack: 8 Armor: -- Range: 6 Speed: Fast Special: Boats are twice as resistant to conversion as other units. War vessels fire at enemy villagers, military units, and boats within range. The War Galley is has more hit points, attack strength, and range than a Scout Ship. The War Galley can be upgraded to the Trireme. You can build and upgrade war vessels at the Dock. The appearance of the ram triggered an arms race in ship design. Hulls were strengthened to support ever heavier rams on the bow. As hulls grew larger, more oarsmen were required to provide power. A deck was added and a second group of oarsmen was placed here. This increased power without increasing length, but the deck made the ship somewhat more unstable. A ship with two levels of rowers was called a bireme.


Trireme
	Trireme Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Dock, upgrade to War Galley, upgrade to Trireme. Cost: 135 wood Hit points: 200 Attack: 12 Armor: -- Range: 7 Speed: Fast Special: Boats are twice as resistant to conversion as other units; fire rate once/2 seconds. War vessels fire at enemy villagers, military units, and boats within range. The Trireme has more hit points, attack strength, range, and a faster fire rate than a War Galley. The Catapult Trireme is even stronger. You can build and upgrade war vessels at the Dock. Ancient ship designers tried numerous tricks to get more power for warships, including putting more men on single oars. The most successful design was the trireme, three tiers of single rowers per side. This ship provided reasonable maneuverability and speed. It appeared around 600 BC and made up the bulk of Mediterranean navies for several hundred years after 500 BC.


Catapult Trireme
	Catapult Trireme Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Dock, upgrade to War Galley, upgrade to Trireme, research Catapult Trireme. Cost: 135 wood, 75 gold Hit points: 120 Attack: 35 Armor: -- Range: 9 Speed: Fast Special: Boats are twice as resistant to conversion as other units; fire rate once/5 seconds; small damage area. War vessels fire at enemy villagers, military units, and boats within range. The Catapult Trireme has less hit points and a slower fire rate than a Trireme but it has much more attack strength, and range and is armed with a Catapult, which can fire at a location instead of at a particular unit. The Catapult Trireme can be upgraded to the Juggernaught. You can build and upgrade war vessels at the Dock. The ultimate warships of antiquity were advances on the trireme that occurred after the death of Alexander. These ships were first broadened so that multiple rowers could apply power to each oar. Based on limited descriptions and detailed figures for crew and rowers, it is believed that the largest ships of this period may have had catamaran hulls. The broadening of ships and decks added weight and further reduced speed and maneuverability, but increased stability. Decks supported catapult artillery and large marine contingents. Ships engaged each other primarily with missile fire and boarding, and less with ramming.


Juggernaught
	Juggernaught Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Dock, upgrade to War Galley, upgrade to Trireme, research Catapult Trireme, research Engineering, upgrade to Juggernaught. Cost: 135 wood, 75 gold Hit points: 200 Attack: 35 Armor: -- Range: 10 Speed: Fast Special: Boats are twice as resistant to conversion as other units; fire rate once/5 seconds; medium damage area. War vessels fire at enemy villagers, military units, and boats within range. Like the Catapult Trireme, the Juggernaught is armed with a Catapult, which can fire at a location instead of at a particular unit. The Juggernaught has more hit points and range and causes damage to a larger area than the Catapult Trireme. You must research Engineering before you can upgrade to the Juggernaught. You can build and upgrade war vessels at the Dock. [need description]


Military units
	Military units Priest Infantry Clubman Axeman Short Swordsman Broad Swordsman Long Swordsman Legion Hoplite Phalanx Centurion Archers Bowman Improved Bowman Composite Bowman Chariot Archer Elephant Archer Horse Archer Heavy Horse Archer Cavalry Scout Chariot Cavalry Heavy Cavalry Cataphract War Elephant Siege Weapons Stone Thrower Catapult Heavy Catapult Ballista Helepolis


Clubman
	Clubman Age: Stone Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks. Cost: 50 food Hit points: 40 Attack: 3 Armor: -- Range: -- Speed: Medium The Clubman is the weakest of the infantry units. The Clubman can be upgraded to the Axeman. Other infantry units include the Short Swordsman, Broad Swordsman, Long Swordsman, and Legion. You can train and upgrade infantry units at the Barracks. The first soldiers were local people called up for military duty in times of emergency. These temporary soldiers were commonly armed with a mace, usually a club with a stone head. This was an inexpensive weapon and one that could be used effectively with a minimum of training. Clubmen were at a disadvantage, however, when facing the better trained and armed professional soldiers that eventually appeared to defend the early farming civilizations. The mace had little practical use other than in combat against other humans. It appeared long before the first civilizations, indicating that the roots of warfare go back far into prehistoric times.


Axeman
	Axeman Age: Tool Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, upgrade to Battle Axe. Cost: 50 food Hit points: 50 Attack: 5 Armor: -- Range: -- Speed: Medium The Axeman is an infantry unit. The Axeman has more hit points and attack strength than the Clubman. Other infantry units include the Short Swordsman, Broad Swordsman, Long Swordsman, and Legion. You can train and upgrade infantry units at the Barracks. The increasing population and wealth of the earliest civilizations made it possible to support standing armies available at all times for defense and attacking neighbors. The first professional armies were built probably in Sumeria and Egypt. These early civilizations had much to protect and were sufficiently wealthy to provide protection. Sumerian artwork from around 2500 BC provides evidence of an early army, in this case lines of soldiers, possibly in formation, equipped with identical armor, helmets, and weapons.


Short Swordsman
	Short Swordsman Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, research Short Sword. Cost: 35 food, 15 gold Hit points: 60 Attack: 7 Armor: 1 Range: -- Speed: Medium The Short Swordsman is an infantry unit. The Short Swordsman has more hit points, attack strength, and armor than the Axeman. The Short Swordsman can be upgraded to the Broad Swordsman. You can train and upgrade infantry units at the Barracks. The short sword represents an evolutionary step in infantry weapons. The spear, mace, and axe were relatively easy to manufacture and use, but somewhat cumbersome in actual hand-to-hand combat. Following the discovery of bronze, it became possible to manufacture short swords that were basically enlarged and strengthened knives. These were much easier to wield in hand-to-hand combat and improved the effectiveness of infantry who carried them. Short swords were carried as a second weapon by spearmen or pikemen, such as the Greek hoplites. The most famous short sword of antiquity was the gladius, or Spanish sword, adopted by the Roman legions from the Spanish allies of Carthage. The gladius was especially effective in the dense legion fighting formations that pressed tightly against their opponents and restricted movement.


Broad Swordsman
	Broad Swordsman Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, research Short Sword, upgrade to Broad Sword. Cost: 35 food, 15 gold Hit points: 70 Attack: 9 Armor: 1 Range: -- Speed: Medium The Broad Swordsman is an infantry unit. The Broad Swordsman has more hit points, attack strength, and armor than the Short Swordsman. The Broad Swordsman can be upgraded to the Long Swordsman. You can train and upgrade infantry units at the Barracks. The appearance of bronze short swords led to further advances in weaponry as competing cultures sought an advantage in military technology over their neighbors. Where the early short swords was primarily a piercing weapon, the broad sword evolved as a slashing weapon. The width of the blade increased strength sufficiently to support a slashing attack that could cut into armor and break short swords designed for stabbing.


Long Swordsman
	Long Swordsman Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, research Short Sword, upgrade to Broad Sword, upgrade to Long Sword. Cost: 35 food, 15 gold Hit points: 80 Attack: 11 Armor: 2 Range: -- Speed: Medium The Long Swordsman is an infantry unit. The Long Swordsman has more hit points, attack strength, and armor than the Broad Swordsman. The Long Swordsman can be upgraded to the Legion. You can train and upgrade infantry units at the Barracks. The long sword represents the culmination of infantry weapon development in antiquity. It was designed for both piercing and slashing, combining the best of both the short and broad swords. The long sword was made possible first by advances in bronze-working and improved by the discovery of iron. Some historians believe that the development of long swords by barbarian cultures was a key factor in the catastrophe of 1200 BC, when most of the civilized cultures of the Mediterranean and Middle East were overrun. The long sword in various forms remained an important military weapon until the advent of gunpowder.


Legion
	Legion Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, research Short Sword, upgrade to Broad Sword, upgrade to Long Sword, research Fanaticism, upgrade to Legion. Cost: 35 food, 15 gold Hit points: 160 Attack: 13 Armor: 2 Range: -- Speed: Medium The Legion is the ultimate infantry unit. The Legion has many more hit points and more attack strength than the Long Swordsman. You must research Fanaticism before you can upgrade to Legion. You can train and upgrade infantry units at the Barracks. The Roman legion was the ultimate military formation of antiquity. The legion was a 4200-man unit at full strength, broken down into 120-man units called maniples. Most of the maniples went into battle as separate blocks of men in a square formation that looked something like a checkerboard from above. Ten maniples fought as skirmishers in loose order to the front of the first line of blocks. They attacked the enemy infantry line with sling stones, arrows, and javelins as the two armies closed and then fell back between gaps in the blocks. They might move to the edges of the battle to protect the Roman line and harass the enemy line. The heavy infantry blocks moved forward, throwing javelins just before the clash. Gaps in the blocks might be filled in by a second row of blocks containing more experienced soldiers. The third and final row of blocks was the smallest but contained the most experienced veterans who served as the legion's reserve. The basic legion might have attached cavalry, archers, engineers, and artillery, depending on the task before it. At its peak, the Roman Empire had Legions deployed all along its frontiers, defending against barbarians, putting down revolts, expanding the empire, and maintaining order.


Hoplite
	Hoplite Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, build Stable, build Academy. Cost: 60 food, 40 gold Hit points: 120 Attack: 17 Armor: 5 Range: -- Speed: Slow The Hoplite is the weakest of the elite infantry unit. Upgrades include the Phalanx and Centurion. You can train and upgrade elite infantry units at the Academy. [need description from Bruce]


Phalanx
	Phalanx Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, build Stable, build Academy, upgrade to Phalanx. Cost: 60 food, 40 gold Hit points: 120 Attack: 20 Armor: 7 Range: -- Speed: Slow The Phalanx is an elite infantry unit. The Phalanx has more attack strength and armor than the Hoplite. You can train and upgrade elite infantry units at the Academy. The phalanx was a Greek heavy infantry formation used from about 800 BC to the conquest of Greece by the Romans in the Second Century BC. The Greek infantry, called hoplites, formed a square that could quickly face in any of four directions. Each man carried a pike or spear up to 12 feet in length. As the formation advanced, it presented an imposing wall of spear points to its front. Hoplites carried a large round shield and wore a bronze helmet, breastplate (cuirass), and greaves. All free men in the Greek city-states trained in the phalanx. The discipline and drill required to make the phalanx work permeated the entire Greek culture. Greek infantry fighting from the phalanx was the finest in the western world for several centuries. No other infantry faced it in hand-to-hand combat and won until the new tactics of combined arms made it obsolete. The last great success of the phalanx was in Alexander's campaign against the Persians, although in that army it fought as part of a combined arms army.


Centurion
	Centurion Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, build Stable, build Academy, upgrade to Phalanx, research Aristocracy, upgrade to Centurion. Cost: 60 food, 40 gold Hit points: 160 Attack: 30 Armor: 8 Range: -- Speed: Slow The Centurion is the ultimate elite infantry unit. The Centurion has more hit points, attack strength, and armor than the Phalanx. You must research Aristocracy before you can upgrade to the Centurion. You can train and upgrade elite infantry units at the Academy. [need description from Bruce]


Bowman
	Bowman Age: Tool Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, build Archery Range. Cost: 40 food, 20 wood Hit points: 35 Attack: 3 Armor: 0 Range: 5 Speed: Medium The Bowman is the weakest of the archers. Archers fire arrows at enemy villagers, military units, boats, and buildings within their range. Other archers include the Chariot Archer, Improved Bowman, Composite Bowman, Elephant Archer, Horse Archer, and Heavy Horse Archer. You can train and upgrade archers at the Archery Range. The bow was an important military weapon from the time of the first armies, being easily adapted from hunting animals to warfare. Archers required less discipline and leadership in battle because they were not expected to engage in hand-to-hand combat, a terrifying experience. Bowmen fought from a distance on the battlefield, from behind walls or other cover, and from ambush. They were usually not decisive in battle on the attack because they could not physically take ground from the enemy like infantry could. They acted mainly as defensive troops and as light troops that disrupted enemy formations prior to the decisive moment when the infantry clashed. If barrages of arrows could cause casualties and lower morale of the enemy prior to the clash, friendly infantry had a better chance of breaking the will of the enemy infantry and being victorious.


Improved Bowman
	Improved Bowman Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, build Archery Range, research Improved Bow. Cost: 40 food, 20 gold Hit points: 40 Attack: 4 Armor: 0 Range: 6 Speed: Medium Archers fire arrows at enemy villagers, military units, boats, and buildings within their range. The Improved Bowman has more hit points, attack strength, and range than the Bowman. The Improved Bowman can be upgraded to the Composite Bowman. You can train and upgrade archery units at the Archery Range. [need description from Bruce]


Composite bowman
	Composite Bowman Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, build Archery Range, research Improved Bow, upgrade to Composite Bow. Cost: 40 food, 20 gold Hit points: 45 Attack: 5 Armor: 0 Range: 7 Speed: Medium Archers fire arrows at enemy villagers, military units, boats, and buildings within their range. The Composite Bowman has more hit points, attack strength, and range than the Improved Bowman. Other archery units include the Horse Archer and Elephant Archer. You can train and upgrade archery units at the Archery Range. [description doesn't take into account the improved bow] The Composite Bow was an advance over the basic short bow used by Bowmen. The Composite Bow was developed in Asia and was also known as the oriental or recurved bow. It reached the Mediterranean and Middle East by the beginning of the Second Millennium BC. It was made of layers of wood glued together rather than a single piece. The composite material was then bent outward at each end to increase tension. The result was a very powerful bow that doubled the effective range of the short bow. Egyptian engravings depicting the Battle of Kadesh show Ramesses II and other Egyptian archers using Composite Bows.


Chariot Archer
	Chariot Archer Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, build Archery Range, research Wheel. Cost: 40 food, 70 wood Hit points: 70 Attack: 4 Armor: 0 Range: 7 Speed: Fast Special: High resistance to conversion; triple attack against Priest.  The Chariot Archer is a powerful fighting unit that combines the speed and mobility of the Chariot and the attack strength of the Improved Bowman. Other mounted archery units include the Elephant Archer, Horse Archer, and Heavy Horse Archer. You must research the Wheel before you can train Chariot Archers. You can train and upgrade archery units at the Archery Range. Around 1700 BC, two existing technologies of military consequence, the chariot and the bow, were merged to create a fearsome new military weapon-the chariot archer. Armored archers carried in fast chariots dominated the battlefields of the civilized world for the next 500 years and remained useful for some time after that. In the open ground of the settled plains and river valleys, the chariot archer was devastating due to its speed, mass, and firepower. Chariot archers were typified by the Egyptian nobility and pharaohs of the New Kingdom, 1552-1069 BC, who prided themselves on their archery. The first recorded battle of history, Megiddo in 1460 BC, was fought between chariots with archers involved on at least the Egyptian side. The chariot archer was the dominating battlefield weapon from China to Greece from about 1600 to 1200 BC, according to the historical and archaeological record. The long reign of chariot armies was due to several factors, including most importantly the placement of a composite bow archer in the basket with the driver and using the chariot as a mobile firing platform. The fast-firing chariot archer was devastating against slow, poorly armored infantry in the open areas of the civilized cultures. The glorious vision of elite archers from the nobility fighting from their expensive chariots and wheeling around the battlefields at will pervaded all civilized cultures of the time.


Elephant Archer
	Elephant Archer Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, build Archery Range. Cost: 180 food, 60 gold Hit points: 600 Attack: 5 Armor: 0 Range: 7 Speed: Slow The Elephant Archer combines the hit points of the elephant and the attack strength and range of the Composite Bowman. You must research the Wheel before you can train Chariot Archers. Other mounted archery units include the Chariot Archer, Horse Archer, and Heavy Horse Archer. You can train and upgrade archery units at the Archery Range. [need description]


Horse Archer
	Horse Archer Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, build Archery Range. Cost: 50 food, 70 gold Hit points: 60 Attack: 7 Armor: 0 Range: 7 Speed: Fast Special: +2 armor against Ballista, Helepolis, and missile weapons (Archery Range units, towers, Scout Ship, War Galley, and Trireme). The Horse Archer is a fast archery unit with strong attack strength and range. The Horse Archer can be upgraded to the Heavy Horse Archer. Other mounted archery units include the Chariot Archer and Elephant Archer. You can train and upgrade archery units at the Archery Range. The chariot archer was replaced eventually on many ancient battlefields by horse archers. This transition took place during the dark age following 1200 BC. Mounted warriors fighting with composite bows made up many of the barbarian armies on the Asia steppes. This type of unit was embraced by the Assyrians first and eventually their rivals. Two horse archers had twice the firepower of one chariot archer, were much more flexible in where they could go on the battlefield, were only half eliminated by the loss of one horse, and avoided the expense of the chariot itself. Horse archers rarely dominated fighting as the chariot archers had, however, because advances in armor and tactics relegated horse archers to a supportive role. The hordes of horse archers employed by the Persians against Alexander, for example, were no match for his Companion cavalry, heavy Greek infantry, and skirmish troops. The Great Wall of China was built to restrict the movements of barbarian horse archers from the north.


Heavy Horse Archer
	Heavy Horse Archer Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, build Archery Range, research Chain Mail for Archers, upgrade to Heavy Horse Archer. Cost: 50 food, 70 gold Hit points: 90 Attack: 8 Armor: 0 Range: 7 Speed: Fast Special: +2 armor against Ballista, Helepolis, and missile weapons (Archery Range units, towers, Scout Ship, War Galley, and Trireme). You must research Chain Mail for Archers before you can upgrade to the Heavy Horse Archer. The Heavy Horse Archer has more hit points and attack strength than the Horse Archer. You must research Chain Mail for Archers before you can train the Heavy Horse Archer. You can train and upgrade archery units at the Archery Range. [need description]


Stone Thrower
	Stone Thrower Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, build Archery Range, build Siege Workshop. Cost: 180 wood, 80 gold Hit points: 75 Attack: 50 Armor: -- Range: 10 Speed: Slow Special: Fire rate once/5 seconds; small damage area. The Stone Thrower is the weakest of the siege weapons. Siege weapons are used to attack buildings, towers, and walls. Upgrades include the Catapult and Heavy Catapult. Other siege weapons include the Ballista and Helepolis. You can build and upgrade siege weapons at the Siege Workshop. The stone thrower was an artillery weapon based on the principle of the lever. The stone thrower fired a heavy missile, usually a large stone or stone wrapped in burning oily rags. The missile was placed in a large basket at the end of the throwing arm. Tension was built up on the other end of the arm while the throwing basket was held taut against a fulcrum. When released, the throwing arm swung up and forward until checked, throwing the missile. Stone Throwers were used primarily against fixed positions, especially cities and fortifications. Stones were used to knock down walls to open the way for an infantry assault. Fireballs set wood rubble on fire, burning out the defenders. Small stone throwers were also used on the battlefield to disrupt massed enemy formations, although the enemy rarely offered easy targets within range. The stone thrower was invented around 400 BC by Greeks seeking to capture an island fortress off the coast of Sicily.


Catapult
	Catapult Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, build Archery Range, build Siege Workshop, upgrade to Catapult. Cost: 180 wood, 80 gold Hit points: 75 Attack: 60 Armor: -- Range: 12 Speed: Slow Special: Fire rate once/5 seconds; medium damage area. Siege weapons are used to attack buildings, towers, and walls. The Catapult has more attack strength and range and causes a larger area of damage than the Stone Thrower. The Catapult can be upgraded to the Heavy Catapult. Other siege weapons include the Ballista and Helepolis. You can build and upgrade siege weapons at the Siege Workshop. [need description from Bruce]


Heavy Catapult
	Heavy Catapult Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, build Archery Range, build Siege Workshop, upgrade to Catapult, research Siegecraft, upgrade to Heavy Catapult. Cost: 180 wood, 80 gold Hit points: 150 Attack: 60 Armor: -- Range: 13 Speed: Slow Special: Fire rate once/5 seconds; large damage area. Siege weapons are used to attack buildings, towers, and walls. The Heavy Catapult has many more hit points and more range than the Catapult. You must research Siegecraft before you can upgrade to the Heavy Catapult. Other siege weapons include the Ballista and Helepolis. You can build and upgrade siege weapons at the Siege Workshop. [need description from Bruce]


Ballista
	Ballista Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, build Archery Range, build Siege Workshop. Cost: 100 wood, 80 gold Hit points: 55 Attack: 40 Armor: -- Range: 9 Speed: Slow Special: Fire rate once/3 seconds; minimum range 3. Siege weapons are used to attack buildings, towers, and walls. The Ballista has a minimum range of 3. The Ballista can be upgraded to the Helepolis. Other siege weapons include the Catapult and Heavy Catapult. You can build and upgrade siege weapons at the Siege Workshop. The Ballista was an early artillery weapon that fired missiles, primarily large bolts or spears. It was used in attacks on cities or fortified positions because it could cause structural damage and casualties from a great distance. When it could be deployed on a battlefield, it was especially useful against dense formations of troops. In this situation one shot could cause multiple casualties. The Ballista was invented in the second half of the First Millennium BC, probably by Greek engineers. It functioned like a large crossbow. Tension was built up in the engine by twisting leather, and then released, propelling the missile down a guided trough and into flight.


