Hello all, welcome to Part 4 of the Mediterranean AI game. I'm u/porkpot, and as always I'll be your host. We start the part with one of u/SeroSedSerio's maps to get us situated and so that we know who owns what where.



A few more votes were cast after part 3, which is greatly appreciated. Iberia greatly rose in the rankings this part, receiving 5 of the 17 votes. Rome also received 3 votes, which is interesting as they have done little this game so far. Otherwise, Serbia, Bavaria, Albania, Moldova, the Trypillians, the Golden Horde, Egypt, Sparta, and Spain all received 1 vote.

We start this part off with immediate action. After surrounding the Tuareg capital last part, Algerian and western Umayyad forces became locked in a battle to see who would take the city. The victor is he who struck first, which in this case was the Umayyads but I'm pretty sure that the Algerians did most of the work. To the south, Kidal looks set to fall to an Umayyad horde.

In Iberia, the action heats up as the Asturians declare war on the Cordobans. This will likely amount to little as Spain and Portugal are between the two warring nations.

We head north to France, where the French and Visigothic armies are almost equally matched, though in theory France's greater production base should lead them to victory, as they are currently at war. Napoleon had better secure open borders from the Iberians, as the one tile passage between their two cities will severely hamper French troop deployment. The Visigoths, however, should hope for the status quo, as a one tile passage is easily defensible.

In northern Italy, the Venetians have their UU, the Great Galleass. It is marginally stronger than the normal galleass for the same production cost.



The Cuman-Hungary War is progressing well, as Hungary has been reduced to 3 cities.

In Greece, the Spartans have taken Durres from Albania and it looks set to remain that way due to a lack of Albanian forces in the area. The other Albanian cities look safe for now.

The Trypillians are at war with the Hetmanate/Ukraine. The Hetmanate has managed to repulse the Trypillian assault for now, though their forces in the area are looking thin. Burgundy and Venice look on in an attempt to lean how to war good.

Georgia is being pushed back by the Alans thanks to the one tile pass through the Caucasus Mountains. Gains are unlikely to be made in this area due to tough geography.

The Rashidun and Nabataeans are still at war, though not much is happening. This area has a few more wars going on, but they're all equally peaceful.

Another area that is experiencing signs of war is northern Africa near the Libya-Egypt border, as the Ptolemies invade the Ayyubids. They're going about it slowly, but its happening.

The Umayyads capture Kidal from the Tuareg, as the Tuareg make peace with the Iberians. They should have made peace with the Umayyads, but you can't win all of your battles, whether on the battlefield or the negotiating table.



Also, the Trypillians and Hetmanate, Nabataeans and Rashidun, and Lombards and Venice all make peace. Nothing happened in any of these wars, unfortunately.

We now see the Asturians' secret plan, involve the Spanish in their war. This could heavily tip the war against the Cordobans, as the Spanish military is rather robust.

Probably pretty smart to do so, Moldova makes peace with Hungary. To get to Hungary, the Moldovans would have needed open borders from the Cumans or Serbians. The Cumans have a weaker army now that they've taken some Hungarian cities and had to fend off a major Serbian advance that took their capital. The Bulgarians also have an army near the former Cuman capital.

Spartan forces pushing into Albania are looking rather... Spartan. The Spartans are the victors of the war, as they've managed to take an Albanian city, no matter how poorly placed it was.

Tired of slogging through Portuguese lands, the Asturians declare war on them in an attempt to conquer a path to the Cordobans. This does make it a factional war for Iberia, the Asturians and Spanish vs the Cordobans, and Portuguese. Iberia can be considered the third faction in this war, as they are at war with both Spain and Cordoba.

Julius Caesar completes Chichen Itza as another pointless war breaks out. The Croatians and Moldovans declare against the Lombards, though Venice is in the way for anyone to accomplish anything.

Worried that the eastern Umayyads have grown too powerful, the Kurds and Turks work together (for once) to take them down. Fustat looks like it could fall relatively quickly, and the same could be said of Damascus. If the Umayyads act quickly, they could take Berytos from the Phoenicians and then redeploy their army to defend against the new threats.

Emerita may soon fall to the Iberians, as the French and Visigoths make peace. Probably a wise move for Napoleon, as the Visigothic army appears larger than the French army.

Damascus is already in the yellow as the Turkish army marches to surround Fustat. The one good piece of news for the Umayyads in this slide is that they've made peace with the Phoenicians. The Cypriots have just started to explore their surroundings.

A front on the Iberian War for Supremacy closes, as the Iberians make peace with the Cordobans. The Cordobans must be rejoicing at the news, as their army is looking pretty thin at the moment.

