Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East offers gamers the opportunity to play – and play against – 16 nations, peoples, kingdoms, and empires which rose, fought, prospered, and perished over the course of 4,000 years. As many as six – or as few as two – of these civilizations may be present in a single game. Historical set-ups help guide players to put themselves in a particular time and area of the map, while Sandbox game set-ups allow players to create their own “what if” matchups where civilizations which were not contemporaneous can be set against each other in a struggle for domination – and survival.

Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East is not your typical civilization building game. It is a game of civilization ruling; a game of surviving against the odds – and the gods – to forge a civilization whose legacy will stand the test of time.

There are 16 Civilizations in the game, as well as a few bonus civilizations that appear only in some late-game historical  scenarios (notably the Romans, Pontics and Parthians) and in the Rostam “Legendary” scenario, which is drawn from the classic Persian tale, the Shahnameh, which was penned by the poet Ferdowsi over one thousand years ago.

Historical scenarios and setups include:

• Sargon I
• Agamemnon
• Lion of Judah
• The Sea Peoples
• King of the Four Corners of the World
• Cyrus the Great
• Darius
• Alexander the Great
• Successors
• and Mithridates, (and “Here Come the Romans!”) just to name a few.

The 16 principal Civilizations of the Middle East, each of which have their own unique characteristics, are listed within the table below, as are the years in which they existed and the one or more Epochs of the game in which they were present. Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East has four Epochs, each of up to four turns – but players may choose a scenario that takes place over the course of one or two epochs, or set their own parameters as to the number of epochs,  victory point goal, or amount of time they will play. The game is eminently flexible: it is as short or long a game as you wish to make it.

Over the course of the next few weeks we will reveal the history and characteristics of each of these civilizations, one at a time, complete with a glimpse of the playtest art for their individual Civilization Displays. In the meantime, here is a list of the 16 Civilizations to be presented:

• Epoch One – The Early Bronze Age: (4000 BC – 2500 BC)
• Epoch Two – The Late Bronze Age (2500 BC – 1200 BC)
• Epoch Three – The Iron Age (1200 BC – 500 BC)
• Epoch Four – The Hellenic Age (500 BC – 100 BC)

A “?” indicates a civilization still in existence when Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East’s Epoch IV concludes. All, of course, eventually fell – but from the dust their words still emerge to instruct, caution and inspire, as does this inscription from an ancient Sumerian clay tablet c. 2500 BC

Words of Warning – and a Curse-from the First Civilization

He who changes, neglects, transgresses, erases the words of this tablet, may the great gods of heaven and earth, who inhabit the world, all those that are named in this tablet, strike you down, look with disfavor upon you, may they chase you away from both shade and sunlight so that you cannot take refuge in a hidden corner, may food and drink forsake you, and hunger, want, famine and pestilence never leave you, may the bellies of dogs and pigs be your burial place, let tar and pitch be your food, donkey urine your drink, naphtha your ointment, river rushes your covers, and evil spirits, demons, and lurkers select your houses (as their abode).

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