Helepolis
	Helepolis Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, build Archery Range, build Siege Workshop, research Craftsmanship, upgrade to Helepolis. Cost: 100 wood, 80 gold Hit points: 55 Attack: 40 Armor: -- Range: 10 Speed: Slow Special: Fire rate once/1.5 seconds; minimum range 3. Siege weapons are used to attack buildings, towers, and walls. The Helepolis has more range and a faster fire rate than the Ballista. You must research Craftsmanship before you can upgrade to the Helepolis. Other siege weapons include the Catapult and Heavy Catapult. You can build and upgrade siege weapons at the Siege Workshop. [need description from Bruce]


Scout
	Scout Age: Tool Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, build Stable. Cost: 100 food Hit points: 60 Attack: 3 Armor: 0 Range: -- Speed: Fast The Scout is the weakest cavalry unit. Other cavalry units include the Cavalry, Heavy Cavalry, Cataphract, Chariot, and War Elephant. You can train and upgrade cavalry units at the Stable. An important innovation in military tactics was the provision of skirmish, or light, troops that scouted ahead of the main body when an army was on the move. While it was important to form solid, disciplined ranks of spearmen or other infantry for the shock of hand-to-hand combat, these dense formations were vulnerable to surprise. It was the function of scouts to keep the army commander informed of the tactical situation and locate enemies so the main body was brought into combat at the right place and time. At the Battle of Kadesh in 1275 BC, Ramesses II of Egypt did not investigate reports that the Hittite army was far to the north. Instead he advanced one of his four divisions across the Orontes River and was attacked while his second was still crossing. Ramesses managed to win the battle, but the lack of proper scouting put his army in jeopardy.


Cavalry
	Cavalry Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, build Stable. Cost: 70 food, 80 gold Hit points: 150 Attack: 8 Armor: 0 Range: -- Speed: Fast Special: +5 attack against infantry. The Cavalry has more hit points and attack strength (including +5 attack against infantry) than the Scout. The Cavalry can be upgraded to the Heavy Cavalry. Other cavalry units include the Chariot and War Elephant. You can train and upgrade cavalry units at the Stable. Horses were domesticated around 4000 BC for use as work animals. They first appeared in the Middle East around 2000 BC but were kept only as expensive pets. Gradually they were found useful in the civilized world as draft animals, but were rarely ridden. The concept of cavalry was introduced to the Assyrians from the plains of Russia during the dark age that followed the catastrophe of 1200 BC. The Assyrians added cavalry to their armies in order to fight the barbarians on the plains to their north. Israelite king Solomon was renowned for his large cavalry force. It eventually became clear that cavalry was more efficient than chariots. Two men, each on their own horse, were more useful than two men in a chariot that could be disabled with increasing ease. Cavalry was cheaper to maintain than chariotry and could enter more difficult terrain, but was no less fast and intimidating to infantry.


Heavy Cavalry
	Heavy Cavalry Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, build Stable, research Cavalry, upgrade to Heavy Cavalry. Cost: 70 food, 80 gold Hit points: 150 Attack: 10 Armor: 1 Range: -- Speed: Fast Special: +5 attack against infantry; +1 armor against Ballista, Helepolis, and missile weapons (Archery Range units, towers, Scout Ship, War Galley, and Trireme). The Heavy Cavalry has more attack strength and armor (including +1 armor against missile weapons) than the Cavalry. The Heavy Cavalry can be upgraded to the Cataphract. Other cavalry units include the Chariot and War Elephant. You can train and upgrade cavalry units at the Stable. Heavy cavalry was distinguished from other cavalry by equipment and battlefield role. It was considered heavy because the warriors and horses usually wore some metal armor, including breastplates, helmets, and greaves. The horses were also oversized to more easily carry an armored man and to intimidate foes. While most cavalry acted as skirmishers and scouts on the battlefield, heavy cavalry was a shock weapon, held back for the proper moment to charge into enemy formations and ride them down. Heavy cavalry was rare in antiquity because the saddle and stirrup had not yet been invented. It took an exceptional rider to ride into a shock battle and use a lance effectively. The most famous heavy cavalry of the time was the Companion cavalry of Alexander the Great. These men were horsemen from birth on the plains of Thessaly and Macedon. Part of their devastating success in battle against the Persians may have been due to the novelty of their wedge-shaped charges, unprecedented at that time.


Cataphract
	Cataphract Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, build Stable, research Cavalry, upgrade to Heavy Cavalry, research Metallurgy, upgrade to Cataphract. Cost: 70 food, 80 gold Hit points: 180 Attack: 12 Armor: 3 Range: -- Speed: Fast Special: +5 attack against infantry; +1 armor against Ballista, Helepolis, and missile weapons (Archery Range units, towers, Scout Ship, War Galley, and Trireme). The Cataphract is the ultimate cavalry unit. The Cataphract has more hit points, attack strength and armor than Heavy Cavalry. You must research Metallurgy before you can upgrade to the Cataphract. Other cavalry units include the Chariot and War Elephant. You can train and upgrade cavalry units at the Stable. [need description from Bruce]


Chariot
	Chariot Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, build Stable, research Wheel. Cost: 40 food, 60 wood Hit points: 100 Attack: 7 Armor: 0 Range: -- Speed: Fast Special: High resistance to conversion; double attack against Priest. The Chariot is a fast, two-wheel cavalry unit pulled by horses. You must research the Wheel before you can research the Chariot. You can train and upgrade cavalry units at the Stable. Chariots originated in Sumeria before 2500 BC as four-wheeled carts pulled by onagers. These chariots were slow and cumbersome compared to later chariots, but provided a protected platform for spearmen and archers. How they were used in combat remains unclear, although all charging animals were intimidating on the battlefield. At this time the horse was not widely domesticated in the civilized parts of the world. In the first half of the Second Millennium BC the chariot basket was reduced in size and mounted on only two wheels. Horses were substituted eventually to provide greater speed. The fast two-wheeled chariot was especially intimidating in battle because of its speed and the shock value of charging horses. At this time horses were rarely being ridden. Charioteers became the elite of the civilized armies for the next 600 or so years. Chariots were often manned by the nobility because of their elite status, the glory to be won, and the high cost of building and maintaining chariots and their horse teams.


War Elephant
	War Elephant Age: Iron Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Barracks, build Stable. Cost: 170 food, 40 gold Hit points: 600 Attack: 15 Armor: 0 Range: -- Speed: Slow Special: Trample damage to adjacent units; attack strength cannot be upgraded. The War Elephant is a cavalry units with many hit points and a lot of attack strength. The War Elephant causes trample damage to adjacent units. You can train and upgrade cavalry units at the Stable. Elephants were tamed in antiquity but never domesticated. They were most useful as beasts of burden, but were employed in battle by several cultures, including the Carthaginians, Persians, and Indians. Elephants were much more intimidating than horses and much tougher as well. In addition, horses avoided elephants, making elephants, in theory, a great weapon against enemy cavalry. In practice, unfortunately, elephants rarely proved useful. They were difficult to acquire, train, and maintain. Hannibal attempted to take elephants across the Alps to attack Rome, but only one survived. No account of Alexander the Great's battles makes any mention of Persian elephants being effective. Elephants were difficult to control in battle and were likely to charge in any direction but the one desired, especially after being wounded. They were apparently more dangerous to friend than foe, being already nearer to friends and most likely to charge away from perceived danger through the friendly army arrayed around them.


Priest
	Priest Age: Bronze Prerequisites: Build Town Center, build Granary, build Market, build Temple. Cost: 125 gold Hit points: 25 Attack: -- Armor: -- Range: 10 Speed: Slow A Priest heals friendly and allied units and converts enemy units. If diplomacy is set to Neutral or Enemy, military units attack Priests. You can train Priests at the Temple. [need description]


Villagers
	Villagers Age: Stone Prerequisites: Build Town Center. Cost: 50 food Hit points: 25 Attack: 3 Armor: -- Range: -- Speed: Medium Villagers take different names depending on the task they are assigned (builder, farmer, fisherman, forager, gold miner, hunter, repairman, stone miner). Hunters and villagers used in combat have increased attack strength. You can create villagers at the Town Center. [need description]


Troubleshooting


	Error messages


	Problem solving


	Technical support


Accessibility
	Accessibility For information about setting the accessibility options, refer to the Windows 95 online Help.


History


Cultural history
	Ancient cultures Assyrian Babylonian Choson Egyptian Greek Hittite Minoan Persian Phoenician Shang Sumerian Yamato


Assyrian culture
	Assyrian culture (1800 to 600 BC) Lord Byron began his poem "The Destruction of Sennacherib" with "The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold." At the height of their power, the Assyrians were very much like a wolf among sheep, although their reputation was enhanced by several references to them in the Old Testament and by the extensive battle scenes which were found on their ruins. For a period they rose to the challenge of being surrounded by enemies and became the most powerful military force in the known world. Their legendary barbarity and fierceness was a deliberate policy intended to foster the submission of enemies and minimize the threat of revolt by vassals. 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 their 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 BC Assyria was invaded by Semitic barbarians called the Amorites. By 1800 BC an Amorite 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 BC was the Middle Assyrian Empire. Several strong kings first reasserted Assyrian independence and then began encroaching on neighboring empires. The Assyrians avoided destruction during the catastrophe of 1200 BC, perhaps because 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 Assyrians prospered. By 1076 BC Tiglathpileser I had reached the Mediterranean to the west. The New Assyrian Empire, 1000 to 600 BC, 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 they also benefited by being situated astride some important trade routes. They are not remembered as traders in their own right, perhaps only as tax collectors on traders passing 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 ziggurats 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 liberally 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 farther 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 man-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 BC, 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. They 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, but also 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 and then the cavalry when chariots became obsolete. The Assyrians were accomplished at the art of capturing walled cities. Their historical records recount numerous city assaults and the brutality that followed. Cities that did not submit were often completely destroyed. 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 continually revolted given an opportunity. Weaker kings were unable to hold the empire together in the face of internal and external pressure. In 612 BC the capital at Nineveh fell to a coalition of Babylonians and Medes. The Babylonians were in revolt (Babylon had been sacked in 648 BC) 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 or not 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, who, in turn, influenced Philip and Alexander of Macedonia. 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.


Babylonian culture
	Babylonian culture (1900 to 539 BC) The Mesopotamian city-state of Babylon twice expanded to become an important world empire before being absorbed finally by Persia. Its two great expansions were sufficiently remarkable to earn a place in history beside the two other great Mesopotamian cultures, the Sumerians and Assyrians. Between its two 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 all were the 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 were not available. Rise to power Babyonia was founded as a kingdom around 1900 BC by Semitic Amorite barbarians who overran much of Canaan, Akkad, and Sumer one hundred years earlier. In 1792 BC the small kingdom was inherited by Hammurabi who ruled until 1750. During those forty-two years, Hammurabi extended the kingdom to encompass 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 BC Hittites drove down the Euphrates and sacked Babylon, plundering the city and deposing the Amorite kings. This ended the first empire. Within twenty years, new invaders called the Kassites had settled around Babylon, establishing a new dynasty. The Kassites were neither Semitic nor Indo-European, and probably came from east of the Zagros Mountains. The Kassites ruled Babylon for several centuries before being conquered by the Assyrians in 1158 BC. Descendants of the Amorites had restored control by 1027 BC. 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 BC. The revived Babylonians overran most of the Assyrian Empire from the Persian Gulf to the borders of Egypt. In 597 BC 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 BC 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 BC) derived from controlling the East-West and North-South trade, primarily 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 of these was Marduk, 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 fertility in the 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 covered with gold. At the center of a great and rich trading empire, the people of Babylon had access to exotic goods and manufactured items from 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 also 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 Ishtar gate opened on the sacred Processional Way that led to the ziggurat and Temple of Markuk. 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 ziggurats. The greatest of these, built by Nebuchanezzar II, had seven levels with a small temple to Marduk at the top. This ziggurat was probably the Tower of Babel mentioned in the Bible. Nebuchanezzar also built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, a multi-storied 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 Hanging Gardens were one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Military Little is know of the Babylonian military from either the old or new empires. 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 cavalry, 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 heavily 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 BC 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 Markuk, 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 BC, 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 Babylonian 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 BC, purportedly handed down by the god Shamah. The laws of Moses derive from Hammurabi's code. The laws themselves are preserved on a 90 inch stone stele that was uncovered in Susa in modern times. It had been carted off by the Elamites following their sack of Babylon in 1158 BC. 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 the hanging gardens.


Choson culture
	Choson culture (450 BC to 108 BC) The Korean peninsula was invaded by successive waves of Neolithic peoples but the culture of the area remained little changed for a long period until the use of bronze implements began around the ninth or eighth centuries BC. 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 cap stones) indicate the rise of a stratified political and social structure. The Bronze Age in Korea lasted until the fourth century BC. Sometime around 450 BC the first large political groupings of walled-town states arose. The most advanced of these was Old Choson. Location The state of Old Choson 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 Choson capital was Wanggom-song, now modern P'yongyang (the capital of North Korea). Rise to power The power of Old Choson grew from around 450 BC to the end of the fourth century. The Choson 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 Old Choson culture, they referred to them as being arrogant and cruel, which suggests that the Old Choson were formidable warriors. Despite the apparent strength of Old Choson 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 Old Choson. One refugee, named Wiman, built a power base among the other refugees and eventually drove the Old Choson king from his throne around 190 BC. The new kingdom, called Wiman Choson, 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 Choson 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 Choson 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 free peasants were heavily taxed and provided labor to the state. They were not permitted to bear arms or serve in the armies. The Chinese of the time considered Korean peasants to be agricultural slaves. 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 descendence 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 prehistoric Korea was based on animism and shamanism. Primitive priests were magicians who attempted to move the gods by evocation. By the time of Old Choson, priests prayed to the gods humbly and earnestly for favor. The ancient Koreans believed in the immortality of the soul and buried their elites 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. Old Choson took the name "wang" (king) for its leader about the time that the nearby Chinese kingdom of Ye employed the same title. Military We know little about the armies of Choson 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 Choson 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 Choson armies can be inferred from their expansion and dominance of the region and the comments about Choson recorded by their Chinese neighbors. Decline and fall Unified China under the Han Dynasty was not pleased by Wiman Choson's growth and control of eastward trade, and was concerned about the possibility of an alliance between Wiman Choson and the Hsiung-nu (barbarians then expanding out of Mongolia into Manchuria). The aggressive Emporer Wu of Han launched an attack against the Wiman Choson when diplomacy failed to bring them to heal. The Wiman Choson were a tough adversary but were weakened by defections and collaborationists among the nobility. The Wiman Choson capital fell in 108 BC and the kingdom came to an end. Legacy Choson, the most ancient kingdom of Korea, was recalled in 1390 AD with the founding of the Choson dynasty that was to rule the peninsula until its annexation by Japan in 1910. The name Choson was taken to honor the greatest of the ancient Korean kingdoms. The legacy of the Choson was a Korean culture that remained separate from that of China, despite the proximity and influence of that enormous neighbor.


Egyptian culture
	Egyptian culture (5000 to 30 BC) The Egyptian culture was one of the oldest of antiquity and the most long-lived. It benefited from an abundance of good farmland, nearby mineral resources, and a good strategic position. It endured as a distinctive culture for nearly 5000 years, despite occasional invasion and internal strife. 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 northeast 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 Hierakonpolis, Memphis, Herakleopolis, Thebes, It-towy, Akhetaten, Tanis, Sais, and Alexandria. The most important of these were Memphis and Thebes. Alexandria was founded as the capital by Alexander the Great in 331 BC. Greek overlords, the Ptolemaic dynasty, ruled from here until 30 BC. Rise to power Agriculture was brought to the Nile Valley prior to 5000 BC by immigrants from the highlands of Palestine. By 3000 BC agriculture had spread southward up the Nile. Flooding was under control and irrigation put much more land under cultivation. The abundance 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 BC King Menes of Upper Egypt conquered Lower Egypt (centered on the lowland river delta) and established the First Dynasty. Between 3100 BC and 1300 BC, 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 BC the Nubians suffered an important defeat and they were neutralized as a threat for about 500 years. Egypt's Dynasty XIII, 1783 to 1640 BC, 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 Hyksos, took control of the entire delta region in 1674 BC. The Hyksos eventually adopted Egyptian culture and language, while introducing the horse and chariot. The New Kingdom was founded by Dynasty XVIII in 1552 BC, following a successful war to drive out the Hyksos. This dynasty was the great age of the warrior pharaohs and Egyptian empire. To 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 Old Testament history of the Jews being carried off to Egypt may be a metaphor for this period of Egyptian dominance. The Egyptians were the dominant power in the Near East until around 1200 BC when the entire area was overrun by barbarians. Economy Egypt was an agricultural society dependent on the water and soils 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 principal crops were wheat and barley that were used to make bread and beer, the staples of their diet. They also grew fruits and vegetables and raised cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, geese, ducks, and pigeons. The abundance of food meant a large population and allowed the export of food. The Nile passes through several hilly regions and some of these were rich in minerals. The nearby Sinai Peninsula also held mineral riches. Unlike some other ancient cultures, the Egyptians had relatively easy access to copper and gold, further increasing their wealth. The hills were sources of granite, limestone, and sandstone that they used for construction. The Egyptians were one of the first cultures to build boats and they eventually took these out into the Mediterranean. Egypt became an important Mediterranean port of call as trade increased because 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 Re, 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 Re. 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 Pharaohs 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 be fish, grain, trade goods, pottery, etc. 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 invasion around 1675 BC, Egyptian soldiers were equipped with simple bows, maces, and spears. 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 BC, 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 of 1200 BC 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 thrown also eroded their strength. In 728 BC Egypt was conquered by Nubia and held for 60 years. In 665 BC the Assyrians completed a conquest of Egypt by sacking Thebes. A new native Egyptian dynasty arose in 664 BC, eventually throwing out the Nubians and asserting their independence from Assyria by stopping payment of tribute. In 525 BC Egypt was conquered again from the east, this time by Cambryses II of Persia. When the Persians faltered in their war with the Greeks, the Egyptians reclaimed their independence briefly before succumbing once more to Persian invasion by 332 BC. 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 BC when Cleopatra VII, the last 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 quantity of cultural objects that have survived to the present, including the Pyramids, the Sphinx, the treasures of Tutankhamun's tomb, the other monuments and temples of the Nile Valley, hieroglyphics, mummies, and papyrus. They are also remembered in the West because of their prominent role in the history of ancient Israel as recounted in the Old Testament.