Serbia's army is picking up the resultant slack from the peace between Hungary and the Cumans, as they start to attack the Hungarian capital. If the Serbians were smart, they would also attack the Bavarians as Ingolstadt is protected by a single chariot archer. The Bulgarian army is going somewhere, and the Moldovan army looks pretty impressive.

Well, I may have spoken too soon. Spartan forces knock on the Albanian main gate so hard as to cause damage to the city.

In Libya, the Berbers declare war on Libya. Things could have worked out better for Qaddafi. This is the second Libya-Berber War.

The Vandals send some forces to attack the new Tuareg capital, which is pretty cute, as they're not going to accomplish much.

Iberia has captured Emerita from the Spanish, which is progress. You can look at Asturian progress against the Portuguese two ways. First, the Asturians have sent an elite force into the rear of Portuguese lines to start a flanking maneuver against the Portuguese. Second, the Portuguese have cut off a portion of the Asturian army for crushing. Your call on how you see it.

Fustat is still Umayyad, as somehow Turkish forces have failed to do any major damage to the city despite clear military dominance.

Kurdish forces have done more damage, but seem equally unable to take Damascus.

PLOT TWIST! The Georgians and Umayyads were at war, so to make peace the Umayyads gave Damascus to Georgia so that the Kurds couldn't have it! That's some pretty smart diplomacy if you ask me.

Yup, I definitely spoke too soon. Spartan forces have brought Tirana down to red health and have naval and land force superiority. Things are looking bad for u/SilentForza's Albanians.

Serbia has had some success with their war against Hungary, as Budapest is in the red. If they play their cards right, Serbia could take the city next turn.

Ah, there we go. Turkey takes Fustat. I think that the Byzantines are going to war against someone, but I'm not sure who. Their army is causing some problems for the Turks though, as moving two separate armies through one country takes time and space.

In a wise move, Georgia makes peace yet again, this time with the Alans. No city flips here, but at least they're at peace now. Also, you may have noticed but Kurdish cities aren't TXT_KEY_CITY_NAME_"City name". You're welcome.

Dvin finally starts to take damage from Ptolemaic attacks. They may actually be able to take the city if they attack it seriously this century.

The Libyan army looks pretty ragged as weaves of Berbers attack Tripoli. This is a war of quantity vs quality, as the Libyans have fewer higher tech units while the Berbers have more lower tech units.

In Iberia the Portuguese have repulsed the Asturian attack and the Spanish are taking the fight to two Iberian cities, likely as revenge for Emerita.

We finally get to the important parts, as we look at the Balkans to discover that Hungary has lost their capital to Serbia. What an unhistoric twist of fate, though it isn't entirely unexpected. Serbia could definitely continue the push against Hungary, especially if that Bulgarian army is going to support them.

Bad news for u/SilentForza, Tirana has fallen reducing the Albanians to one city. Spartan fans will be happy, however.

Sparta takes advantage of the capture to settle another city, this time on some Aegean islands to claim Krakatoa.

Interestingly, all of these civs are desert based, except for possibly Ataturk.

Hey look, we're happier than someone who is still alive!

The Ptolemies don't really get how war works, do they? At least the city is in the yellow, I suppose.

Libya has decided that a diversionary attack against Tizi Wezzu is a smart idea, as the Romans build the Hagia Sophia.

Coimbra, Barcelona, and Tartessos take damage against from their foes. Only Tartessos is in any danger of falling though.

Huzzah, some more war! The Israelis decide that Iraq is getting too full of itself and its religion, so Ben-Gurion declares war on them. Basra may actually fall, which could be interesting.

More war for the war gods! Bulgaria and the Trypillians declare war on Serbia. Interestingly, the Bulgarian army is pretty much everywhere within Serbia, so they can attack in any direction they want. Its very likely that they'll decide to attack in every direction and waste their army, while the Trypillians can't reach the Serbians to actually attack them. At least Serbia is distracted with Hungary for the time being, and won't be able to mount a counter attack for a few turns.

Woah, Ptolemy actually did it, they conquered Dvin. Good on them, now to take down Marsa Matruh.



Bavaria builds Notre Dame, and the Romans build the Oracle.

Ah, looks like that distractionary attack didn't work out for Qaddafi, as he makes peace with the Berbers and gives them Benghazi... Oops.

Spain peaces out to a poor peace deal. They lost Emerita and could have taken Tartessos, but didn't.

As expected, the Bulgarian army attacked all four cities at once, though they seem to cluster around Cluj-Napoca, the former Cuman capital. Serbia is still unconcerned with the Bulgarian betrayal that they take the fight to the Cumans in Szeged.

Albania regains their capital! Their army is looking thin, but they may be able to hold on to it for the near future.