Greek culture
	Greek culture (2100 to 146 BC) The ancient culture that had the broadest and most long-lasting impact on future civilization was that of Greece. The Greeks dominated the known world militarily for only a brief period, but their cultural influence spread farther and lasted much longer. Rediscovered in the West in large part after the Medieval Dark Age, it was an important foundation for the growth of modern western civilization. The Greeks were never a unified kingdom but existed throughout their history as city-states, sometimes working together and sometimes at war with each other. At the zenith of Greek military power under Alexander the Great, they remained a collection of city-states in cooperation. In the early Second Century BC it was possible to travel from the south of modern France to India needing to know only Greek to communicate. Location The Greek culture was centered on the mainland of modern Greece but spread from there to the islands of the Aegean, into the lower Balkans, across the Aegean to the western coast of Anatolia, to Sicily, to parts of North Africa, and to southern France (Marseilles was founded as a Greek colony). The campaigns of Alexander greatly expanded the culture, establishing it in central Anatolia, the Levant, Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia to the borders of India. Capital As a collection of city-states, there was usually no capital of the Greek culture. During the Bronze Age, Mycenea was one of the strongest and richest citadels. During the Archaic and Classical periods, Athens and Sparta vied for prominence. Athens was the clear cultural center while Sparta was the strongest military power. During the brief Greek apogee under Philip and Alexander, the de facto capital was the Macedonian city of Pydna. Following the death of Alexander, his empire was eventually divided into three parts. The Antigonid Dynasty ruled Greece and Macedonia from Pydna. The Selucids ruled Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Syria, the Levant, and Persia from a newly built city, Selucia on the Tigris River. The Ptolemies ruled Egypt from another newly built city, Alexandria. Rise to power The history of ancient Greek culture is divided into several periods-the Bronze Age (2100 to 1200 BC), the Dark Age (1200 to 800 BC), the Archaic Period (800 to 500 BC), the Classical Age (500 to 336 BC), and the Hellenistic Period (336 to 30 BC). The Bronze Age saw the rise of the first cities on the mainland. These were predominantly fortified palaces on hilltops. This culture was named after its greatest citadel, Mycenea. Excavation of Mycenea by Heinrich Schlieman in the 1870's revealed fabulous burial tomb treasures. The Mycenean culture disappeared around 1200 BC following attacks by barbarians. The city of Troy was also sacked around this time. The catastrophe of 1200 BC devastated the economy of Greece and ushered in a Dark Age that lasted about 400 years. Gradually civilization renewed at old sites, such as Athens, and at new sites such as Sparta and Corinth. By 800 BC the city-states of the mainland were economic and military powers. During the next 300 years, the Archaic Period, the Greeks expanded by establishing colonies across the Aegean in Anatolia (Ionia) and along the central and western Mediterranean coasts. They vied with the Phoenicians for colony sites and trade. The Archaic Period came to an end when the rising eastern power of Persia came into conflict with the Greeks over the Anatolian coast. The period of 500 to 336 BC was the Classical Age of Greece, dominated first by the wars with Persia and then the Peloponnesian civil war between Athens and Sparta. Although this period is defined by military events, it was also a time of many important cultural advances. The Hellenistic Period took its name from the Greek word "Hellene," which means "Greek." This period began with the installation of Alexander as king of Macedon following the assassination of his father. In thirteen years of military campaigns Alexander conquered most of the known world and spread the Greek culture behind his armies. After Alexander's premature death in 323 BC, his empire was eventually divided into three parts. Although these parts fought each other and gradually shrank due to rebellion and attack, the culture of the civilized world remained primarily Greek. Economy Grains and bread were staples of the Greek diet but they could be grown only in a few fertile areas. Most of Greece was hilly and not suitable for large farms on the scale of Egypt or Mesopotamia. Farmers grew fruits and vegetables where they could clear fields. On the hillsides they grew olives for food and oil. Further up the hills they grew grapes to be made into wine. Horses were raised mainly in Thessaly and Macedonia where there were open grasslands. Elsewhere they were kept only by the rich. Cattle were kept mainly for milk, pigs and poultry for meat, and sheep for leather and meat. Seafood supplemented diets in coastal areas. The Greeks were renowned for pottery that was both functional and beautiful. Decorations on pottery revealed much about the ancient Greek culture to historians. By carefully studying the changing styles of pottery, historians were able to date it and then use fragments of it to help date excavations and other objects found with it. The Greeks took advantage of their geographic position between the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas to engage in trade. City-states traded amongst themselves and overseas. Thessaly and Macedonia exported horses, for example, while Athens exported honey and silver. Important Greek exports were oil, wine, pottery, sculpture, metalwork, cloth, and books. Their most important import was grain from the Black Sea region, Egypt, Italy, Sicily, and Cyprus. Other important imports were timber, wool, linen, copper, dyes, silk, spices, and ivory. Coins were first used in Lydia, a small kingdom in northwestern Anatolia, at the end of the Seventh Century BC. The concept quickly spread to the Ionian Greek colonies and then throughout the Greek culture. The most popular coins were made of silver. City-states celebrated their independence by minting their own coins showing a representative symbol (the owl for Athens and the pegasus for Corinth, for example). Religion and culture The Greeks believed in many gods who were responsible for the living and the dead. Their gods were very humanistic-they got married, had children, felt love and jealousy, and sought revenge. Legends were told of them to teach how to please them or what angered them. The principal gods were the twelve Olympians thought to live on Mount Olympus. They were led by Zeus, ruler of the heavens. Temples were built to provide earthly homes for individual gods. The Parthenon in Athens, for example, was dedicated to the goddess Athene. Inside was a statue of Athene made of gold and ivory that stood over forty feet high. Offerings of jewelry, pottery, and sculpture were given to the temple. Animals and birds were given to the priests for sacrifice. Festivals were held to please individual gods and persuade them to be munificent. Before beginning an important project, an oracle or soothsayer was consulted to learn the will of the gods. The most famous of these was the Oracle of Delphi where a priestess, called the Pythia, would voice the will of Apollo. Priests would interpret the Pythia's often vague replies. In one famous example, Croesus, the king of Lydia, asked whether he should invade Persia or not. He was told such an invasion would destroy a great kingdom. He assumed the Persians were the kingdom in question but in fact Lydia was conquered by Persia. Women in Greece led generally sheltered lives and took little active role in society. They took their social status from their husbands. The emphasis was on having sons and raising them to be citizens and soldiers. Boys were given an extensive education in reading, writing, arithmetic, music, poetry, dancing, and athletics. Both mental and physical development was stressed. Music, poetry, and theater were an important part of the Greek culture. All Greek cities and colonies built a theater or amphitheater. Society consisted of two main groups-free people and slaves. Slaves were owned by free people and employed as servants and laborers. Slaves may have been purchased in international slave markets or were prisoners of war. Free men in Athens were either citizens, born to Athenian parents, or metics, born outside of Athens. Both groups might be required to serve in the army but only citizens could be government officials or jurors. Government The independent city-states were called polis. Each consisted of the city and surrounding countryside. The largest of these was Athens with about one thousand square miles of territory. During the Archaic Period, most city-states were governed by a group of the rich landowners. These were the aristoi, meaning best people, or the aristocrats. Resentment of aristocratic rule led to riots when traders and craftsmen began to prosper but had no say in government. Beginning around 650 BC individuals called tyrants were allowed to rule to keep the peace. Government was improved under an enlightened tyrant but the system was susceptible to corruption. In 508 BC Athens introduced a new system called democracy under which all citizens took part in their government. Women, foreigners, and slaves had no say. Architecture Greek homes were simple structures of mud and brick but their public buildings, especially temples, were beautiful structures of stone. A distinctive feature of Greek architecture was the use of columns supporting horizontal lintels. Military During the Bronze Age, the armies of the individual palaces were mainly chariots manned by the richest citizens. These armies were destroyed by barbarians around 1200 BC sending Greece into its Dark Age. During the Archaic Age the aristocrats at first dominated the army as cavalry because they alone could afford horses. Foot soldiers came from the poorer classes that could not afford horses or better weapons and armor. Eventually trade and wealth increased, while the cost of new weapons made of iron fell. The aristocrats fell out of favor in the army, as well as in the government. A new army of well equipped foot soldiers called hoplites replaced the cavalry in importance. Each city had a different system for raising its army. In Athens, all free men aged 20 to 50 could be called up in time of war. Older men served as garrison troops. Each of the ten Athenian tribes had to provide enough troops for one regiment and one commander, called a strategoi. Hoplites carried on their left arm a large round shield that extended from neck to thigh. The shield was decorated with a symbol from their family, tribe, or city. They wore bronze helmets that usually mounted a horsehair crest on top to make the soldier look taller and more powerful. For body protection they wore a cuirass of bronze, or leather and bronze, from shoulder to chest, plus bronze greaves on the front of the lower legs. Their weapons were a long spear and a short iron sword. Hoplites fought in the phalanx, a square of men usually eight ranks deep. It was important that the phalanx move and fight together. Flutes and other musical instruments helped them keep in step. The terrifying hand-to-hand clash of opposing phalanxes called for extreme courage and discipline. The Greeks disdained the use of skirmish troops using bows, slings, or javelins and the use of cavalry. So long as they fought among themselves or were lucky, this was not a problem. Extensive contact with other military systems during the Persian Wars eventually convinced them that the phalanx needed to be supported. The ultimate Greek army built by Philip of Macedon employed heavy and light cavalry, light infantry, and skirmishers in support of its heavy hoplite infantry. Decline and fall Following the death of Alexander the Great, the city-states of mainland Greece attempted to rebel against Macedonian rule but were defeated in the Lamian War of 323-322 BC. During the next forty years, the War of the Diadochi contested the division of Alexander's empire. It was divided eventually into three kingdoms (Greece, Egypt, and Persia). These three kingdoms made up the Hellenistic world. The Antigonid Dynasty ruled Greece and Macedon, but lost control of their colonies in southern Italy to the Romans in 275 BC. The Greeks supported the Carthaginians against Rome during the Punic Wars and paid for that once the Carthaginians were destroyed. Three Macedonian Wars against Rome resulted in the end of the Antigonid Dynasty in 168 BC. Following an ussuccessful Macedonian revolt, the city-states of Greece became provinces of the Roman Empire in 146 BC. The Selucid Dynasty attempted to rule what had been the enormous Persian Empire. This proved impossible and parts began rebelling away very quickly. By 180 BC their kingdom had been halved. In 64 BC the Roman general Pompey seized the Selucid kingdom and incorporated it into the Roman Empire. The Ptolemaic Dynasty consisted only of Egypt. Because of its relative seclusion and wealth, it lasted the longest of the three Hellenistic kingdoms. Queen Cleopatra VII and her husband Marc Antony of Rome were defeated in battle by Octavian at Actium in 31 BC. The last Ptolemy committed suicide and Egypt became part of the Roman Empire in 30 BC. Legacy The legacy of ancient Greece impacts many disciplines including medicine (the scientific approach to medicine; the Hippocratic Oath taken by doctors), mathematics (Euclidean geometry; the Pythagorean theorem), literature (the Illiad and the Odyssey), theater, poetry, sculpture, language (the Bible's New Testament was written in Greek; thousands of words passed on to modern languages), architecture (the White House; the British Museum), history (Herodutus is regarded as the father of history), politics (democracy), philosophy (all philosophical studies since Plato have been referred to by one writer as mere footnotes to his work), science (the scientific method; laws of nature; the classification of plants and animals; the heliocentric theory), athletics (the Olympic Games), and trade (Greeks established trade routes to India and the Silk Road to Asia). The Greek language and culture spread behind Alexander the Great's armies. The Romans in turn adopted much of the Greek culture, preserving it and spreading it to new parts of the world. After the fall of Rome, Greek culture was preserved and expanded upon within the Byzantine Empire and in the Arab world, and passed on to the West following the Renaissance.


Hittite culture
	Hittite culture (2000 to 1200 BC) The extent of the Hittite civilization and empire was rediscovered only within the last hundred years. The Hittites had been mentioned several times in the Old Testament, but were considered only bit players. Excavations of sites in Turkey and Syria, plus the decipherment of inscriptions and recovered clay tablets, revealed that the Hittites were a world power at one time, rivals of the Egyptians and conquerors of Babylon. Location The Hittite empire was centered in Asia Minor (modern Turkey). At its maximum, it extended from the Aegean coast of Anatolia, east to the Euphrates River, southeastward into Syria as far as Damascus, and south along the eastern Mediterranean coast of the Levant. Hittite King Mursuli sacked Babylon around 1600 BC, but did not attempt to hold the region. Historians do not know where the Hittites originated or how they got to Asia Minor. Studies of their language indicates that they were probably of European origin and migrated south through the Balkans or past the eastern end of the Black Sea, sometime around 2000 BC. Capital The greatest Hittite capital was at Hattusas, outside the modern Turkish town of Bogazköy in north central Turkey, inland from the Black Sea. This city had been previously the capital of the Hatti, a local kingdom that was conquered by the Hittites around 1900 BC. The name Hittite derives from the name of the Hatti. The capital was moved to Hattusas around 1500 BC and the city was noted for its massive walls and placement in rugged terrain. Rise to power Around 2000 BC when the Hittites entered Asia Minor, the region was populated by small, yet sophisticated, kingdoms, each no larger than a thousand people. The Hittites began expanding their kingdom around 1900 BC, using both force and diplomacy to bring rival city-states and kingdoms in Asia Minor under control. The Hittite kingdom went through several periods of expansion and contraction until around 1400 BC. Beginning then, several strong kings in succession expanded the Hittite empire across all of Asia Minor, into Syria, and beyond the Euphrates River. The push into Syria brought the Hittites into conflict with the Egyptians who also sought to dominate this area. For several generations the Hittites and Egyptians remained diplomatic and military rivals. The great battle of Kadesh was fought between these superpowers around 1300 BC and was commemorated in Egypt by a great pictorial relief, an epic poem, and an official written record. After several decades of uneasy stalemate, the two powers signed a peace treaty and mutual defense pact, perhaps in response to growing Assyrian power to the east. A copy of the treaty was inscribed on the walls of an Egyptian temple at Karnak where it can be read today. Duplicate copies of this treaty on clay and silver tablets were also found by archaeologists in both countries. Economy The Hittite imperial boundaries encompassed a diverse geography, including expansive grassy plains, mountains, sea coast, river valleys, and desert. Their economy was based mainly on grain and sheep raising, but they also possessed large deposits of silver, copper, and lead ore. They were adept metal workers and among the earliest makers of iron, although during their time iron was more valuable than gold and not available in any quantity. They were an important provider of copper and bronze to Mesopotamia. When they attempted to control the trade to and from that area by extending their influence into Syria, the Levant, and upper Euphrates River region, they came into conflict with the Egyptians. Religion and culture The Great Temple at Hattusas, below the hill on which the palace stood, was the religious center of the empire. The Hittite king was also the high priest of the kingdom and split his time between government, religious duties, and conquest. The king's dual role was useful in unifying the culture of the kingdom among its diverse peoples. Each year the king/high priest traveled extensively presiding at festivals . These personal appearances brought in rich donations and helped stabilize the realm. Hittite religion was polytheistic. They were tolerant of other beliefs and flexible about incorporating new gods already worshipped by newly conquered peoples. Their supreme deity, Teshub, the Storm God, was borrowed. Hittite culture discovered so far pales in comparison to that of their contemporaries in Bablyon and Egypt. We have only a few bronze and stone statuettes, seal impressions, and rock carvings to judge their artistic ability. One enduring symbol from their artwork is the double-headed eagle that was adopted as a national symbol by both Austria and Russia. They used cuneiform for writing as well as their own hieroglyphics. They patterned their laws on those of Bablyon, though they tempered their severity. Government Some researchers believe that the early Hittite government was the first constitutional monarchy. The pankus, probably an assembly of nobleman, monitored the king's activities in relation to their laws and probably had the power to remove and install kings as needed. Because they had no law of succession until circa 1500 BC, the death of a king prior to then often triggered a struggle for power. The authority of the pankus waned as the empire began to grow and after a law of succession was adopted. During the empire years, the Hittite ruler was called the Great King. Each year the rulers of vassal states brought gifts to Hattusas and pledged their loyalty. In return for military protection and favorable trading status, vassal states contributed money and troops to the empire. Diplomacy Extensive records and correspondence preserved on clay tablets have revealed much detail about Hittite diplomacy and politics. Decipherment of specific tablets connected the Hittites with two of the most famous events in antiquity-the legendary city of Troy from the Illiad and the death of the Egyptian boy pharaoh Tutankhamen. Diplomatic letters to a city on the east coast of Asia Minor helped establish the site of the city of Troy. In 1353 BC the greatest Hittite king, Suppiluliuma I was besieging the city of Carchemish that controlled an important ford and trade route over the Euphrates River. During the siege he received a letter from Ankhesenamun, the newly widowed wife of Tutankhamen. The queen of Egypt asked that Suppiluliuma send one of his sons to be her new husband and king of Egypt. The stage was set for a very important alliance by marriage. Suppiluliuma took too long to investigate and negotiate, however. An Egyptian courtier-priest seized the widow and the throne, and peace between the two great powers was not arranged until seventy years later. Military Hittite foot troops made extensive use of the powerful recurved bow and bronze tipped arrows. Surviving artwork depicts Hittites soldiers as stocky and bearded, wearing distinctive shoes with curled-up-toes. For close combat they used bronze daggers, lances, spears, sickle-shaped swords, and battle-axes shaped like human hands. Soldiers carried bronze rectangular shields and wore bronze conical helmets with ear flaps and a long extension down the back that protected the neck. They were apparently very competent at conducting sieges and assaulting cities that resisted. They were possibly the first to adopt the horse for pulling light two-wheeled chariots and made these vehicles a mainstay of their field armies. Egyptian engravings of the Battle of Kadesh show three men in the Hittite chariots using spears, but other evidence suggests that they carried only a driver and archer. Perhaps the chariot archer replaced the chariot javelin thrower. Hittite chariot armies were feared by most of their contemporaries. Decline and fall Following the establishment of peace with Egypt around 1280 BC, there ensued eighty years of relative peace and prosperity for much of the civilized world. During the great catastrophe circa 1200 BC, however, the Hittite empire was suddenly destroyed. The fortifications at Hattusas were thrown down and the city burned for good. Stone sculptures were smashed apart. We don't know by whom, but it is possible that the Hittite armies fell off in ability during decades of relative peace while the growing riches of the empire made it an ever more attractive target, probably to barbarians from the west and north. The Kaskans, barbarians from the Russian steppes, penetrated the empire around 1300 BC and plundered Hattusas. They may have returned to finish the job for good. Legacy The legacy of the Hittites is limited because they were lost as a culture until rediscovered only recently. They are remembered in the Bible as relatively small but sturdy warriors, but for little else. A small remembrance of the Hittites is their pointed shoes with turned up toes seen in many carvings and reliefs that survive. This style of shoe is still seen occasionally in Turkey for ceremonial dress.


Minoan culture
	Minoan culture (2200 to 1200 BC) Primitive agricultural communities sprang up around the Aegean Sea by 6000 BC 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 BC and became the first civilization of Europe. The sudden take-off may have been stimulated by trading contact with Mesopotamia through Levant ports or 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. The extent of Minoan achievements were first revealed by Sir Arthur Evans who began excavating Minoan sites in 1900. Location The Minoan culture was centered on the island of Crete, but extended to other nearby islands, including Thera and Rhodes. The 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 20th Century. Rise to 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 The island of Crete was rich in natural resources, possessing good farmland, good 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, fruits, herbs, and olives. Grain, wine, olive oil, timber, ceramics, and manufactured goods were their principal exports. 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 not by a male sun god or warrior god, but by female goddesses who protected the household, the crops, and the animals. The Minoans made regular offerings of food, statues, and other objects. 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 Minoans may have practiced human sacrifice at one time and the tale of the minotaur may be a metaphor for sacrifices. 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 after life and buried the dead with food and possessions that would of use. Two sacred symbols were bull horns and the doubled-sided axe. The Minoans developed a hieroglyphic writing around 2000 BC, perhaps following trading contact with the Egyptians. By 1900 BC they had developed a new script called Linear A. A third script called Linear B came into use at Knossos around 1450 BC. So far, only 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. We do not know the significance of this activity. Young men and women are depicted approaching a charging bull, grabbing it by the horns, and somersaulting over the animals back to land behind it. We know that the bull was important to the Minoans but bulls were not worshipped. 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 We know little about the Minoan government. The great palace at Knossos 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 name 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 archaeological remains indicate that the palace of Knossos was destroyed by an earthquake in 1700 BC and rebuilt. The nearby island of Thera was partially sunk by a volcanic eruption and the resulting tidal wave probably struck Crete doing 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 BC, essentially destroying the culture, although it lingered for several hundred 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 succumb 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 BC. Evidence suggests that by 1180 BC 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.


Persian culture
	Persian culture (700 to 332 BC) The Persians were unlikely empire builders but in a relatively short span of years they conquered most of the Near and Middle East. They benefited from the leadership of a series of strong kings in succession and by a lack of competent leaders among their neighbors. They expanded very quickly, wobbled for a few hundred years under internal and external pressures, and then collapsed suddenly and utterly. Despite their accomplishments and the breadth of their influence, our knowledge of the Persians is surprisingly limited. Very few Persian records have survived and many of these are written in Elamite, a language we understand poorly today. There is nothing to compare with surviving records of the Egyptians, Greeks, Hittites, and others. Historians rely heavily on what neighbors wrote about the Persians, such as Herodotus who traveled widely within their empire during its peak. Archaeology has revealed that while the empire was certainly in decline prior to Alexander's conquest, it was once well-governed, efficient, and no fluke of history. Location The Persians were originally one of several Aryan tribes that migrated into modern Iran from the plains of southern Russia around 1400 BC (the word Iran derives from Aryan). They settled the southwest corner of the Iranian plateau, on the north shore of the Persian Gulf, on lands vacated by the Elamites who had been conquered and enslaved by the Assyrians. The Persians were separated from the great civilizations of Mesopotamia by the Zagros Mountains. At its peak, the Persian Empire stretched from the Indus River across the Near East to the eastern Mediterranean coast, south into Egypt along the Nile to Sudan, across Anatolia, and into Thrace and Macedonia. Capital During the history of the Persian Empire, five cities served as the royal capital. The first was Pasargadae, built by Cyrus to commemorate his victory over the Medes. It was remote and impractical as an administrative capital. Babylon was rebuilt by Cyrus as a royal capital for his use when affairs brought him to Mesopotamia. Darius moved the empire's administration to Susa, the old Elamite capital, perhaps for efficiency. It was well-located at the hub of a road and water transport network. The extreme summer heat of Susa drove the Persian court first to the higher altitudes of Ecbatana, the old Median capital in the Zagros Mountains. In 520 BC Darius began building the greatest of the Persian capitals at Persepolis. Construction of Persepolis was interrupted for long periods and was not completed nearly 200 years later when the city was sacked and burned to the ground by Alexander. Rise to power The Persians settled on relatively poor and remote lands where they were little troubled by first the Elamites to their west, then the Assyrians who destroyed the Elamites around 640 BC, then the Medes (to their north) and resurgent Babylonians who conquered Assyria in 609 BC. Throughout this period, the various petty Persian kings were vassals of the richer and more advanced Medes. Cyrus II became king of the small Persian kingdom of Anshan in 559BC. Within ten years he had subjugated the eastern part of Persia and established a reputation among even his rivals as a natural leader to whom men gravitated. When the Median king attempted to reassert control over Persia around 550 BC, the Median army revolted on the battlefield, handing over their king to Cyrus and surrendering their own capital at Ecbatana. The Median Empire, stretching across northern Mesopotamia into Anatolia, underwent a nearly bloodless change of management. Cyrus II was now Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian Empire. Cyrus then conquered in quick succession the Lydians of Asia Minor (led by the King Croesus of legendary wealth who had invented coins), Greek colonies on the Aegean coast, the Parthians, and the Hyrcanians to the north. In 541 BC he marched into the steppes of Central Asia establishing a fortified border along the Jaxartes River. In 540 BC, his 19th year as king, Cyrus turned on his onetime ally, Babylon. After one battle, the army and people of Babylon surrendered their king, city, and empire that stretched from southern Mesopotamia to Phoenicia. Before Cyrus could expand into Egypt or toward Greece, however, he was killed fighting nomadic tribesmen who were threatening his eastern provinces. The first successors to Cyrus conquered Egypt, gathered new provinces in North Africa, and extended the empire into India to the Indus River. They turned next against the Greeks who were commercial rivals of Persian Phoenicia. In 513 BC a huge floating bridge was built across the Bosphorus Strait, linking Asia and Europe. The Persian army took Thrace and Macedonia to cut off grain to the Greeks, but could not subjugate the elusive Scythians. This was the peak of the Persian Empire. The stage was set for the mighty struggle with the city-states of Greece that lasted 50 years. Economy The early Persian economy was based on herding because the land was so poor for agriculture. The Persians attributed their toughness to the meager lifestyles to which they had been acclimated for generations. The sudden acquisition of the Median Empire, Lydia, Babylon, Egypt, and gold-rich areas in India made Persia an economic powerhouse. It controlled the rich agricultural areas of Mesopotomia, the grasslands of Anatolia, the trade routes in every direction, and rich deposits of metals and other resources. Great King Darius instituted many economic innovations and reforms: systematized taxation; standardized weights, measures, and monetary units (the first successful widespread use of coins); improved transportation routes, including the 1600 mile Royal Road from Susa to Sardis and an early Suez Canal; royal trading ships, promotion of agriculture, a banking system, and promotion of international trade. Religion and culture The Persian kings and nobility were Zoroastrians, a religion named after its founder, Zarathustra, called Zoroaster in Greek. Zarathustra conceived his religion around 600 BC and it had great influence later on Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Zoroastrianism was monotheistic, centering on one supreme god who created everything material and spiritual. The powers of good and evil worked on humans who had to choose constantly between the two. An eternal afterlife of pleasure or torment were the possible rewards from god's judgment after death. These concepts of monotheism, good versus evil, free will, and posthumous reward or punishment were a departure from the polytheistic religions prominent in the area previously. These concepts greatly influenced religions that followed. Government The head of the Persian government was the king whose word was law. His authority was extended by a bureaucracy led by Persian nobles, scribes who kept the records, a treasury that collected taxes and funded building projects and armies, and a system of roads, couriers, and signal stations that facilitated mail and trade. In the early years when the army was predominately Persian, it capably preserved the internal and external peace. Much of the empire was divided into provinces called satrapies, ruled by a satrap. All of Egypt was usually a single satrapy, for example. The satraps were normally Persians or Medes to help insure their loyalty. They ruled and lived like minor kings in their own palaces. Some satraps became strong enough to threaten the king. Strong kings kept their satraps in check by holding close the reins of the armies and the treasury. Military All Persian men to the age of 50 years were obligated to serve in the armies of the Persian Empire. Greek historians report that boys were trained in riding, archery, hand-to-hand combat, and mounted combat. At the age of 20 they were eligible for military service. The army consisted mainly of four types of units: spearmen for infantry shock combat; foot archers to act as skirmishers; light cavalry armed mainly with bows; and heavy cavalry that wore some armor and carried spears. In the early years of the empire, the predominately Persian army was highly motivated and responsive on the battlefield, making it a dangerous foe. The elite of the Persian army was the Ten Thousand Immortals, so-called because the unit was always kept at a full strength of 10,000 men. The loss of any man to death or incapacitation was immediately made good by promotion from another unit. One thousand of the Immortals made up the king's personal bodyguard. In its later years, the ratio of Persians to provincial levees declined. The hardened army of disciplined and well-trained Persians was replaced by a polyglot of formations, weapons, and methods. These armies lacked the discipline of the Persians and proved difficult to maneuver and employ on the battlefield. Decline and fall The Persian Empire peaked around 500 BC, although the seeds of its decline were already planted. A recurring problem was court intrigue and ill-defined rules for succession. The death of a king often triggered a scramble for the throne that exhausted the treasury, eroded morale, and loosened the governmental hold on the provinces. Wasteful spending led to inflation and unpopular tax increases. Disputes in the provinces, usually over taxes, were often settled brutally, further increasing dissatisfaction. Five of the six kings that followed Xerxes' death in 464 BC were weak leaders that held the empire together only by increasingly harsh measures. The Greeks and Persians had been on a collision course for many years when conflict began between the two cultures in 499 BC. Despite what appeared to be overwhelming strength and economic resources, the Persians failed to defeat the Greeks in 50 years of war on land and sea. The Greeks, though victorious, were not capable immediately of carrying the war into Persia. Following the Greco-Persian Wars, the weak Persian kings concentrated on maintaining their ever more tenuous hold on the empire. Recurring revolts in outlying provinces, especially Parthia, Lydia, and Egypt, weakened the economy and military. Before the empire could dissolve from within it was dispatched by Alexander the Great in an amazingly short period of time. Alexander invaded in 334 BC, captured Lydia by 333, took Egypt in 332, and became king of Persia in 331. Legacy The Persians are best remembered in the West as the antagonists in the dramatic Greco-Persian Wars, from which so much history has been preserved. The most famous events from this period are the bridging of the Hellespont, land battles at Marathon, Thermopylae, and Platea, the great sea battle at Salamis, and the sacking of Athens. Most of this history is biased, however, because we have mainly the Greek accounts to study. The Persians are also remembered in several Biblical accounts for the tolerance of their wise early kings and the decadence of their later courts. Cyrus the Great is remembered especially for freeing the Hebrews held prisoner in Babylon when he took that city and allowing them to return to Israel. The greatest legacy of the Persians was the aggregation and mixture of Asia and African cultures. From these areas had come most of the advances of civilization to that point. This cultural gift was preserved by the Persians and passed on first to the Greeks and then to Europe and the West.


Phoenician culture
	Phoenician culture (1200 BC to 146 BC) Unlike the other famous cultures of antiquity, there was never a country or empire called "Phoenicia." Their historical name was given them by the Greeks and is not their own. "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 BC, 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 BC. 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 obvious opportunity for expansion and economic gain was by sea. Rise to power Prior to the catastrophe of 1200 BC, 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 in that area, and perhaps even controlled 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 BC, removing most of the constraints on Mediterranean and Aegean sea trading by 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 BC the ancient dark age 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 BC. Other important colonies were in Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, and Spain (modern Cadiz and Cartagena). 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 deep 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, metal work, furniture, and house wares. 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 African coast (gold, exotic woods, and slaves), and Britain (tin, a crucial strategic resource required to make bronze). Religion and culture Phoenician religion was polytheistic and their gods required continual sacrifices to forestall disaster, especially Baal 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 sacrifices by the Phoenicians but this practice was eventually stopped. It carried on in Carthage, however. A cemetery outside of Carthage was found to contain thousands of urns of babies sacrificed to the gods. Noble families of Carthage got into the habit of substituting animals and slaves for their children, but following a military disaster in 320 BC, 500 babies from the best families were sacrificed. 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 contributions 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 BC. 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 Carthaginians 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 by not fighting him but 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 BC. 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 BC 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 BC, 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 believe 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 BC. There is some questionable evidence that they reached the New World. Their most important contribution was their revised alphabet that 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.


Shang culture
	Shang culture (2500 BC to 9 AD) China has been a mystery to much of the world since word of its existence first spread west in ancient times. It was isolated first by geography, and then by a conscious policy on the part of its rulers. It was thought to be one of the oldest civilizations but modern archaeology and research has revealed that the civilizations on Crete, in Egypt, and in Mesopotamia predated it by a significant margin of time. China encompassed a number of fertile river valleys, especially the Huang Ho (Yellow) and Yangtze, that were ideal sites for agriculture. New technologies spread gradually from the west and the first Chinese farming communities appeared along these rivers around 5000 BC. Although all ancient civilizations shared eventually a common threshold of agricultural and technological knowledge, the relative isolation of China allowed it to form a unique culture. The Chinese distinguished their civilization by being first to achieve many important advancements. Capital The first recognized dynasty of Chinese kings is that of the Shang, who were located in the north along the Huang Ho River. Their principal city was An-yang, southwest of modern Beijing. The Chou dynasty overthrew a decadent Shang king and ruled for 400 years from the city of Hao in the northwest province of Shensi. When barbarians from the north sacked Hao, the Chou capital was moved east to Loyang. Although the Chou dynasty soon lost control of most of China, it continued to rule a state of varying size from its central position until 221 BC. In 221 BC China was unified by the Ch'In, from whom the country gets its modern name. A new capital was built at Hsien-Yang, also southwest of modern Beijing. Rise to power The Shang dynasty ruled over a conglomeration of northwestern Chinese feudal territories from 1766 to 1027 BC. The remainder of the country was made up of territories that the Shang could not reach or influence. In 1027 BC a particularly decadent Shang ruler lost control of the kingdom and succumbed to either revolt or the deliberate attack from the more western province of Chou. A Chou dynasty established itself and then expanded its control to the middle and southern areas of China over the next 400 years. With the help of a deposed queen, barbarians from the north invaded Chou in 722 BC and sacked the capital. The Chou dynasty relocated further to the east but never regained its dominance. The weakening of the Chou led to the Spring and Autumn period (722 to 481 BC) that takes its name from the title of a history of the era. New feudal kingdoms emerged and fought each other for territory, strategic materials, and population centers. Warfare between the feudal territories and barbarians to the north was incessant. By 500 BC the 200 feudal territories of China had consolidated into 20 independent states. A peace was arranged around 540 BC at a conference instigated by smaller states that had suffered continual invasion and despoiling. Peace lasted 40 years and then hostilities resumed, setting off the age known as the Warring States (481 to 221 BC). Seven major states emerged in this period, but each was subjugated by the Ch'in, one after the other, beginning in 230 BC. In 221 BC Prince Cheng, the "Tiger of Ch'in," proclaimed himself Shih Huang-ti-the first emperor of China. Economy Early Chinese farmers grew millet and vegetables, and kept dogs and pigs. By 4000 BC rice was being grown and this became the most important food crop of Asia. By 2500 BC cattle, chickens, sheep, and goats were raised, and water buffalo were being used to pull plows and wagons. Despite the ravages of war, the ancient Chinese economy continued to grow and improve. They built an elaborate road network that improved communications and trade. Massive irrigation projects dammed entire rivers, breaking them into small streams that carried water over extensive plains for rice cultivation. Most impressive were canals connecting rivers or taking water into previously arid regions. The first of these was built in 486 BC to supply troops. The eventual dominance of the Ch'in was due in part to the rapid population growth that resulted from canal and irrigation projects that dramatically increased food production. Bronze did not reach China until around 1500 BC and iron followed in the Sixth Century BC. Another advantage of the Ch'in was their iron deposits and iron industry. Iron tools were more efficient and iron weapons gave their soldiers an advantage in battle. The Chinese were casting iron seventeen centuries before that technology was achieved in Europe and iron making was a key factor in the shaping of their society. China was unique to the ancient world for the general lack of slavery and a large peasant class of land owners. The reasons for this are not fully understood. These two conditions probably contributed to the enormous food production and population that China supported. Religion and culture The religion of ancient China was dominated by ancestor worship. Kings traced their ancestry back directly to Shang-Ti, the ancestor and founder of the people, and the ruler of the natural world. Shang-Ti and deceased forebears were petitioned by sacrifices for guidance in all aspects of life. Political power was linked to the spiritual. The ruler was the Son of Heaven and ensured the welfare of the people. These ancient beliefs were modified eventually into a state religion by two competing philosophies that developed around the 6th Century BC in response to growing dissatisfaction with feudalism. The oldest of these philosophies was Taoism, based on a collection of profound sayings. Conformity to the Tao was achieved by unassertive action and simplicity. Taoism urged a return to a naturally sharing society that was cooperative, not acquisitive. A typical Taoism saying read "He who feels punctured must have been a bubble." The second and most influential philosophy was Confucianism, a more practical and socially aware doctrine. This was a philosophy of honesty and cooperation in relationships based on loyalty to principles. Virtue was acquired by self-cultivation and self-denial. The Confucian ideal was a perfection of the human personality through sacrifice in deference to traditional values passed down from one's ancestors. Heaven was the reward of the dutiful descendant. Government The various dynasties of China ruled over a hierarchy of feudal states linked by kinship and vassalage. Feudal society was supported by peasant farmers who produced a surplus of food and provided unpaid labor. Following the formation of the first empire in 221 BC, the long failing feudal society was replaced by a new structure. The aristocracy were only relatives of the emperor. Four classes of society were ranked below them. The shih were lesser nobility, land-owners, and scholars. The nung were the peasant farmers who paid taxes, labored on public works, and served in the armies. The kung were the artisans. The shang were the merchants. Architecture Ancient Chinese architecture was concerned primarily with building walls. Walls defended villages and towns, but also divided towns into sections. Controlling access to sections of cities enhanced the power of authorities. The earliest walls were built of earth tamped down between wooden slats that held it in place. The use of earth in this manner led to two major characteristics of Chinese architecture-walls did not usually bear loads and roofs supported generous overhangs to keep water off the walls. Walls were improved first with sun-dried bricks on their facings and then with fire-baked bricks by the end of the Warring States period. The Great Wall of China was constructed following the unification of 221 BC for two purposes. It was intended first to keep out or discourage attacks by mounted barbarians from the north. It also was an outlet for the labor of thousands of men who previously had served in the massive armies now made unnecessary by the unification. Military The ancient Chinese fielded armies that at times dwarfed those seen previously in the Near and Middle East. Casualties from a battle often numbered 100,000 or more according to records well regarded today for accuracy. Professional armies were supplemented by large militia levies called up for temporary service. The most militaristic states were those to the north and northwest who were forced to become proficient in war because of repeated attacks by mounted barbarians. Provinces in this region learned to fight large field armies from neighboring states as well as the barbarian hordes. The three dominant dynasties of ancient China originated in the northern provinces. Chariot archers dominated the battlefields of the Bronze Age Shang era, but they were supplanted by mounted archers and large infantry armies armed with iron weapons. An early technical achievement was the crossbow, not seen elsewhere for many centuries. Crossbows were manufactured in large quantities for the arming of the militia, as well as regular troops. This fact influenced the widespread building of walls for protection. For reasons not known, armor was made predominantly of wood and bamboo. Decline and fall The empire established in 221 AD was further modified by the Former Han dynasty up to 9 AD. In that year a usurper grabbed the throne and ruled for 16 years. Attempts to reform land ownership failed, however, and the usurper was eventually beheaded. This period makes a convenient break point in Chinese history, even though the empire continued to exist into the 20th Century AD. Legacy The principle legacy of ancient China was its philosophy, including the concepts of "face", ancestor worship, virtue, and balance with nature (Yin-Yang), which continue to shape its culture today. The most recognizable physical legacy is the Great Wall, the only man-made object on Earth visible from space.


Sumerian culture
	Sumerian culture (5000 to 2230 BC) 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 long 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. Our knowledge of the Sumerians is limited because fewer remnants of their culture have survived to the present compared to others, especially the Egyptians, for example. All dates associated with the Sumerian culture are very subjective. Location Sumer was located in southern Mesopotamia (meaning 'between the rivers') where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers come together before flowing into the Persian Gulf. By 5000 BC primitive farmers had come down to the valley from the Zagros 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 BC 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 BC. 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, however, 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 and barley, plus 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 BC and to make bronze by 3500 BC. They traded food, cloth, and manufactured items for raw materials, such as timber, copper, and stone, which they fashioned into items of everyday 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 Enlil, 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 after life and were realistic about the limits of human goodness. They accepted that gods were not always nice, yet still above question. 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. This 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 from some land ownership, control of trade, 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 quickly than stone, however, and little Sumerian architecture survived. 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, they were susceptible to attack. Surviving artwork and archaeological 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 used them first in battle. These early chariots were four-wheeled and pulled by onagers (a wild ass), and were not as terrifying as the later two-wheeled design pulled by horses. Sumerian chariots may have been primarily 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 preceded them. In 2371 BC 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 who were unable to unite in defense. Sargon established the first empire of history during his reign from 2371 to 2316 BC, 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 BC the Akkadian empire was destroyed utterly by an invasion of Gutians, 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 independent culture. Legacy The Sumerians are most noted for the invention of the wheel and writing (both circa 4000 BC). The wheel was important for transport and for pottery making (the potter's wheel). Sumerian writing, called cuneiform, consisted of groups of stylus wedge impressions pushed into clay to from stylized pictograms representing words. This writing grew out of record keeping and seals from business transactions. They were among the first to use boats, including round boats made of hide stretched over a wooden framework. These "coracles" were especially popular among the reeds and waterways of the river delta.


Yamato culture
	Yamato culture (300 to 800 AD) 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 from 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, and 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 7th Century AD, 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 governmental bureaucracy and organization, the need for a permanent seat of government arose. The first capital was founded at Fujiwara in 694 AD and served three emperors before being abandoned in 710. The second capital of this period was built at Heijo (west of modern Nara) and occupied from 710 to 784. Rise to power Chinese documents from the 2nd Century AD make reference to 100 countries existing in Wa, their name for Japan. By the 3rd 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. In the 4th Century the Yamato extended their rule into southern Korea until they were ousted by the Chinese in 562. For the next 100 years the Yamato tried to reestablish their influence in Korea but they and their Korean allies suffered a devastating loss at the battle of Hakusukinoe in 663 that drove them from the peninsula. Economy The Japanese economy remained dependent on rice growing under the Yamato. It was primarily a barter economy and taxes were paid in rice, cloth, and other commodities by peasants who worked public lands. Beginning with the 7th 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, 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 diety. Early Shinto was positive and concerned with the present, not the past or an after-life. 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. Around the 6th Century, Buddhism spread across the sea from China and began influencing Shinto. The Buddhist doctrine of salvation was especially popular with the common people. 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 Daiõ, 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 both the uji and be, depending on their skills and wealth. Architecture The outstanding architectural achievements of the Yamato are their tombs. These are mounds of earth in the shape of a key-hole if viewed from above. The largest tombs are found in the Yamato region of Japan and this 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 80 acres. Stone burial chambers were excavated 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 5th 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 descendants of the Yamato. The great tombs spread about the countryside are the most material legacy.


Rise of civilization
	Rise of civilization Human evolution Technology: the development and use of tools Prehistoric human community Agricultural revolution First cities Trade Religion Boats and sea travel Rise of civilization


Human evolution
	Human evolution Anthropologists believe that our human ancestors separated as a species from the apes at least 6 to 12 million years ago. We are handicapped in attempting to determine more accurately when the split occurred and in following the evolution of humans because the fossil record is very scant. Because of the gaps in our knowledge, scientists disagree on many important questions including which hominids were direct human ancestors and which were only cousins, what factors caused the split of hominids from the apes, and what were the key factors in shaping human evolution. New fossils are discovered frequently, however, and with each one we move closer to understanding the story of human evolution and the reasons why humans are so much more intelligent than any other species. African beginnings The split with apes is believed to have occurred in Africa. A possible environmental change that reduced forests and increased plains may have forced quadripedal creatures (walking on all fours) to venture into the open in search of food. In time, natural selection led to walking upright (bipedal motion). Preserved footprints indicate this occurred at least 3 million years ago. The conversion from walking on all fours to walking upright required a significant redesign of the body (longer legs, a basin-like pelvis, a curved spine, an arched foot with toes, new muscles) that would have evolved only if it resulted in major advantages. The conversion to upright movement may eventually prove to be the key to human intelligence. Although walking upright was a handicap in escaping predators, there were substantial compensations. The raised head allowed a greater range of vision. A larger larynx could be accommodated, allowing the development of speech. Speech, in turn, led to rational thought, a larger brain, and the development of culture. The hands were free for carrying weapons and other objects. This may have led to the opposing thumb that allowed a precision grip rather than the power grip of the apes. The precision grip increased dexterity and was crucial to human cultural development. Thereafter, the brain, the hand, and the eye evolved somewhat together. These examples show part of the relation between the evolution of human physiology, the brain, and human intelligence. Natural selection favored the ability to think, reason, and anticipate events and actions, the primary advantage of humans over other species today. Human expansion Hominids spread from Africa into the neighboring continents of Europe and Asia. From these African roots different human species evolved, although only Homo Sapiens has apparently survived to the present. Humans spread eventually across oceans to Australia perhaps 60,000 years ago and by land bridge probably to the Americas perhaps as early as 40,000 years ago.