Ok, the Bulgarians are actually successfully attacking Cluj-Napoca. Maybe the Serbians should do something besides bring Szeged to yellow.

I definitely forgot that the Abbasids and Iraq were at war, and apparently so did they. That won't stop Iraq from giving Mosul to the Abbasids. The Israelis don't appear to know how to damage Basra, as they have yet to attack it.

Oh wait, there they go. They bring Basra to yellow in one turn, as the Nabataeans and Abbasids make war, as do the Abbasids and Kurds.

The Bulgarians actually did it, they took Cluj-Napoca from the Serbians. This confused the Serbians so much they made peace with the Cumans without taking Szeged. It looks like Nis could be in trouble next if the Serbians don't get their act in gear.

A peaceful area goes to war for the first time. Bavaria declares war on Luxembourg. The Bavarian army looks strong, so they might make some decent gains here.

It looks like the Ptolemaic army has gathered around Marsa Matruh, but they have yet to do any damage to it.

Spain makes peace with the Cordobans, calming Iberia down a bit. Nothing happened, which is a bit of a shame.

Egypt declares war on the Nabataeans, though the Gulf of Suez will hamper troop movements. Also, Israel has captured Basra, and Mosul is in the yellow.

Sensing inaction against the Umayyads, the Abbasids declare war on them. This likely won't amount to much, but I can always dream, as they brought the Hittites in with them.

Well that's a shame, Tirana falls to the Spartans yet again. Novi Sad is also taking damage from attacking Bulgarian forces.

Nis is still in the green though the Serbian army is no where near.

The Rashidun take Mosul from the Abbasids, as the Asturians and Cordobans make peace. Things are looking bad for Iraq.

Just as they were starting to rebuild after their war with the Berbers, the Guanches declare war on the Garamantes. This war shouldn't last long, as the Guanche force is larger than that of the Garamantes.

The Tuareg and western Umayyads make peace, as Trypillia enhances their Bird Figure Cult religion.

Pretty sure that the Alans are at war with someone here, though you wouldn't know it from looking at this slide. At least the Horde and the Alans have large armies. Also, the Hetmanate has their UU, the Serdiuk. It is a musketman replacement that can pillage for free and is cheaper to produce.

Arlon starts to take damage form invading Bavarian forces. This upsets Ermisende, who makes peace with the Swiss.

The Rashidun and Abbasids make peace as the Great Mosque of Djenne is built in Spain. The Hittites appear to be successfully attacking their former city of Tarhuntassa.

The Serbian defence of Nis is slow to assemble, but appears to be successful.

Ptolemy has brought Marsa Matruh down to red, but has no more melee units with which to take the city. Classic Civ V AI.

Asturia and Portugal make peace, as Portugal starts to field their Knight of Aviz. It is more expensive than the knight it replaces, but doesn't require horses. It heals every turn when in a civ that is of a different religion than its owner's.

Garama takes damage as the Guanches embark their forces for some reason.

Kurdish forces approach Baghdad and look set to do some major damage. Just remember that they take damage every turn they are in a different civ's borders, so their force could melt much faster than other invading armies.

The Hittites appear to be in a race to take Tarhuntassa, as the Turks get off of their lazy arses and send troops to attack the city. Byzantium is still trying to go somewhere to do something but is only getting in the way.

A quick look at the Spartan-Albanian War, to see that Albania has accepted the Bird Figure Cult as their one true religion.

The Bavarian force is strong and well organised, but come on guys, you're at war...

They've done it! The Hittites have reclaimed their city after many many turns of foreign rule! They gave that city away when they made peace with the Umayyads.

The Serbian army looks to have evaporated as the Bulgarian siege of Nis gathers strength.

First the Hetmanate, now the Moldovans have musketmen. The gunpowder era is upon lads, things will start to get good.

Egypt is still attacking the Nabataeans. Unfortunately for the Nabataeans, their army is intermingled with the Rashidun army on the other side of the country. Eboda will likely fall quickly, due to the trebuchets the Egyptians have brought.





Anyway, here's a poll, please vote on who you think will win the game! We end with Albania's fate in the balance. We also discover that Albania wasn't even Leonidas's true target, they just happened to be in between Sparta and Serbia. What a cruel way to pave a road to war.Anyway, here's a poll, please vote on who you think will win the game! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfMzJOD6Y3vVpiLPhDNvkT-nni_7eTVvtjPonkUu8uwvlXPuA/viewform

Hey look, stats from 7 turns ago. Turkey continues to climb into the lead score-wise though the battle for second place is much more contested.

Population stats. You can draw the same conclusions as I can from these, so I don't really feel the need to comment on these.

Population stats part 2.

Production stats.

Production stats part 2.

Military might.

Military might part 2.

Science stats.

Science stats part 2.