Technology: the development and use of tools
	Technology: the development and use of tools The first archaeological evidence of human culture is stone tools. The oldest discovered so far date back 2.5 million years and initiate the period called the Old Stone Age (Paleolithic). This period covers 99 percent of the cultural record of human activity in terms of time. Everything from the New Stone Age (Neolithic), 30,000 years ago, through the Iron Age (3,000 years ago) and up to modern history takes place in the remaining 1 percent. Although the oldest surviving tools are made of stone, it is possible that tools of organic materials were in use earlier and have not survived. Animal bones, feather quills, claws, and objects of wood or fiber could have all been used as tools before stone. The importance of technology The first tools represent the beginnings of technology-the application of science and the use of objects for practical purposes. The employment of technology has several important implications. It can mean increased productivity and reduced costs. For example, a forager with a hide sack can carry many more nuts than a companion could in two hands. The worker with the sack is more productive and can carry a given amount at a reduced cost in time. Technology creates new products and services. The first stone tools may have allowed humans to butcher fresh kills instead of searching for carrion. Hides from fresh kills could be converted into clothes, whereas rotten hides from carrion were useless. Weapons are technology. They might be the difference between survival and extinction for an individual, a tribe, or a culture. Human predecessors were clearly advanced and competing well before they developed the first tools, but the growing technological sophistication of humans has been the means of our dominance over all other species, at least so far. Technological change At the cusp of the 20th Century, we are adapted to rapid technological change. We expect it, embrace it, and are rarely awed by it. At the other end of the geologic spectrum of human experience, technological change was numbingly slow. If the hominids broke from the family of apes even 6 million years ago, then 3.5 million years may have passed after that event before our predecessors first made stone tools. Another 1 million years passed before evidence indicates that they could control fire. Compare those periods to the amount of technological change that has occurred in the last century. The pace of technological change has gradually accelerated over time, although there have been periods of relative quickness and slowness, or even decline, and a few junctures where the rate of acceleration shifted into a higher gear. There have been at least two dark ages in the West where technology and knowledge declined or was lost-the first beginning around 1200 BC and the second around 400 AD. The destruction of the great library in Alexandria in 391 AD by religious zealots alone may have set back our knowledge by several hundred years. The pace of technological change has been determined by several factors including the size of the human population, environmental conditions, and the ability to preserve and pass on knowledge. When the world population of humans was very small, the spread of knowledge must have been limited. New ideas could have been invented and lost many times. Changing environmental conditions required a reasoned response to the problems of finding food, clothing, and shelter. The evidence of archaeology suggests that the peak of the last Ice Age, for example, was a period of rapid relative technological change. The people of that time needed better solutions for problems to survive in the harsh climate. For most of the human experience, all knowledge had to be preserved in the brain and passed on orally. Only so much knowledge could be retained and passed on in this manner. Succeeding generations could build only on what was passed on to them by memory. The creation of writing was one of those junctures after which the increase of knowledge was permanently and rapidly accelerated. Writing greatly expanded the preservation, spread, and pass-through of information. Computers have increased the rate of acceleration in a similar manner. The Evolution of Tools The earliest preserved human tools are fine-grained stones that have been struck apart to create sharp edges. These edges can cut other useful materials like wood, meat, and bone. Stone edges are very sharp, but are not flexible and break easily. They are easy to replace, however. Flint is the best-known Stone Age raw material, but it is rare in many parts of the world. Also used were fine-grained lavas, volcanic glass (obsidian), quartz, and chert. Stone tools were made by striking stones, not chipping them. Subsequent advances in tool making were the development of tool making tools, fine flaking to shape tools for specific uses, the development of micro-liths (literally small stone blades struck off a stone core to make knives, dart points, and arrowheads; the use of micro-liths distinguishes the New Stone Age [Neolithic]), and the eventual development of metallurgy. Metal tools were first made from raw copper, found on the Earth's surface and hammered into useful or artistic shapes. The important step of smelting copper from ore probably took place in Asia Minor between 6,000 and 4,000 BC. This required the invention of bellows to raise fire temperatures sufficiently high to extract the metal. The molten metal was then cast and shaped with hammers. Copper tools were relatively weak and soft, however, and were replaced by bronze, a much stronger and harder alloy of copper. Some copper ores contain arsenic also. When smelted together, the result was the bronze alloy of copper and arsenic. Arsenic was dangerous to work with, however. Further experimentation resulted in a superior bronze alloy of copper and tin. Bronze tools first supplanted the micro-liths and relatively rare copper tools around the Eastern Mediterranean. The Bronze Age supplanted the New Stone Age and lasted for several thousand years. Bronze and tin became the first strategic resources. Cultures without access to bronze and tin were at an industrial and military disadvantage. Some researchers believe that Mediterranean mariners sailed as far as the Great Lakes of North America in search of copper. The Phoeniceans and Carthaginians grew in importance by controlling the trade of tin from Britain. Bronze was supplanted by iron as a material for tools and weapons around 900 BC. Iron was stronger and harder than bronze, it could hold a sharp edge much longer, and it was much easier to find. It remained unsurpassed for tools and weapons until the much more recent development of steel. Gold is the softest naturally occurring metal. It was probably worked and shaped long before copper, and experience with gold may have suggested what could be done with raw copper. Gold was of no use as a tool but was perfect for jewelry and objects of art. The relative rarity, beauty, and softness of both gold and silver made them ideal luxury items and natural choices for coins when the need for money arose.


The prehistoric human community
	The prehistoric human community The earliest humans are thought to have lived in small family units, much like the apes. On the plains of Africa, or at the margin of the plains and the forest, they gradually evolved physically and mentally so that they could successfully compete for food and shelter. Their superior capability allowed them to spread outward from Africa into a wide variety of climates and environments. Gatherers and Hunters The first hominids are believed to have been gatherers of plant foods and the occasional animal carcass. Although they were probably not capable of sophisticated hunting at first, the ability to eat both meat and plant food was an important survival strategy. Meat was especially important as a source of fat, available otherwise from only a few plant and nut foods. Fish of all types were important sources of protein and fat for those people living near water. Human predecessors eventually learned the technologies of fire and hunting, and became hunter-gatherers. The ability to hunt living animals brought important advantages. Fresh meat was safer to eat than rotten meat. The fur and hides could be preserved from a fresh kill to provide clothes. Warm clothes allowed the early humans to penetrate into colder climates. Raw fresh meat is difficult to consume, however. Fresh meat was tenderized by fire and could be preserved by smoking for later consumption. Fire also allowed the environment to be controlled to some extent. For example, early explorers of North America commented on how the Iroquois regularly burned the forests to clear land for farming or create more food productive meadows. Nomads Hunter-gatherers were probably not unsettled wanderers taking what came their way. Their existence and survival depended on systematically exploiting the resources around them according to what has been called an 'optimal foraging strategy.' They moved to the seashore to harvest oysters in season, near the nut trees in the fall, and elsewhere to be present when fruits were ripe. They may have followed certain herds or arranged to intercept migrating mammals, birds, and fish at the same place each year. Plant foods make up 70 percent or more the diet of present day hunter-gatherers, but most of these live in very marginal areas. Prehistoric humans would have lived on the most productive lands and plant foods may have been even more predominant in the distant past. A critical condition of the hunting and gathering lifestyle was uncertainty. The small living groups had to be flexible in where they lived, how quickly they could move, what they ate, and population size because their food sources were not dependable. Interaction with other groups would have been limited because each would have required a large territory for gathering. In the short term, droughts, fires, floods, bad winters, and other environmental conditions could turn a rich food area into a food desert very quickly. In the long term, Ice Ages made part of the world uninhabitable and much of the rest only marginally productive. There were periods of bounty, no doubt, and some leisure time for social activity. We know that there was time for making beautiful objects, as well as the necessary tools, weapons, and clothes. Cave paintings and artifacts suggest the beginnings of art and religion. The slow gradual process of human evolution and technology advance brought our human ancestors safe to the end of the last Ice Age 10,000 years ago. As the ice receded, the land reentered a cycle of gradually increasing plant and wildlife abundance. Humans by this point had spread around the world and were sufficiently advanced to begin dominating instead of just surviving. One by one large animals like the mammoth and giant bison went extinct, handicapped partially by loss of habitat and perhaps decisively by human hunters with increasingly efficient weapons. In this time of abundance, prehistoric humans made the single greatest technological leap of our species-the agricultural revolution.


The agricultural revolution
	The agricultural revolution The conversion by our predecessors from hunter-gatherer to herder-farmer, circa 8,000 BC, is the great dichotomy of the human experience. From that point on the dominance of our species, at least to the present, was assured. The growing of food crops and the domestication of food producing animals changed human activity overnight, in geologic terms. It is important to note, however, that this revolution took many thousand years to unfold and never reached large parts of the world. The Importance of Agriculture Agriculture removed much of the uncertainty in obtaining food. People no longer had to search it out over large areas-they found places where it could be produced in abundant quantities year after year and fixed themselves there. Instead of relying on the environment's natural bounty, they could direct and manipulate the provision of that bounty. Abundant and dependable food supplies allowed population to grow and set the stage for the rise of civilization. The human population on Earth two million years ago has been estimated at 100,000. At the beginning of the agricultural revolution this number had risen to perhaps five million, thanks to better adaptation, technology, and abundant resources that became available as the ice sheets receded. By 3,000 BC, the time of the first Egyptian dynasty, world population had increased to approximately 100 million. By the birth of Christ, world population was well over 200 million. The Beginnings of Agriculture Agriculture was a gradual discovery. It is believed that early gatherers first learned the relationship between plants, the foods they produced, and their growing cycle. At some point the gatherers learned how to encourage the plants they depended on and inhibit those of no use. Then came the step of gathering seeds, planting seeds, and nurturing the plants. By selecting seeds from the strongest and most productive plants for replanting, the early planters interrupted and redirected the process of natural selection to improve the yield of the useful plants. For example, researchers in Mexico have found evidence of the ancient corn plant with only a few kernels that became the much more productive corn plant of ancient America through selection over many thousands of years. The first domesticated grain is believed to be a wild wheat that grew in southern Turkey. To make the step of domesticating this plant, the early gatherers had to learn how to harvest the grain seeds, extract the wheat kernel, grind it, and bake it, all before they learned how to grow the plant and select it so that it increased in kernel size. This was a complicated learning process that took time. We know less about how and when the rice plant was domesticated, but it was clearly as important in Asia as wheat was in the Middle East and corn in America. The agricultural revolution accelerated as innovations increased arable land, crop yields, and farmer productivity. Land was cleared by grazing or fire. Soils were prepared by digging first, and then plowing. Irrigation insured adequate water. Fertilization and crop rotation increased yields. Specific tools like the sickle, scythe, plow, and hoe increased farmer efficiency. Domestication of Animals Dogs were domesticated from wolves perhaps 15,000 years ago in both America and the Near East, but dogs were useful mainly as companions, guards, and hunting aids. The first domesticated food producing animal was probably the goat, a source of meat, milk, and waterproof hides. This breakthrough occurred in the hills of modern Iraq. Domestication of the goat was followed by sheep (meat and wool), cattle (meat, milk, hides, power), horses (meat, milk, transport), pigs (meat and fat), chickens (meat and eggs), and others. Cattle are considered the most significant domestication. In addition to providing meat, milk, and hides, they were also valuable as beasts of burden. They pulled wagons, greatly improving land transport. They pulled plows, greatly improving agriculture. The existence of domesticated cattle is thought to have been primarily responsible for the doubling of population in the Near East between 4,000 and 5,000 BC. The process of domestication must have been to obtain young animals, raise them in captivity over enough generations so that they grew less wild and more tolerant of being managed. We don't know why some animals could be domesticated but not others. Why the cow but not the buffalo? Predators would be unlikely choices for domestication, but the wolf was a predator and so was the cat, which was domesticated much later. Domestication of animals brought many important advantages. They were dependable sources of meat. Cattle and goats converted grass, of little use to humans, into milk and milk products like cheese. Vast grasslands that could previously support only a few hunters could now support much larger populations of herders. Sheep and vicunas produced wool each year. Animals could graze on broken lands of little use for farming. Horses, oxen, llamas, and other animals provided power for pulling, plowing, and carrying. Military uses were eventually found for onagers, asses, and horses, and to some extent, elephants, although elephants are not considered domesticated. The horse was domesticated first in the north Asian steppes and its use spread from there, probably in the wake of Asian migrations to the south and west. Paleontologists believe the horse evolved in the Americas actually, but went extinct there, perhaps due to hunting pressure. Incursions by mounted Asian barbarians are thought to have overrun the first towns rising in Asia Minor and the Middle East around 6000 BC. The people that were overrun may not have seen a domestic horse previously, much less one on which a warrior could ride. This may have been the first prominent example of a technological superiority of weapons.


The first cities
	The first cities The agricultural revolution made possible the first towns and cities. Dependable local food supplies allowed permanent settlement and these settlements grew. People built permanent homes, permanent structures for the production and storage of food, and an entirely new infrastructure of civic institutions such as courts, religious centers, and marketplaces as the need for these arose. The Economic Advantages of Cities The rise of the town led to a further specialization of labor. Some of the town residents continued to specialize in producing food as farmers or herdsmen, but a smaller percentage of the total population was required for this work compared to a hunting and gathering society. The remaining townspeople were free to concentrate on becoming experts at other tasks such as masonry, carpentry, wool making, pottery making, tool making, and so on. An expert potter made quality pots and jars for the entire village and bartered them for food and other services. This was better for the village than having each family make their own. The expert produced items of better quality and at a faster pace than non-experts. As individuals divided up the tasks and specialized, the total village production of food, pots, clothes, and other goods was much larger than if each family had tried to provide its own needs. Abundant food and the economies of production from specialization increased leisure time. It was no longer necessary that the majority of waking hours be spent obtaining the basics of life. Leisure time was available for entertainment, music, dancing, art, and other pursuits. Clothes, homes, and other goods could be decorated and made stylish, not just functional. The quality of life improved. The New Challenges of Cities Towns created new problems to be solved, however. Concentrated populations required new rules of behavior and the beginnings of government to administer the rules. Organized religions helped to govern behavior and unify the multifamily groups now living together so closely. Permanent residences required new standards of sanitation, safe sources of water, common areas, medical care, and, eventually, preparations for defense. The dense populations of towns increased the incidence of disease and epidemics. Measles, mumps, smallpox, and influenza spread easily through new towns. These diseases are thought to be evolved versions of diseases that originally afflicted animals 6,000 to 8,000 years ago. Irrigation incidentally spread the mosquito and the diseases it carried. The northern Iraq settlement of Jarmo, dated by archeaology to 7,000 BC, had a population of about 150. Jericho in Palestine and the Turkish town of Catal Huyuk each had about 2,000 inhabitants less than a thousand year later. By nearly 2,000 BC the city of Ur had perhaps 100,000 inhabitants. The populations of both Egypt and Babylon at this time were around five million. Greece had a population of about two million in 500 BC. By the first century AD the population of Rome alone was one million. By comparison, Asian cultures were much larger. The population of India in 300 BC has been estimated at 30 to 40 million. By the birth of Christ China may have contained 50 to 60 million people. The Beginnings of Government The earliest human societies may have been matriarchal, giving precedence to women because of their critical role in bearing and rearing children-so important to the survival of the small primitive hunter-gatherer groups. At some point, the prominence of women switched to a hierarchy of male dominance. Some believe that a wave of barbarians from Asia, perhaps 6,000 years ago, were instrumental in this change. The invading warrior society placed its priority on strength and power, setting the tone for all following human society. Male dominated hierarchies were ruled by the "strongman." Strongmen evolved later into kings and emperors. Within the new city societies, the strongman was at the top. He ruled as his contribution to the group, served by the first bureaucracies of clerks and other officials who managed the organization of the city. Important roles of early governments were to store food surpluses and protect them from outsiders. In the early cultures of the arid Middle East, governments built and maintained the irrigation systems that made the farms possible. These were large and complex systems that required planning and organization on an unprecedented scale.


Trade
	Trade Stone Age peoples traded raw materials and exotic goods many thousands of years before the agricultural revolution. The Beginnings of Trade Stone tools have been found a great distances from the sources of the stone from which they are made. Amber, oyster shells, copper, turquoise, malachite, and dyes used in cosmetics have also been found at pre-historic sites substantially distant from their sources. Although the foraging bands of this period were largely self-sufficient, individual groups may have had easy access to some uncommon item that might be desired by others. The favored group could gather such an item, for example chert stone blanks, seashore shells, or bear claws, and trade them to other groups for items that the first group desired but for which it had no easy access. The copper in ornaments found in the native settlements of Florida, for example, originated in Michigan and Minnesota. The scattered foraging groups within a large region may have come together regularly, perhaps during the bountiful summer or fall seasons, to celebrate, select mates, and trade. Such gatherings would have been also a likely time for new technologies to be shared. Trade and Towns Trade increased in importance after the first towns appeared. Within the town the different task specialists had to trade the results of their work for the things they needed. The increasing importance of task specialization required a more sophisticated arrangement of bartering so the residents could trade the results of their labor for the necessities and luxuries they desired. Trade also flourished between towns. When two different towns each had access to something the other did not have but wanted, there was an obvious basis for trading. Even when both could obtain or produce the same items there might be a benefit from trading. Each might specialize in the production of a particular good or food item, trade with each other, and end up with more of both than they would if they separately tried to meet their needs. This comparative advantage from trading might arise because one town had better farmland and the other better grazing land. Or one might have easier access to metallic ores while the other was surrounded by rich bottom land. Within towns the specialization of tasks and the prospect of profit increased the rate of technological improvement. The expert had an incentive to find ways to be more productive. Greater productivity either made him materially better off or allowed for greater leisure time. Trade between towns also helped increase the rate of technological change by expanding markets and bringing different cultures into contact. Distant markets further encouraged specialists to find better ways to make things. Trading between towns and regions helped spread new technologies more quickly and more widely, reducing the chance that an important innovation might be temporarily lost. The demands of business and trade eventually led to the development of money that served as a medium of exchange, a storehouse of value, and a standard of value. Silver rings or bars are thought to have been used as money in ancient Iraq before 2,000 BC. The first coins were made of electrum, a naturally occurring and easily malleable alloy of gold and silver.


Religion
	Religion The marvelous human ability to think made it possible for our ancient predecessors to first ponder discomfiting questions such as where do we come from, what is out past the stars, what controls the sun and the moon, what happens when we die, and others. Religion evolved from the first attempts to provide acceptable answers to questions like these, however implausible or supernatural, because science and logic as they existed then (and today in many cases) could not. Living at a time when life was probably short and demanding, where so little was understood, and where critical events could not be predicted or controlled, it was natural to accept the existence of a guiding spirit or deity at work. It was an easy following step to believe that spirits, ancestors, or deities could be influenced or petitioned. Early Religion The oldest evidence of these beliefs are ceremonial burials. The dead are adorned for their transformation from the living to some other place and are often buried with goods that may be of use on the other side. There is evidence that the Neanderthals employed ceremonial burials. Cave paintings, clay figurines, and carvings of animals and possible deities hint at the religious beliefs and worship of the ancient hunters and gatherers. Worship and sacrifice were intended to insure good hunting, good gathering, good fishing, good health, and long life. Following the agricultural revolution, worshipping the sun became predominant for the new farmers. The animal spirits and Earth goddess slipped in importance because food plants were the principal food supply and it was understood that the sun was critical to crops. Astronomers learned to follow the movements of the sun so they could mark the times of planting and harvest. Urban Religion The increasing complexity of urban life was mirrored in many cultures by an increasingly complex religion. Some cultures worshipped a host of gods, each responsible for some part of the natural world. There might be a sea god and forest god, for example. Within such a host of gods, it was common for a hierarchy to exist with one supreme god over all. Other cultures rejected the polytheism of multiple gods, believing instead that one god or spirit controlled the universe. Religion had important functions in the first towns and cultures, beyond calming anxieties about the unknown. It helped bind the growing population of a community together with common beliefs and rituals that established an identity for everyone. It also worked together with government in establishing and enforcing rules for social behavior. The local ruler and the local priest reinforced each other when both prohibited unacceptable acts such as murder and theft within the community. These rules of behavior did not usually apply outside the community, unfortunately. Most of the war and mayhem of history was conducted on behalf of Earthly rulers and heavenly gods.


Boats and sea travel
	Boats and sea travel The earliest archeological evidence of rafts and water craft comes from the upper Nile in Egypt and dates about 4000 BC. This evidence is primarily pictures on pottery fragments and on walls within ancient tombs. Prior to 4000 BC, there is no direct evidence of human water travel. Indirect evidence, however, indicates that humans traveled the seas long before the dates suggested by archeology. For example, fossils reveal that humans first appeared on the continent of Australia some 60,000 years ago. We presume today that the earliest Australians migrated by sea from Southeast Asia, using rafts or canoes. In another example, stone tools excavated from an Aegean Sea village site were made of obsidian that was traced to a volcanic island 80 miles off the coast. These tools dated to 11,000 BC. The First Boats The design of the earliest boats is open to debate. They could have been dugout canoes, bark canoes, or animal skin boats. Dugouts were made from a single log. A large hollow area was burned and carved out of a tree trunk permitting a passenger to be seated. Planks added to the sides to keep out water may have been the inspiration for plank construction. Wooden outriggers added to the right or left side of canoes were a later innovation that helped prevent capsizing. Animal skins were also used in early forms of boats. Sewn hides were stretched over a wooden frame, sewn together, and sealed with pitch. Such a boat was light and easy to carry. Surviving Assyrian relief carvings from 700 BC show skin covered boats being used to transport chariots across the Euphrates River. Many early boat innovations originated in Egypt. The Nile flowed north but the prevailing winds blew south. The wide and peaceful Nile was thus a natural water highway, encouraging the use of boats. The Egyptians are credited with inventing sails. They used first plants or leafy branches to catch the wind. By 3500 BC they were employing a square sail, probably woven of reeds and set on a single vertical mast placed in the bow. Between 2200 BC and 1900 BC the position of the mast migrated from the bow to amidships. This made it possible to drive the boat forward using cross winds, not just tail winds. The need to transport large stone blocks down river for monument building may have spurred the conversion from reed boats to wooden plank hulls. The transition from the paddle to the oar took place in Egypt around 2500 BC. The oar had several advantages over the paddle and permitted both the size and speed of vessels to increase. The oar was secured to the boat, giving the oarsman more leverage. It also permitted multiple rowers to be placed side-by-side manning a single oar, although this innovation was not adopted until centuries later. The deck of the traditional paddle boat needed to be low to the waterline so the paddles could reach the water. This restriction had limited the overall size, height, and displacement of boats of that time. Long oars made larger boats possible. Oversized oars dipped into the water near the rear of the boat were used to steer. This early rudder was first simply held by the helmsman and not connected to the boat. Large vessels of the time had as many as five steering oars. Ship Construction Exploration of more than 30 ancient wrecks found around the Mediterranean revealed that the ancient ship builders started from the outside and built in, rather than starting from the inside and building out, as is done today. Rather than build a frame and then add planking, the ancients build a frame first and stiffened it with inside supports. Mortises (wide holes) were drilled into the edges of hull planks and a wooden tenon (plug) was inserted into the mortises of two adjacent planks. The tenon was half inside each plank and held in place by wooden dowels that went through the planks and tenons. Swelling of the planks, dowels, and tenons sealed the joints without need for caulking. The frame was then stiffened with cross bracing and decks. The oldest sailing ship of mortise and tenon construction is a wreck from 1350 BC found off the coast of Asia Minor. The earliest record of sailing ships is a tomb painting from Thebes dating to 1400 BC. This painting shows merchant sailing ships from the Levant arriving in Egypt. The ships are being unloaded down gangplanks from the ship to the beach. Merchant Ships Greek and Phoenician sea trading blossomed in the Eastern Mediterranean starting around 900 BC. Both groups established colonies around the Mediterranean and built trading empires. The Phoenicians were perhaps the finest sailors of antiquity, certainly ranging as far as Britain for the crucial metal tin. There is some evidence that Phoenicians circumnavigated Africa and perhaps reached the Americas. Phoenician ships had hulls of a broad beam and were rounded at both stem and stern. They usually carried a carved horse's head on the prow. Greek writers called these ships "tubs" for their shape or "horses" because of their figurehead. The early sails had a boom across the bottom, as used by the Egyptians on the relatively peaceful Nile. By the sixth century, the broad, loose-footed square sail was in general use on the open sea where it was more practical. The evidence of an Etruscan tomb painting from Tarquinia, Italy, circa early fifth century BC, shows merchant ships were using two masts and a foresail by that time. By at least the fifth century BC, merchant ships of 400 ton capacity were carrying the large bulk cargoes in the Mediterranean. Modern merchant ships larger than this were not built until the nineteenth century AD. The most important bulk cargoes at this time were grain, wine, and olive oil. The largest known merchant ship of ancient times was built for Hiero II, king of Syracuse 270-215 BC, to carry grain from Egypt. It carried three masts and required a bilge pump designed by the famous ancient engineer Archimedes. The cargo on its maiden voyage included 60,000 measures of grain, 10,000 jars of preserved Sicilian fish, 20,000 talents of wood, and 20,000 talents of miscellaneous goods. This cargo weighed 2,000 tons by modern estimates. In the event that the king wished to accompany a voyage, the ship was also equipped with luxury accommodations, including cabins with mosaic floors, promenades decorated with plants, a gymnasium, a bath room fitted with copper tubs and marble basins, a library, and a chapel to Aphrodite.


The rise of civilization
	The rise of civilization Civilization arose, not once, but time and again in different places at different times. Civilizations rose and fell, some lasting much longer than others. There were at least two great dark ages where civilization essentially disappeared from most of the world (1200 BC to 700 BC and 400 AD to 900 AD). The two prerequisites of civilization were the human ability to organize and the production of food in large quantities. Large amounts of food made large populations possible, but only if they could be effectively organized. In the space of 5,000 years, from 8000 BC to 3000 BC, the earliest settled villages grew into full civilizations in the Middle East, Anatolia, Iran, India and Pakistan, and China. Among the important steps in the movement toward civilization were irrigation, the city-state, trade, metal working, and writing. Irrigation It is not accident that the cradles of civilization were river valleys-the Nile, Tigris, Euphrates, Indus, and Yellow. The land around these rivers must have been recognized as being rich, but the source of their richness was new soil deposited each year when the rivers flooded. The valleys were not useful to the earliest farmers until they learned to control flooding or adapt to it. The rise of civilization was partly the story of learning to control these rivers and realizing the potential of the land. We know more about the history of the Tigris, Euphrates, and Nile civilizations than others because these areas have been extensively excavated. These three rivers carry water from highlands far inland to the sea, passing through very arid regions. The contrast between the land adjacent to the river and that a short distance away is striking. Desert can be exist only a few hundred yards from the Nile. The land around the rivers is rich, but to making it bloom required the transfer of water to those parts of the valley not adjacent to the river. The construction of large scale irrigation projects required a large communal effort and organization. The fact that the irrigation was accomplished is proof that governments and organization were in place, although it was accomplished before writing appears. Once irrigation was understood and being carried out, food production soared along the rivers, making these valleys the richest and most populous places on Earth. The relative riches of the area made possible specialization of labor, leisure time, the development of the arts, and the necessity of defense. The City State The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers of the Fertile Crescent flood in the summer, during the growing season. For the land in this area to be cultivated, the rivers had to be held in check by dikes and canals. Nothing came easy in Mesopotamia. They had few natural resources except their farmland. Their building material was mud. To be successful the people living there had to be resourceful. It was no accident that many of the great technological innovations of the era, such as the wheel, were discovered here. From 5000 BC to 3000 BC the plains through which these two rivers flowed became covered with settlements. Larger settlements in the area were separated first physically by the shifting of the rivers and areas of marshland and then politically. By 3500 BC the people at the mouth of the river, the Sumerians, had achieved the first full civilization. Their major city was Ur, situated on a lagoon of the Persian Gulf where it supplemented its farming by operating as a trading post for both sea and river traffic. Royal burials from Ur, dated to 2600 BC, revealed remarkable treasures including bowls of gold inscribed with the prince's name, an elaborate helmet beaten from a sheet of gold, axes of electrum and a dagger of gold (weapons for decorative purposes only), and many more bowls of gold, silver, and copper. Some of the royal tombs included large supplementary burials of assistants and retainers apparently included to help the deceased in an after life. These tombs were evidence of prominent social status. The first Sumerian king who stands out in history is Ur-Nammu who built the great ziggurat of Ur. This enormous mud brick structure was restored by later kings in the area over the years and still exists. Massive walls were built to defend Ur, but these were torn down by the Elamites who captured the city around 2000 BC. The city state was the typical political organization in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean until almost the end of antiquity. They were often collected into an empire, but these rarely held together for long until the Romans appeared. Egypt was the major exception to the city state, but its isolated situation made it unique. Trade Trade on a large scale was financed by agricultural surpluses that became available especially after the river valleys were irrigated and organized. The trade of surpluses greatly encouraged the specialization of crafts. People near important raw materials could concentrate on a craft and trade the result of their labor for food from the river valleys. People in the mountains around Ur, for example, traded metal tools and ore for food, for example. The placement of the first civilizations on rivers and coasts accelerated trade because transport by boat was cheap. Pottery could be shipped by boat over long distances. The cedar of Lebanon could be shipped by sea to Egypt, where timber was in short supply. Trade was an economic multiplier. The comparative advantages of production in different areas meant that all participants were better off after trading. Trade was also an important disseminator of ideas. Visitors to other cultures spread new ideas and innovations quickly. Those cultures who actively traded were usually among the most advanced. Metal Working The earliest use of metal yet known comes from southern Turkey, north of Syria. Hammered copper objects found here date to 7000 BC. Prolonged hammering causes metal to eventually harden and become brittle, leaving it useless. The process of annealing, heating the metal in a fire, restores its malleability, making it useful again. The process of annealing seems to have been discovered very early. The first important breakthrough in metallurgy was the discovery of smelting, the process of extracting metals from ore under high temperatures. This greatly expanded the use of copper because ore was much more common than raw copper that could be hammered. By 4000 BC small, simple copper objects were widespread in the Middle East. The second important breakthrough in metallurgy was the discovery of bronze around 3000 BC. This copper and tin alloy was harder than copper and more useful for tools, but also it flowed more easily when molten than copper did and was easier to cast. Metal working in Thailand goes back to 4000 BC and bronze appears there before 2000 BC. Metal working appeared in the Andes of South America around 2000 BC. This development is considered to be independent of metal working in the Middle East. Iron was known from the third millennium BC, but it was not mastered until many years later. Some of the earliest iron artifacts were made from meteoric iron. Ancient trading records show that iron was more valuable than silver during much of the second millennium. One of two ceremonial daggers placed in Tutankhamun's tomb in 1323 BC is made of iron. (The second is gold). The use of iron spread after 1200 BC during the first dark age, in part perhaps because the breakdown of trade limited supplies of copper and tin. Without those critical metals, smiths made do with the more common iron ore, learned how to make it well, and ended up with a more useful and cheaper metal for their trouble. Writing It is not clear if writing was invented in one place and spread from there, or if it was invented nearly simultaneously in several places. It appears that writing was invented to keep accounts in trade and for the early city-states. The invention of writing took place in Mesopotamia just before the start of the Bronze Age in 3000 BC. The earliest writing was pictographic-each picture represented an object. For example, a drawing of a horse's head represented a horse. The common writing material in Mesopotamia was a clay tablet. The preservation of large numbers of tablets allowed historians to trace the transformation of the early pictographs into cuneiform. In this system the pictographs were gradually stylized into clusters of wedges pressed into the clay by a writing instrument called a stylus. Because clay tablets were much more likely to be preserved than more perishable media, we generally know more about those cultures that wrote in cuneiform. Writing in several forms appeared in Egypt very quickly after 3000 BC, probably influenced in function by developments in Mesopotamia. The most famous Egyptian writing was hieroglyphics, another pictograph writing especially used for temples carvings. Cursive hieroglyphics were easier to write and were used on papyrus documents and in everyday use. An important step in writing flexibility was the invention of an alphabet where letter symbols represented mouth sounds, not objects. A combination of sounds created words. The earliest alphabetic system appeared in the city of Ugarit in modern Syria around 1350 BC. Ugarit was an important trading center between Mesopotamia, Palestine, Anatolia, and the ports on the Levant leading to Greece and Egypt. The best known script from this time is called Ugaritic, which has a 32 letter alphabet and is probably the ancestor of all later alphabetic scripts.


Evolution of warfare
	Evolution of warfare Megiddo Prehistoric warfare The first armies The evolution of battlefield tactics Siege warfare Naval warfare


Megiddo
	Megiddo The Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III commemorated his victory at the Battle of Megiddo with an inscription and pictorial reliefs at Karnak. The battle took place in the twenty-second year of his reign, around 1460 BC. There were many other battles preceding Megiddo, no doubt, but it was the first for which any account exists, making it the first battle recorded in history. Reviewing what we know about the battle and considering its implications offers an introduction to the state of warfare at the time and the evolution of warfare to that point. The Battle Thutmose led his army out of Egypt into what is now Israel to establish (or reestablish) control over the Levant. In opposition were several Canaanite kingdoms under the leadership of the king of Kadesh. The Egyptian army marched 150 miles from the Nile delta border to Gaza in nine days-faster than Alexander the Great's march average of 13 to 15 miles per day. When the Pharoah's army learned that the Canaanites were massed near Megiddo, aides urged caution, lest they be attacked while deployed in column along the road of approach. Thutmose ignored their advice and put himself at the head of the advancing column. Once in the Qina Valley, the army was deployed across its breadth. The Pharaoh elected to pause, however, delaying the attack against Megiddo until the next day. At dawn the Pharoah deployed his battle line of chariots in the valley, with his own in the center. Historians estimate he had at least one thousand chariots which could have extended two miles if deployed in a single rank. We presume that the Canaanites charged out with their own chariots but we know nothing of the engagement. The inscriptions report that the Canaanite army broke and fled back to Megiddo. Chariot crews were lifted back into the city over the walls by ropes after the city gates were shut. Thutmose built a fort outside the city and besieged the town. Megiddo surrendered after seven months of starvation. The military booty from the battle and siege was over 350 living prisoners, 900 chariots (two partially made of gold), two fine suits of bronze mail armor belonging to leaders, 200 leather coats of armor, over 2000 horses, and 502 bows. Implications The Egyptians were able to march an army very quickly into hostile territory and keep themselves supplied throughout a seven month siege. This implies a sophisticated system of supply, supplemented probably by local sources. The army consisted of an estimated 1,000 chariots (2,000 horses minimum) and a contingent of infantry that must have carried out the siege. The existence of so many chariots would require an advanced industry for making them, plus a system for obtaining and training horses. The deployment and attack of chariots required training in battlefield maneuvers. The battle itself was a chariot engagement. All of the captured war booty is chariot equipment. The chariots were probably used as mobile platforms for composite bow archers. The composite bow was more powerful than the simple bow but much more difficult to construct. Use of the composite bow was an additional indication of an advanced weapons manufacturing capability. It is clear from the Pharaoh's accounts that military affairs had advanced significantly by the time of this first recorded battle. We see already evidence of logistics, leadership, strategy, battle tactics, the military/industrial complex, and weapons technology.


Prehistoric warfare
	Prehistoric warfare The absolute beginnings of war are lost in the past. We can make some assessments of how war evolved, however, by considering the behavior of less advanced societies that survived into historic times and by studying the archaeological record. First Warfare We can guess that the small hunting and gathering groups that weathered the last Ice Age had cause on occasion to attack each other. Such attacks were probably for control of food sources, important raw materials (tool stone), water, trade routes, or perhaps location of presumed religious significance. Prehistoric hunters equipped themselves with weapons to make their living. It was an easy step to turn those weapons on neighbors if the stakes to be won were sufficiently high. It is possible that war and raids of this type were not common as the Ice Age ended because population densities were relatively low and human life was no doubt highly valued. But the increasing relative natural bounty and advances in technology made it possible for populations to grow. Some living areas were clearly better than others and more desirable. At some point the competition between groups became armed conflict. In the 1960's a burial site was discovered along the Nile in ancient Nubia that provided what may be the earliest skeletal evidence for prehistoric warfare. The site dated to between 12,000 to 4,500 BC and included the remains of 59 people, including women and children. Forty percent of the skeletons were found buried with small flake points, thought to be arrowheads. Points were found embedded in the bones of four skeletons. Several individuals appear to have been executed, perhaps after already suffering other wounds. Seven skeletons had arms fractured in a manner consistent with warding off blows. Increased Economic Incentives for War Competition and incentive for armed conflict between groups grew once the agricultural revolution began. By 6,000 BC good agricultural or grazing land must have increased significantly in value where the new food gathering activities were taking hold. The food disparity widened between the newly rising agricultural towns and the marginal communities in the hills or on quickly exhausted lands. Stockpiles of grain and animal herds owned by the first towns were a powerful attraction to the more primitive tribal groups. As the towns grew richer in goods through specialization of labor, their attraction as targets only increased. When European explorers encountered the less advanced peoples of Africa and the Americas they made note of the occasional raiding attacks that native tribes carried out against each other. These raids served several purposes. They might have been demonstrations of strength and intimidation that were partly diplomatic. They might be simple raids to acquire slaves, food, goods, or other commodities. They might be a war of extermination or conquest to take by force more desirable lands. We assume that war began in a similar manner in those parts of the world where ancient civilizations first arose. Archaeological evidence supports the theory that warfare accompanied the earliest beginnings of civilization. The oldest towns sites yet excavated, such as Catal Huyuk in modern Turkey and Jericho in modern Israel, were fortified. Jericho was an excellent site near an easy crossing of the Jordan River. The people of these towns went to the expense of buildings walls or other fortifications to defend their food and other goods from neighbors less fortunate and more belligerent. Both of these sites and other early towns show evidence of being sacked and destroyed. Levels of ash and crumbled masonry indicate a time when the buildings came down and were burned. In some cases, weapons and skeletons have been found intermingled within the ash layer. Long before written history begins, we have clear archaeological evidence of towns being attacked and destroyed. New Weapons The archaeological record indicates that between 12,000 and 8,000 BC there was a revolution in weapons technology. During this period four new weapons first make their appearance-the bow, the sling, the dagger (short sword), and mace. The bow and the sling were important for hunting, but the dagger and mace were most useful for fighting other humans. These four new weapons, together with the much older spear, were the principal weapons of all armies until around 1,000 AD. Missile Weapons The bow may be the oldest of the new weapons. It is clearly shown in cave paintings being used against both animals and men. The simple bow and arrow had a range of around 100 yards, double that of the thrown spear. The bow was especially useful for ambush and deadly when many bows were fired in a barrage. A single archer could carry many more arrows than javelins. The sling is usually given little respect today but it actually had greater range, accuracy, and power than the simple bow. It was an important long-range weapon during the Neolithic and for some time after. Excavations at Catal Huyuk show no evidence of arrows, only slings. Elsewhere in Anatolia, at Hacilar, sling projectiles were made from baked clay. Slingers using manufactured projectiles could achieve a higher accuracy than those throwing odd-shaped stones. Large fist-shaped stones could break bones or smash skulls, even those protected by armor. Xenophon states in the Anabasis that the slingers from Rhodes in his 10,000 man army of mercenaries had better range and accuracy than the Persian archers that opposed them. The Mace and Axe The mace is one of the oldest weapons in humankind's armory, tracing directly down from the primitive wooden club. By the Neolithic the mace had been improved by adding a stone head to the club. Later the stone head was replaced by a metal one. Early Egyptian reliefs show soldiers armed with maces as well as spears. Egyptian maces went through several designs, including a sharp edge that must have been intended to cut through leather or cloth helmets. The development of leather armor made the mace less effective. One answer to leather armor was the battle axe, a variation of the mace with a sharp cutting edge, made possible by the new technologies of copper and then bronze. Piercing axes had long blades (from edge to handle) and pointed edges. These could penetrate leather. Cutting axes has short blades but long cutting edges. They were most useful against opponents not wearing armor. Axes and maces both declined in use as better swords became prevalent, especially after 1200 BC. The Sword Swords evolved from knives and daggers. These had been made from stone blades for thousands of years and then from copper and bronze. Prior to 1,200 BC, daggers were carried mostly as secondary weapons by skirmishers. The sickle sword, shaped like the familiar farm implement, was popular in the Near East and Egypt but appears to be a clearly inferior weapon. It was not particularly useful for stabbing and not strong enough for cutting off limbs. Around 1,200 BC the first important sword was brought to the Mediterranean region. Archaeologists classified it as the Naue Type II sword and by 1,100 BC it was the only sword in use in the Aegean. By the early Iron Age it was the standard sword also in the Near East. This revolutionary sword was over two feet long and sharply pointed, but narrow and two-edged. It could be used for slashing or thrusting. A powerful swordsmen could sever limbs or a human head. The Naue II sword was developed in either what is now modern Austria or Hungary. The early examples of this sword were made of bronze but by 900 BC a superior version was being made of iron. It remained the standard sword in the Mediterranean and Near East until around 700 BC. The Romans adopted a shorter sword that they encountered while fighting the Carthaginians in Spain in the Third Century. By the Second Century, the two-foot gladius was the standard close- range weapon of their legionary infantry.


The first armies
	The first armies We know almost nothing for certain about the organization and tactics of the first armies, and must continue to make educated guesses based on the limited information we have. The archaeological remains are important, including preserved weapons, accouterments, and fortifications. Also important are paintings, wall carvings, pottery decorations, and other artwork that have been preserved, although celebratory inscriptions and artwork often distort actual events in favor of the ruler being honored. Ancient oral histories that survived to be recorded after the advent of writing are also helpful, such as the Illiad by Homer. Caution is required when consulting oral histories, however, because events of the past may be described in terms of the writer's culture, much like Medieval religious paintings that dress Biblical characters in clothing of the Middle Ages. Actual documents concerning military supplies, war booty, and equipment have been found, but only after the invention of writing. Militias The first armies were probably militias of townspeople who took up arms in emergencies. At first hunting weapons were probably used, but soon the new weapons designed specifically for combat were manufactured. Weapons for hunting wild animals are not always suited for fighting other humans. When towns grew sufficiently large, a permanent group of professional soldiers probably came into existence to guard the local ruler, preserve the peace, and be the nucleus of the militia when needed. By 3,000 BC, the first great palaces and kingdoms were growing up along the Nile River, the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, the Indus River, the Yellow River, and along the eastern Mediterranean coast in Greece, Anatolia, and the Levant. These kingdoms prospered and jousted with each other for about 1800 years. Populations within the kingdoms rose along with their standard of living and wealth. Each was forced to raise and maintain substantial armies to preserve their autonomy from each other and from barbarians on their borders. Artwork from approximately 2500 BC shows a Sumerian army of spearmen wearing long cloaks and what appear to be leather hats or helmets. The Egyptian army was forged in the struggle to unite the Nile basin under one leader and then defend the basin from barbarians in Libya and Palestine. The city states along the Tigris and Euphrates fought with each other and with barbarians to the north and east. The Greek kingdoms faced barbarians to the north and west. The Anatolians faced barbarians to the northeast and north across the Black Sea, and along their south coast. The Indus and Yellow River valley kings were surrounded by barbarians. In each of these areas the kingdoms built and equipped armies to respond to threats. They had the wealth and industrial power to make bronze weapons. Competition among them lead to technical and tactical innovations in war. Chariot Armies For much of the second millennium BC the armies of the wealthy kingdoms and palaces appear to consist primarily of chariots bearing archers firing powerful composite bows. Records, grave goods, and artwork all point to chariot-borne archers dominating the battlefields. Accounting records read of chariot parts, bows, arrows, and horses, but not swords or armor. Horses of the time were ridden bareback and thus were not suitable generally for lancing and shooting. Chariot battles were possible in the open, relatively flat, developed farmland of the kingdoms. So long as enemies came to the kingdom, either from another kingdom or from barbarian lands, the chariots could decide the issue. If the kingdom had to venture into the hills and mountains of barbarian lands, however, then infantry were necessary. Chariot crews, especially the archer, were probably noblemen or of the elite. The Pharaohs of the period, for example, took special pride in their marksmanship and seem to have led their armies from the front. Chariot armies did include other arms. Infantry was still useful for manning and attacking fortifications, and for fighting in rough terrain. There is also substantial evidence that skirmish troops accompanied the chariots onto the battlefield. Egyptian accounts speak of "runners" (skirmishers) accompanying chariot attacks to dispatch crews of disabled chariots. Skirmishers may have occupied ground on the battlefield unsuitable for chariots, from which they could have supported friendly units by firing missiles at the enemy. Chariots of the period were primarily for two men and pulled by two horses. Earlier chariots had carried up to four men and were pulled by two to four onagers, a type of wild ass. Crews of these earlier chariots may have thrown javelins instead of shooting arrows. An alternative view is that they may have been used primarily as transports rather than mobile platforms for missile attacks.


The evolution of battlefield tactics
	The evolution of battlefield tactics Between 3000 BC and 0 AD weaponry and battlefield tactics went through many significant changes. Spearmen and foot archers made up the first dominant armies, but they were replaced by chariot archers who dominated from 1700 to 1200 BC, near the end of the Bronze Age. At that time a catastrophe befell most of the established kingdoms and palaces. Outside of Egypt and Assyria, all were burned when barbarian infantry and light troops reestablished battlefield dominance, making chariots obsolete in a few decades. An ancient Dark Age lasting 500 years followed the barbarian conquests and ushered in the Iron Age. During this chaotic period infantry reassumed battlefield domination, although cavalry began to appear and grow in importance, especially in the Middle East. The Classical Age associated with Greek culture followed the Dark Age. The infantry phalanx of Greece was predominant on their battlefields, but Persian armies were more integrated, adding missile troops and extensive cavalry. The concept of the integrated army was perfected by Philip and Alexander the Great of Macedonia in the 4th Century BC. At the head of this army, Alexander conquered the known civilized world by the age of 32 years. Relative peace settled on the East in the wake of Alexander's conquest, but in the Western Mediterranean Roman legions began to assert themselves. The Roman legions were integrated armies based on infantry that dominated the rest of the ancient era. Militia spearmen Skirmishers The age of chariots The restoration of infantry, 1200 BC The appearance of cavalry The Greek phalanx The integrated army Roman legions


Militia spearmen
	Militia spearmen The spear was relatively easy to manufacture and wield, making it an excellent choice for the first militia armies called upon to defend towns from barbarians. The spear was a pointed weapon standing about as tall as its wielder. It was a one-handed weapon that could be thrown or thrust. Spearmen usually carried a long oblong or rectangular shield in the opposite hand that protected the entire body from arrows and enemy spears. Groups of spearmen were trained to form rows across and files deep and to march in step. Grouping together helped maintain morale and the shield wall helped neutralize arrows. The key to success for columns of spearmen was to keep together and present a unified front of shields and spear points. A large group of disciplined spearmen must have been an imposing and intimidating sight to undisciplined troops and barbarian raiders. An early portrait of spearmen was found on the 'Standard of Ur,' dating from around 2,500 BC. This artifact, possibly the sound box of musical instrument, shows Sumerian infantrymen in line holding pikes in both hands. They appear to be wearing leather armor on their torsos, leather helmets, and cloaks. The artifact also shows four-wheeled chariots from which men are throwing javelins. Spearmen provided shock on the battlefield. Shock was the moment when the fighters on two sides actually came face-to-face for hand-to-hand combat. Spearmen simultaneously attempted to protect themselves from the enemy's weapons with their shield while seeking an opening with their spear. At the moment of contact the noise level was tremendous as weapons clanged and men screamed. Soldiers looked into the eyes of the opponent they were trying to kill and who was trying to kill them. Kill or be killed. As men in the front rank fell, the man behind pushed forward to take his place. Hand-to-hand combat was a terrifying experience that any sane person would very much like to avoid. Soldiers could be motivated to participate in such a confrontation only through high morale, good leadership, and discipline. The moment of shock was a test of will. One side usually gave way and ran long before being wiped out entirely. Utter destruction was possible only if the routed troops could be run down or trapped before they reorganized or reached safety. Battlefields became a place of maneuver as each side attempted to place their opponent in a position that was untenable without requiring the dangerous hand-to-hand clash. Columns might be extended into lines to overlap the enemy. Troops that were flanked, facing enemies to both front and side, usually gave way before contact. The importance militia spearmen columns was that they had the ability to take ground. When they advanced, the enemy had to meet them or fall back. If the enemy did not have the will to meet them, the spearmen infantry was victorious, occupying the river ford, hillside, mountain pass, or other geographic feature for possession of which they were fighting.


Skirmishers
	Skirmishers The battlefield innovation that followed militia spearmen was the provision of skirmishers, sometimes referred to as light troops. Skirmishers were equipped usually with missile weapons such as bows, slings, or javelins. Their job was to harass the enemy infantry columns with missiles, causing casualties, shaking morale, and breaking discipline prior to the clash of the spearmen columns. If the enemy's column could be disorganized before the clash, it was likely that their morale would break upon contact with a disciplined column of erect shields and thrusting spears. Skirmishers required more training than militia spearmen, however. Where the spearmen found relative safety within their columns, surrounded by friends, skirmishers acted independently, running forward to loose their missiles and then running back if necessary. There might be friends nearby conducting the same type of attack, but they didn't have the comfort of a solid wall of friendly troops nearby. Light troops were not expected to meet the enemy face-to-face. Fighting independently they did not have the strength of numbers and could not stand against a solid infantry column. They looked for weakness and opportunity, rushed in, and fell back before strength. Skirmishers did not usually carry shields. Their defensive strength was the ability to move more quickly than the spearmen columns moving in step and carrying cumbersome shields and spears. They hit and ran, taunting the enemy and trying to make them as uncomfortable as possible. Slingers were the easiest skirmishers to equip. All they required was a cloth sling a pocket of stones. Additional ammunition might be found laying on the battlefield. Javelins were no more difficult to provide than spears, but once thrown they were usually lost. Artwork from the second and third millennium rarely shows javelin throwers holding more than two weapons. Javelin throwers must have waited until the infantry columns were closing to be effective. Skirmishers used the simple bow of limited range. The much more powerful composite bow was known in the second millennium but was too costly to manufacture in quantity for light troops. Light troops were complements to the infantry, not replacements or alternatives. They could not take or hold ground on the battlefield, unless present in huge numbers. Their purpose was to prepare the way for the infantry columns on attack or to disorganize enemy attackers before they reached the friendly infantry columns. The addition of light troops to armies was an important military innovation. This was the beginning of combined arms-the provision of different types of troops for different battlefield missions and their use in concert to achieve victory. Generals thereafter were required to know how best to use both infantry and skirmishers together and how to defend against the combination. The most famous skirmisher of history was David who slew the Philistine Goliath with a stone from his sling.


The age of chariots
	The age of chariots The first chariots seem to have appeared in Mesopotamia around 3,000 BC but came to prominence around 1,700 BC. At first they were slow and cumbersome vehicles pulled by the relatively small and slow onager, a cousin of the ass. When the much more powerful horse was employed for power, they became a more terrifying, useful, and prestigious weapon. Historians have long pondered why chariots were so prominent in the accounts and pictorial representations of battle from 1,700 to 1,200 BC. In all the settled kingdoms and palaces of the late Bronze Age, from Egypt, to Babylon, to Assyria, to Anatolia (the Hittites), to Knossos (Crete), and Mycenean Greece, chariots seemed to dominate the battles. This is true for the Aryan chariot warriors of India in the same period and in China. Chariots have been placed traditionally as taxis bringing infantry to the battlefront or possibly as platforms for thrusting spears. A more recent analysis of the evidence asserts that the predominance of chariots was a function of mobility and firepower. Chariots were used as fast, mobile platforms for composite bow archers. The relatively slow foot troops were at a great disadvantage when fast chariots could drive up, stop out of range, and pelt the infantry with powerful composite bow shots. The infantry was faced with the choice of falling back to a protected location or dying in place. If they advanced against the chariots, the chariots fell back faster and kept shooting. Infantry thereby lost its ability to take and hold open ground on the battlefield. Chariot archers could be contested only by other composite bow archers. Cavalry was not the answer to the chariots because the technology of the saddle, bit, and stirrup did not yet exist. A bareback rider could not use a lance at all or a bow with accuracy. Cavalry does not appear on battlefields in any consequence until around 900 BC. Infantry in leather or cloth armor, or behind wood or leather shields, could not stand up forever to composite bow shots. They would fall eventually. Bronze mail armor was too expensive for common soldiers in this period. If the infantry broke formation, they risked being run over by pursuing chariots. Organization Chariots were manned by two men-the driver and archer-and pulled by two horses. The crew stood on a leather platform and both wore leather or bronze mail armor from head to calf. They were probably tied into the chariot to free their hands for driving or shooting. The expense of bronze mail and composite bows were justified because the chariot armies were relatively small. Even the largest and richest kingdoms maintained no more than several thousand chariots at most. There is some evidence that Egyptian chariots were organized into groups of ten. These might be distinguished by name or color, or by carrying left or right-hand firing archers. Five such groups made up a squadron. Each squadron had a commander and several squadrons made up a "host of squadrons." In his autobiography, the Egyptian Meryptah reports serving in squadrons named the "Phoenix" and "Manifest in Justice." Among the positions he held were "standard bearer of the chariot warriors" and "first stable master." All the great Egyptian military pictorials from this period show the Pharaohs fighting as archers from speeding chariots. Chariot Tactics Chariots attacked in wide, shallow lines, probably spread apart to facilitate turns or crashes without fouling neighbors. There may have been three or four lines, but the rear lines would have had impaired shots. Spreading wide minimized the risk of being flanked while maximizing the chance of flanking the enemy. A short chariot line must have run when facing a significantly longer line because it would have been easily enveloped, brought to a halt, and shot to pieces. A force might have split during its approach, with left-handed shooters turning to the right and right-handed shooters turning to the left, hoping to simultaneously flank the enemy line. A concentrated squadron may have attempted to drive a wedge through the enemy line and then wheel to both sides once through. The archers presumably opened fire when the range closed to 200 meters or less. As the range closed, shooting accelerated. The point of the chariot battle was to bring down as many opposing chariots as possible by shooting the enemy's horses. The felling of one horse from a speeding chariot must have caused a wreck. It is not clear if opposing lines would charge through each other while firing or if they would approach, wheel, and shoot. A clash of chariot lines could cause a massive pileup of entangled horses and cars, or the point blank shooting should have caused large numbers of casualties quickly. Once the lines had passed or turned, the archers faced to the rear to keep shooting as the range opened. The chariots would then have wheeled and charged again. At some point, one side would break and run for a nearby fortification or safe position. Around 1200 BC, however, chariots lost their battlefield dominance. In a period of roughly 50 years, chariots were largely eclipsed and most of the great kingdoms and palaces of the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East fell. City after city, including Troy of the Illiad, was destroyed and left in ashes. Only Egypt and Assyria escaped immediate destruction and the area entered a 500 year Dark Age. The principal reason for this catastrophe was the resurgence of barbarian infantry that used new weapons and tactics on the battlefield to defeat the chariots and overrun the kingdoms they defended.


The restoration of chariots
	The restoration of infantry The catastrophe of 1200 BC was traditionally attributed to a large influx of barbarians from Asia into the Mediterranean and Near East. The barbarians were thought to have overrun much of the area, displacing the locals, who in turn invaded more southerly areas. Where the displaced groups invaded by sea they were referred to as the mysterious Sea Peoples. An alternative view refutes the Asian influx and attributes the catastrophe to hordes local barbarians who had always been near at hand, in the mountains and marginal lands that surrounded the more fertile areas. The barbarians included the Libyans to the west of Egypt, the northern Greeks (the more likely sackers of Troy, not the Myceneans), tribes along the south coast of Anatolia, and the Philistines and Israelites of Palestine. Sea raiders from Sardinia, Sicily, and what is now modern Italy had a long history of piracy and serving as mercenaries, especially for Libya versus Egypt. They may have been the Sea Peoples. Prior to 1200 BC these barbarians had been defeated consistently by the chariot armies when they ventured down from their hills and mountains, or across the seas. Around 1200 BC, however, evidence indicates that the barbarians made several changes in their weaponry and tactics that quickly ended the dominance of chariots. Military historians have noted the existence over time of a competitive cycle in the improvements and innovations concerning the three ingredients of warfare-firepower, security, and mobility. Changes in any of the three-an improved bow, better armor, chariots or horses for mobility, for examples-could temporarily upset a pre-achieved general equilibrium that determined tactics, giving the innovator an advantage until changes in the other ingredients restored the equilibrium through new tactics. Around 1,200 BC, the barbarians on the fringe of the civilized world made too many changes to the ingredients of warfare too rapidly. Before a new equilibrium of new tactics could be achieved, most of the civilized world was lost. Improved Weapons The important technical innovations of this time were the cut and thrust sword, the small round shield, and improved armor. A sword that could both cut and thrust made individual soldiers more dangerous in hand-to-hand fighting. Such a sword was easier to wield than a long spear. Many more blows, and more powerful blows, could be struck. The smaller shield was easier to manage than the tall and cumbersome shields used by the spearmen. Bronze grieves and other pieces of body armor also appeared at this time, as evidenced by artwork and archaeological remains. These advances in armor helped protect infantry from archery. Improved Tactics The most important innovation of the period was probably in tactics. Barbarian infantry finally learned how to defeat chariots after fighting them for 500 or so years. Better armor, mobility, and tactics must have allowed infantry to get close enough to the chariots to kill the horses with missiles, especially javelins. Once the chariots were disabled, the crews were quickly overcome. One after another the chariot armies of Greece, Anatolia, and the Levant were beaten and the cities they protected were sacked. Egypt withstood several assaults by fielding armies of the new infantry to support their chariots. These new Egyptian infantry armies were primarily barbarian mercenaries who employed the new weapons and tactics in support of their chariots. In 1208 BC the Pharaoh Merneptah claimed to have killed nearly 10,000 invaders. In 1179 BC Ramesses III stopped another Libyan invasion at Djahi, claiming 12,235 enemy dead. Assyria, dominant over most of Mesopotamia, avoided destruction also. It was on the frontier and threatened by enemies in the Zagros Mountains to the east and in other mountainous areas to the north. Assyrian armies had much experience fighting barbarians in the rough terrain where chariots could not go and kept their enemies in check through punitive expeditions into the hinterlands. By 1200 BC the Assyrians had adapted to the new military innovations themselves and were not overly dependent on chariots. Following the catastrophe of 1200 BC, the previously advanced areas fell into a Dark Age. Trade and production fell, and the expensive and now ineffective chariot armies became a luxury few could afford. Out of the waste and destruction, however, new strongholds and kingdoms eventually began to appear. Out of the east came the next important innovation of war.


The appearance of cavalry
	The appearance of cavalry Evidence and accounts from many sources, including the Bible, indicate that cavalry was in at least limited use by the twelfth century BC and that by the tenth century some kings were deploying thousands of horsemen in their armies. Mounted horsemen appear in earlier Egyptian reliefs, but we cannot be sure if they represented scouts or messengers or combatants. Following the catastrophe, cavalry began appearing in armies both replacing and supplementing chariots. By the mid-ninth century cavalry was well developed, at least in parts of Mesopotamia. In that period the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III claimed to have 2,000 chariots and 5,500 cavalry at the battle of Qarqar where he faced troops on both horses and camels. Cavalry Advantages Versus Chariots [Advantage of Cavalry over Chariots] An Assyrian relief carving from the ninth century shows archers shooting from horseback. The cavalrymen fight in pairs-one man controls both horses while the second man shoots. This evidence implies that the first mounted soldiers fought as archers from horses, essentially performing the same role as chariots did previously, but with some important differences. Mounted men were much more agile than chariots and could cross almost any type terrain. Chariots, in contrast, were relatively cumbersome to turn and to move in groups, and were restricted generally to flat open terrain. It was much easier for a cavalryman to escape if events turned for the worse. If his horse was lost, it was possible to double up on another to get away. The crew of a disabled chariot was in serious danger, especially if skirmish troops were accompanying enemy chariots. A chariot was an investment in two horses and two men, plus the car, to put one archer on the field. An investment in two horses and two men as cavalry also put one archer on the field because at first only one man could shoot while the second controlled both horses. A reference from the Bible (2 Chronicles 1.17) reports that in the tenth century the chariot car cost twice as much as the horse team to purchase and maintain. Chariots effectively disappeared from battlefields in the eight century following the technical innovation of new ways to rein horses. This innovation allowed cavalrymen to operate independently rather than in pairs. From this point on, two horses supported two archers, not one, doubling the firepower from the horses committed. This innovation is displayed in reliefs from the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III from around 750 BC. Light Cavalry Tactics Cavalry archers did not dominate battlefields as chariots had in a similar role previously. Iron Age battlefields were dominated by infantries. The initial battlefield role for cavalry was to defeat the opposing cavalry and drive them away. This protected friendly infantry from harassment and freed the friendly cavalry to help destroy the enemy infantry by encircling them, shooting into their unprotected rear and flanks, and generally lowering their morale prior to the moment of infantry combat. If the enemy infantry panicked and fled, cavalry could pursue and run them down. Assyrian reliefs show cavalry dispatching fleeing foot troops with lances. Throughout antiquity cavalry played a supporting role on the battlefield, except where one army or both was predominantly cavalry troops. On occasion, as at the Battles of Issus or Adrianople, cavalry was decisive in their supporting role, but generally battles from 1200 BC to 0 AD were clashes of infantry. Generals now needed to understand how to best employ infantry, light skirmishers, and cavalry to achieve victory. Heavy Cavalry From 1200 to 400 BC cavalry was primarily a light (unarmored) mounted skirmishing force, useful also as scouts, screens, and in pursuit. In Macedonia during the fourth century a new type of cavalry came into use-heavy cavalry for shock attack. The people of this region were noted horsemen and developed a tradition for using a lance from horseback. This was a difficult skill to master because the stirrup did not yet exist. The lance had to be released just prior to impact to prevent the horsemen from being pulled off his mount. The Macedonian army built by Philip and Alexander was unique for the last millennia of antiquity because its decisive arm was its cavalry. The Macedonians had not adopted the phalanx of their southern neighbors for their entire army because the terrain of their homeland was very broken and enemies to the north were mainly horsemen. The best of the Macedonian cavalry were the Companions, mainly aristocrats who had ridden since their youth. They wore a metal breastplate or coat of mail armor, fought with the lance as mounted spearmen, and attacked as shock troops. Their spear was nine feet long and had an iron point on both ends. It weighed only 4.2 pounds and could be thrown. The back end could be stabbed down or the front end held forward as a lance. The men also carried a long curving sword. The Companions were organized into 14 or 15 squadrons of 200 horsemen each, for a total army strength of around 3,000. The Royal Squadron was commanded by the king. Their basic attack formation was the wedge which was especially useful for piercing an enemy line. Such a wedge attack was led by Socrates across the Granicus River to open the battle by that name. Alexander's Companions followed Socrates' attack together with infantry, shattering 20,000 Persian cavalry deployed along the river without infantry support. When the Persian cavalry retreated the Macedonian army carried on against 20,000 Greek mercenary hoplites deployed in line back from the river, surrounding them, and killing all but 2,000. Macedonian heavy cavalry was the finest of antiquity. No other cavalry approached their effectiveness in battle until the stirrup was invented and the mounted knights appeared Europe during the Middle Ages.


The Greek phalanx
	The Greek phalanx We know very little about Dark Age warfare in many previously civilized areas. By 700 BC, however, a new military system called the phalanx had been established in Greece. Phalanx Organization The Greek phalanx was a column formation of heavy infantry carrying long spears, or pikes, and swords. The pikes were six to twelve feet long, much longer than spears of the past. Men in the phalanx carried a round shield called a hoplon, from which the infantry took their name, hoplites. The hoplites wore metal armor on their chests, forearms, and shins at least, plus a metal helmet that covered the head down to the neck. The addition of armor classified the hoplites as heavy infantry, as opposed to light infantry that wore little or no armor. A typical phalanx unit might be ten men across the front rank and ten men deep, but many such units would be combined into one larger unit. The Phalanx in Battle The phalanx was an offensive infantry formation for hand-to-hand shock combat. It fought usually without light troop or cavalry support, which should have been an important disadvantage, but the Greeks largely ignored these auxiliary troops. So long as they fought among themselves, lack of missile troops and cavalry was not a problem. The heavy infantry on each side in a battle would close with each other at a deliberate pace, maintaining formation. When the opposing phalanxes came together, the first several ranks would lower their pikes and the two sides would thrust at each other attempting to strike an unprotected area on an opponent. The pike points of several men in a file could project beyond the front rank. Men in the front were simultaneously attacked by several spears. The Greek armies of the period 700 to 400 BC may have been the only ones in history to rely completely on shock tactics. The clash of phalanxes was resolved entirely in hand-to-hand fighting. The city state of Sparta was the recognized master of phalanx warfare. The entire state was organized as a military camp. All non-serf males served in the Spartan phalanx and trained at length. Because the hoplites carried their shields on their left arm, the phalanx was most exposed on its right side. For that reason, the best phalanx units were positioned normally on the right side of the army. Battles often became a contest to see which army's right wing would first destroy the other side's left wing. Phalanx armies were susceptible to missile and cavalry attacks from the right and rear, but only if the enemy had these units and used them. Phalanx warfare reached its peak in two great fifth century wars-the war with Persia at the start of the century and the Peloponnesian War near its end. In both wars sea power played crucial roles but land fighting centered on the phalanx. The Phalanx at War The Peloponnesian War was a Greek civil war for dominance of Greece between the sea oriented Athenians and the land based Spartan League. One major lesson of the war was the inability of the phalanx to be strategically decisive. Heavy infantry alone could not capture cities once the battle outside the walls had been won. The war with Persia was especially interesting because the Greek phalanx, the finest heavy infantry in the world at the time, faced an integrated army of infantry, skirmishers, and cavalry. The Persians and Assyrians before them backed their infantry with auxiliary troops of every kind. They were also advanced in the art of siege warfare. The two great land battles of the Persian war occurred at Marathon in 490 BC and Plataea in 479 BC. At both battles a smaller Greek army consisting almost entirely of heavy infantry was victorious. Historians agree generally that Greek discipline and training were greatly responsible for these results, but admit that they were also at least partly due to Persian mistakes and incompetence. At both battles the Persians had substantial light troops and cavalry that should have been effective against the massed phalanx formations. The Persian army at Plataea contained 10,000 cavalry, for example. At both battles, however, the auxiliary troops were poorly used and ineffective, allowing the Greek heavy infantry to defeat the weaker Persian infantry and achieve victory. Greek heavy infantry morale was not significantly reduced prior to the moment of shock. When the two infantries clashed, the Greeks were able to overwhelm the Persian infantry and drive it from the field. The Greeks resisted the conversion of their heavy infantry armies to integrated armies into the late fourth century. Despite much evidence that the phalanx was at a disadvantage when facing skirmishers and surrounded by cavalry, the concept of the phalanx was too important a fixture of their culture. The phalanx had won the Persian war, with the help of the navy, and Greek heavy infantry served with distinction as mercenaries in surrounding lands. It took a clear demonstration of the systems weakness to bring it to an end. That demonstration was carried out by invaders from Macedonia under the leadership of Philip, father of Alexander the Great.


The integrated army
	The integrated army The evolution of battlefield tactics peaked with the integrated army of multiple arms. Each arm had a battlefield role and mission. The army that best employed its various parts, using its rocks to break the enemies scissors, had the best chance of victory. An army that was not integrated, like the Greek phalanx armies, or an army only partially integrated, was at great risk because it might be at a significant disadvantage on offense, defense, or both. Assyrians Integrated armies were first deployed in Mesopotamia during the second millennia. The Assyrians, especially, learned by trial and error to use infantry, skirmishers, chariots, and cavalry in battle simultaneously because they had to face a wide spectrum of enemies. They fought advanced chariot armies to their south and northwest (the Babylonians and Hittites) and barbarians to their west, east, and north. They had enemies in every direction and learned new techniques from fighting each. The best weapons, formations, and tactics from each were adopted or foreign troops were hired as mercenaries to supplement the army. Alexander the Great The greatest integrated army of antiquity was probably that of Alexander the Great. This army combined heavy hoplite infantry, heavy cavalry (the Companions), light cavalry, skirmishers, and light troops from several different cultures into an integrated whole. Under the brilliant tactical and strategic leadership of Alexander, the army conquered Greece, Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley in the incredibly short period of 10 years (336 BC to 326 BC). Alexander consistently used the parts of his army to perfection, employing the various units where they had the best chance of success. He was successful in all the battles he fought, even though he was usually outnumbered significantly.


Roman legions
	Roman legions The last great integrated army of antiquity was that of Rome. Civilization spread to the western Mediterranean after the end of the ancient Dark Age, carried there by traders from Phoenicia and Greece. By the third century BC, Carthage and Rome were at war for dominance of the western Mediterranean. The Punic Wars between these two powers were on and off for over one hundred years, ending with the destruction of Carthage and enslavement of her people. Roman expansion continued after the fall of Carthage and eventually the Roman Empire encompassed Alexander's conquests, minus the Indus Valley, plus most of Britain, southern Europe to the borders of the Rhine and Danube Rivers, and North Africa. The empire was acquired and defended by the self-sufficient legions of the Roman Army. Legion Organization The Romans adopted the phalanx formation for their infantry around 550 BC but this proved impractical in the hilly terrain of Italy. They evolved a heavy infantry system of smaller 120 man units called "maniples"-literally a handful. The maniples could be employed in column like a phalanx or in lines. The maniples were the basic building blocks of a legion. The number of legions in service started at four and grew as the Empire expanded. A legion was a largely self-sufficient fighting force of light troops, heavy infantry, and cavalry. A legion of second century BC consisted of 4,200 men drafted from the citizenry of the Republic. All non-slaves reported for possible induction. The 1,200 youngest and poorest recruits were assigned as light troops called velites. These men carried swords, javelins, and a small round shield, but no armor. The 1,200 that were next in terms of age and property became hastati, the first line of heavy infantry, followed by the next 1,200 called the principes in the second line. The hastati and principes carried an oval shield, a Spanish short sword (gladius), and two pila (throwing spears). The oldest 600 men formed the third line and were called the triari. They carried a thrusting spear instead of the pilum. All foot soldiers in the legion usually wore a bronze breast plate, helmet, and greaves. The richest men in the draft ended up usually in the legion's cavalry contingent of 300 or so men. These were divided into 10 groups of 30. Roman cavalry of the Second Century carried a round shield and long spear. The Legion in Battle A legion probably advanced in three lines behind a screen formed by the velites. The first line was the 10 maniples of hastati. A gap was left between the maniples equal to the width of their frontage. The principes formed the second line, with their 10 maniples probably arranged behind the gaps in the first line. The triari formed the third line. Cavalry was deployed to the sides to keep other cavalry and light troops from the flanks. As the moment of infantry shock approached, the velites loosed a hail of javelins against the enemy and then retired through the gaps in the lines behind them. Once the velites had passed, the rear ranks of the hastati maniples moved into the gap between the maniple on the left, forming a continuous line. Just before impact with the enemy, the hastati threw their pila. This missile attack prior to the shock of infantry battle helped disorganize the enemy and weaken their morale. The shaft of the pilum was designed to bend rather than break. If it stuck into a shield, rather than a soldier, it would hang there, weighing down the soldier's shield arm just as the infantry clashed. When the hastati threw their pila, they were acting as their own missile troops. These throwing spears were designed to bend, not break off, if they penetrated an enemy shield. This greatly weighed down the enemy's shield, making it almost useless. The hastati then followed up their pila attack by closing for hand-to-hand fighting with their short swords designed for cutting and thrusting. If the hastati were repulsed or ran low on energy, they could retire through the principes who then formed line and advanced, throwing their pila in turn. If the principes failed, the triari would advance, probably reinforced by the survivors from the first two lines. The heavy infantry of the Roman legion was the decisive arm of their army. They were superbly trained and vigorously disciplined, making them very tough opponents.


Siege warfare
	Siege warfare It was mentioned earlier that the earliest sizable towns yet discovered by archaeologists were fortified. At least one historian believes that the need for walls as protection from war was the impetus for the first cities, not the agricultural revolution. Most ancient city sites show evidence of both walls and of being destroyed at least once in their existence. Heinrich Schlieman, the first excavator of Troy, had to decide which of several successive destroyed cities he found on the site was the Troy of the Illiad. If the walls discovered at most ancient cities are evidence of war, the subsequent evidence of destruction is evidence that the ancients had also mastered siege warfare-the taking of walled cities by force. Siege Engines The first equipment designed specifically to take walled cities for which we have evidence was a ladder with wheels on its base depicted in an Egyptian relief. The engraving shows the ladder already wheeled up against an enemy wall and soldiers climbing up to the fight. Most cities sacked in the third millennia BC and before were probably taken by scaling the walls or breaking down the gates. Prior to the time of Alexander the Great, the cultures and kingdoms of Mesopotamia were the most advanced in building specialized equipment for taking cities. The principle construction material in this region was sun-dried, or later fire-baked, mud bricks. One important siege engine from this area was a battering ram sheltered within rolling protective framework that could be rolled up against the mud brick walls. Under the cover of the roof, engineers inside could use the metal tipped ram to break and gouge out bricks, eventually crumbling sections of the wall and forming a breach that could be stormed. As the cities got larger and fortifications stronger, new equipment was required. The structure covering the battering rams increased in size becoming movable towers. When wheeled up against the walls, archers from the top could fire down or along the walls. A ramp lowered from the tower to the wall, allowed attackers to advance into the city. More attackers could climb up within the covered tower before crossing over into the attack. Catapults, the first long range missile weapons, were invented in Syracuse, Sicily, in 399 BC. The king of Sicily, Dionysius I, assembled craftsmen to design machines to aid his assault of an island fortress on the coast. Catapults hurled large stones against walls from a distance, minimizing the danger to attackers while slowly crumbling the defenses. The stones fired against the wall built up at its base , forming a rough assault ramp into the breach. Within sixty years, advanced catapults were standard weapons in the armies of both Greece and Persia. Famous Sieges The best known siege of antiquity was the destruction of Jericho by Joshua's trumpet as recorded in the Bible. Other well-known sieges were the taking of Tyre by Alexander the Great and the siege of Alesia by Julius Caesar in . Tyre In 332 BC Alexander advanced down the Eastern Mediterranean coast after his victory at Issus. The coastal cities surrendered one by one, except Tyre, an island fortress one half mile off the coast with walls 150 feet high. The Greeks began building a 200-foot causeway out to the island. When the Tyrians began firing on the construction crews with catapults, Alexander built two 150-foot towers on the causeway armed with catapults to fire back. These were burned by a fire ship but Alexander responded by widening the causeway and building more towers. Alexander anchored ships off the walls to serve as platforms for battering rams. The walls of the city were finally breached from the ships and causeway. The elite troops of Alexander's army led the assault, infuriated by Tyrian tactics. More than 8,000 Tyrians were killed in the final attack and the remaining 30,000 inhabitants were sold into slavery. Alesia In 52 BC Julius Caesar was attempting to subjugate the Celtic tribes of Gaul (modern France) at the head of 12 Roman legions. He bottled up a leader of the Gauls, Vercingetorix, in the hilltop town of Alesia (modern Alise-Sainte-Reine near Dijon). Expecting a relief force to break his siege, Caesar's problem was to defend the long circumference, keeping Vercingetorix in while being able to respond to an attack from the outside. Caesar surrounded Alesia with a 14 mile long double fortification of wooden walls, walkways, towers every 800 feet, deep trenches and pits filled with spikes. The traps, pits, and trenches were designed to slow any attack so that legionnaires could quickly move from their camps around the circle to any threatened spot before the Gauls broke through. Several assaults from within and without failed, and Caesar was able to drive off the relief force with the help of mercenary German cavalry. The city of Alesia surrendered and Vercingetorix became Caesar's prisoner.


Naval warfare
	Naval warfare Very limited evidence of war at sea exists until the Greco-Persian Wars and Punic Wars of the last millennia BC. Historians are left to make largely educated guesses about sea fighting prior to these events. For example, the Minoan civilization of Crete prospered as sea traders from around 3400 BC until the catastrophe of 1200 BC. For those two millennia the Minoans apparently controlled the Mediterranean Sea. Mycenean palaces on the mainland were fortified while Minoan palaces on Crete were not. The lack of fortification on Crete suggests that the Minoans controlled the seas so completely that walls were not needed. Crete was defended by warships at sea that prevented any potential invader from coming ashore. Following the catastrophe of 1200 BC, various powers vied for control of the Mediterranean Sea, including the Greeks, Phoenicians, Persians (through Eastern Mediterranean port cities they controlled), Carthaginians, and the Romans. Fleets of several hundred warships clashed in many naval battles. From this period we have the best information available about the evolution of the ancient fighting ship and how sea battles were fought. Once the Romans gained dominance over the Mediterranean, making it almost a private lake, naval warfare practically disappeared from Europe, other than piracy. Evolution of the Fighting Ship The first ships evolved into two major types-those built to carry a large cargo volume as traders or fishing boats at a sacrifice in speed and those built primarily for speed to carry small important cargoes such as diplomats or messages. Ships designed for war needed speed to run down the slower cargo vessels or to maneuver enemy warships. The Importance of Speed and Maneuverability Ancient courier and combat ships were galleys, relying on both sails and oarsmen for power, with the oars serving as a back-up power source in non-battle situations. The king or city provided oarsmen to insure the boat could move when it had to, regardless of the winds. Oar power was critically important during combat because it allowed precise and speedy movement, including fast turns (oared ships could essentially rotate in place by having the rowers on each side row in opposite directions) and backward movement. Sailing ships of the time had almost none of the maneuvering capability. The first courier ships were long and thin, rather than short and wide, to maximize speed. A single mast might have been carried to provide wind power when conditions were right. A row of oarsmen were arranged down each side of the ship. The stroke of the oars was controlled by drums or chanting or some other timing device. Oars had to be pulled together to keep the ship movement smooth. Tangled oars or "catching a crab" (failing to withdraw the oar after the stroke and being pinned by it and the force of the ship's motion) interrupted movement and interfered with steering. This could mean disaster in battle. War Galleys The most familiar ancient warship was the trireme, a long thin ship carrying three banks of oars on both sides and a ram on the prow. This ship had evolved from the Greek pentecontor that carried 50 rowers. Naval architects wished to add more power by adding more oarsmen, but the ship could not be made too long or risk breaking in the middle at sea. The solution was to add banks of rowers above each other. The basic trireme was powered by 170 rowers and was about 120 feet long. The first triremes were built by Corinth around 700 BC. After years of modification they became the predominate warship type from 500 to 300 BC. The triremes were eventually replaced by super galleys that were much larger and wider ships. On the super galleys oars were manned by multiple men, up to as many as eight per oar. Super galleys appeared first in the navy of Dionysius I of Sicily, mentioned earlier as responsible for the invention of the catapult around 399 BC. Following the death of Alexander and the division of his empire, a arms race for control of the Mediterranean was touched off between the Antigonid dynasty in Macedonia and the Ptolemies in Egypt. During this period the largest oar powered ships ever built appeared. The most colossal of the new wide beam ships was built by Ptolemy IV of Egypt in the second century BC. It had a catamaran hull, apparently, with two hulls full of rowers and a large deck extending over both hulls like a modern aircraft carrier's deck. The writer Athenaeus reports this ship was 420 feet long and 57 feet wide. The third level oars were 57 feet long. It carried 4,000 rowers, 400 other crewmen, and 2,850 marines. It was the largest warship the world would see until the 20th Century. Historians believe this particular monster was more for show than practical use, but there are many accounts of smaller but still immense galleys engaging in combat. Once Rome had established control of the Mediterranean world, the need for large super galleys disappeared after the battle at Actium in 31 BC. The Romans maintained sizable galley fleets, including several of the big super galleys, at big naval bases at Naples and Ravenna, plus smaller bases around the Mediterranean. The most useful ship in this navy was the liburnian, a light and fast two-deck galley equivalent to modern destroyed that was useful for chasing pirates and protecting commerce. Naval Weapons For most of antiquity, warships did not carrying ship killing weapons. Naval battles were boarding exercises. Fighting ships closed with each other and the battle was decided by missile fire and hand-to-hand combat between crews. Ships carried contingents of soldiers for combat and oarsmen left their posts to join in once the fighting started. The principal ship killing weapon of the ancient world was the ram which appeared sometime after the catastrophe and before 850 BC. A blunt ramming point was mounted below the waterline on a heavily reinforced bow. Such a ram of bronze, weighing over 1,000 pounds, has been recovered from the Mediterranean by Israeli archaeologists. The object of naval fighting was to drive the ram into the side or rear of an enemy ship, puncture it, and then pull back, leaving a hole that resulted in the ship sinking. After 300 BC, grappling and boarding once again became important as ships increased greatly in size and became less maneuverable. The larger ships of this period carried large fighting contingents, up to the hardly believable figure of 2,850 soldiers mentioned earlier. A Roman innovation of the Third Century BC was a combination gangplank and grapple called a corvus. This large plank was held in an upright position until an enemy ship got close. The corvus was then released and swung down onto the deck of the enemy ship, simultaneously grappling the two and providing access for Roman marines to attack. The Romans were great land fighters but were at a disadvantage when fighting the superior navy of the Carthaginians. The corvus made it possible for the Romans to fight at sea using their strengths. Dionysius I of Sicily was the first to mount catapults and other missile firing engines on ships. These were useful in causing casualties to marines on the enemy's deck and a lucky hit in the rowing banks disrupted the rowing rhythm. Sea Tactics The tactics of sea fighting were missile fire and hand-to-hand boarding attacks until the invention of the ram. The boarding tactics are well illustrated in a series of carvings commissioned by Ramses III of Egypt on his temple at Medinet Habu. These carvings celebrate Ramses III's naval victory over barbarian invaders around 1190 BC. He apparently surprised the barbarian fleet at the mouth of the Nile. The carvings show the antagonists fighting with bows, maces, spears, and javelins. Naval fighting at this time was primarily accomplished by moving ships adjacent, showering the opponent with missiles, and then boarding. The fitting of rams to the prow of fast oar-powered ships changed tactics. The boarding of ships was de-emphasized for several hundred years. Ships maneuvered into position to race in quickly and ram. If the ramming ship could withdraw, the punctured ship usually sank quickly and with heavy loss of life. If the ramming ship was too slow in its attack, the ram might not punch through the enemy hull. If it attacked too fast, it might become stuck, leaving it motionless and vulnerable to other enemies. An account of a sea battle off the island of Chios in 201 BC mentions a ship stuck in such a manner being saved by a friendly ship ramming the already pierced enemy ship and pushing it off the stuck ship's ram. If a ramming ship missed, many of the oars on one side were sheered off, again leaving the ship very vulnerable until replacement oars could be put in place. Smaller and faster ships had an advantage in maneuverability, but the larger ships were stronger and more powerful. The ability of oar-powered ships to turn so quickly made it difficult to catch them at a disadvantage, unless more than one ship could attack an enemy simultaneously. If a larger ship could turn its ram head-on against a smaller ship, the result was usually sheered oars, leading to grappling, and successful boarding by the larger ship. Fleets attempted to get around each other and attack simultaneously from two angles, making an anvil attack. The enemy could only turn to face one foe, leaving himself exposed to a second. One ship held the enemy in place on the anvil and the other struck the blow. During last millennia BC, the oar-powered warships gradually got larger and more powerful, and began mounting fighting towers on their decks plus catapults. Although boarding became important once again in the last centuries, warships continued to carry and use rams.


Bibliography
	Bibliography The following books were especially useful and interesting during the development of Age of Empires and are recommended for further reading. • Brinton, Crane, John B. Christopher, Robert Lee Wolf, and Robin W. Winks. A History of Civilization, Volume 1: Prehistory to 1715. Sixth Edition, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, 1984. • Casson, Lionel. Ships and Seafaring in Ancient Times. University of Texas Press, Austin, 1994. • Chisholm, Jane, Editor. The Usborne Book of the Ancient World. Usborne, London, 1991. • Colcutt, Martin, Marius Jansen, and Isao Kumakura. Cultural Atlas of Japan. Fact on File, New York, NY, 1988. • Drews, Robert. The End of the Bronze Age, Changes in Warfare and the Catastrophe CA. 1200 BC. Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1993. • Edey, Maitland A. The Sea Traders. Time-Life Books, New York, 1974. • Fairservis, Walter A., Jr. The Threshold of Civilization, An Experiment in Prehistory. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1975. • Ferrill, Arther. The Origins of War from the Stone Age to Alexander the Great. Thames and Hudson, New York, 1986. • Fitzgerald, C. P. The Horizon History of China. American Heritage, New York, NY, 1969. • Gowlett, John. Ascent to Civilization, The Archaeology of Early Man. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1984. • Hawkes, Jacquetta. The Atlas of Early Man. St. Martin's Press, New York, 1976. • Hicks, Jim. The Empire Builders. Time-Life Books, New York, 1974. • Hicks, Jim. The Persians. Time-Life Books, New York, 1975. • Hawkes, Jacquetta. Dawn of the Gods, Minoan and Mycenean Origins of Greece. Random House, New York, 1968. • Johnson, Paul. A History of the Jews. Harper & Row, New York, 1987. • Keppie, Lawrence. The Making of the Roman Army. Barnes & Noble, Totowa, 1984. • Lansing, Elizabeth. The Sumerians. McGraw-Hill, New York. • Lee, Ki-baik. Translated by Edward W. Wager with Edward J. Shultz. A New History of Korea. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1984. • Nahm, Andrew C. A Panorama of 5000 Years: Korean History. Hollym International, Elizabeth, NJ, 1983. • Oliphant, Margaret. The Atlas of the Ancient World. Simon & Schuster, New York, 1992. • Rogerson, John, Atlas of the Bible. Facts on File, New York, 1985. • Sansom, George. A History of Japan to 1334. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA, 1967. • Southworth, John Van Duyn. The Ancient Fleet, Naval Warfare under Oars. Twayne Publishers, New York, 1968. • Thomas, Hugh. A History of the World. Harper & Row, New York, 1982. • Yap, Yong, and Arthur Cotterell. The Early Civilization of China. G. P. Putnam & Sons, New York, NY, 1975.