0 A.D. is a video-game based on
15 different civilizations:
The Macedonians
The Macedonians (VII BC to II BC)
Pezetairos (Foot Companions)
Agranian Peltast
Thessalian
Hellenistic Metropolis
Filip II
Alexander III “the Great”
Demetrius I
Anaktoron ton Ikai
Gastraphetophoros
Rhodian slingers
Cretan Mercenary Archer
Hetairos (Companion Cavalry)
Hypaspistes
Helépolis
Lithobolos
Krios (ram)
Oxybeles
Rhomphaiaphoros from Traccia
Odrysian cavalry
Silver shields
The Spartans
The Spartans (0 AD) (~650 BC – 192 BC): residents of the most influential democratic city-state in ancient Greece. They are globally celebrated for laying the foundation of Western philosophy, classical theater, and architecture.
Militaristic Greek city-state in the Peloponnese, famous for rigorous warrior training (the agoge), hoplite infantry, and dual kingship. Dominated Greece after defeating Athens in the Peloponnesian War; declined after defeat at Leuctra (371 BC).
Spartiā́tēs (Spartan Hoplites) woth the letter “L” (lambda) in cappital leeters in the Greek alphabet (L), which cames from “Lacaedomonia”, the region where they live.
They were doryans. Talk about doryan style
Wide columns, heavy, robust, without ornaments, directly based on the floor.
The doryan scale
en el suelo
Hoplites
Hieron tes Artemidos Orthias
Krypteia
Oxybeles?
Neodamodeis
Lycurgus
Agogé
The Peloponnesian League
Paeans
Tyrtean Paeans
The Perioikos
The Illots
Peristyle
The Ekdromos Skirites
Xiphos
Linothorakes
Leonides
Brasidas
Agis
Gerousia (the Spartan Senate)
Neodamodes
Skiritai
The Athenian
The Athenians (~508 BC – 322 BC) were
Hoplites
Slingers militia
Horsemen
Athenian marines
Epilektos (City Guards)
Scytian archers
Hippocrates
Themistocles
Pericles
Iphicrates
Thracian peltasts
Cretan mercenary archers
The Parthenon
Gimnassion
Arsenal of Philon
Oxybeles
Embolon
Trirremes
Hypozomata
The Long Walls of Athens
The Phalanx formation
Hophite Tradition
Iphicratean Reforms
Agora
Agora
Xiphos
Linothorakes
Oxybele
Lithobólos
Dynamis
Epilektos (means “the chosen”) were
Toxotes Skythikos (Scythian Archer)
Theatron
Themistokles
Perikles (Pericles)
Iphikrates (Iphicrates)
The Owl of Athena was a common shield configuration amongst the athenian hoplites and athenian coins. Athena was the protector of the Polis.
The Persians
The Persians
Sparabara
Sogdian archers
Archers
Median light cavalry
Hyrcanian cavalry
Cappadocian cavalry
Parthian horse archer
Yackchal
Equine transports
Lydian auxiliary
Anusiya (persian immortal)
Nisean War Horses
Bactrian Heavy Lancer
Bactrian Heavy Cavalry Archer
Babylon Scythed Chariot
Indian War Elephant
Assyrian Siege Ram
Winter Palace
Cyrus II the Great
Darius I the Great
Xerxes I
Hanging Garden of Babylon
The Persians (0 AD) (550 a.C. – 330 a.C): creators of the vast Achaemenid Empire, famous for connecting the ancient world through advanced roads, decentralized local governors (satraps), and religious tolerance.
The Achaemenid Empire — the first great Near Eastern superpower, stretching from Egypt to the Indus under Cyrus the Great and Darius I. Known for royal roads and relatively tolerant rule over diverse peoples. Ended with Alexander’s conquest.
Early Achaemenid rulers acted towards making Persia the first great Asian empire to rule the seas
The Royal Road
Great King’s Levy
Darayavahush I (Darius I “the Great”)
Xsayarsa I (Xerxes I)
Kurush II (Cyrus II “the Great”)
Anusiya (Persian Immortals)
Apadan (Persian Palace)
The Iberians
Cancho Roano
The Iberians (0 AD) (~ VI a.C. – siglo I a.C.): the indigenous pre-Roman cultures of the eastern and southern Iberian Peninsula, recognized for their sophisticated metallurgy, urban settlements, and unique artistic styles.
Indigenous peoples of eastern/southern Iberia (Spain/Portugal), shaped by Phoenician and Greek trade contact. Known for fortified hilltop towns (oppida) and skilled warriors, some serving as mercenaries for Carthage. Gradually Romanized.
guerrilla warfare
The bull
Caros
Indibil
Viriato
Castra
Rams?
Priestess
Ataekina??
Skirmish
Javalineer
Lusitans
Devotio (Leial???)
Cavalry with fire javelins?
The Carthaginians
The Carthaginians (0 AD) (~814 a.C. – 146 a.C.): a Phoenician-descended maritime empire centered in North Africa. They dominated Mediterranean trade networks and fought Rome fiercely during the historic Punic Wars.
Phoenician-founded trading power based in North Africa (modern Tunisia), dominant across the western Mediterranean. Fought Rome in the Punic Wars, including Hannibal’s invasion of Italy. Destroyed by Rome in 146 BC.
Lybian spearmen
Mauritanian archers
Numidian cavalry
Colonisation
North African War Elephants
Hamilcar Barca
Hannibal Barca
Maharbal
Ba’al Hammon
Astarté
Sacred Band (infantry and cavalry)
Mercenaries: iberian, celtic, italic
The Romans
The Romans (0 AD) (753 a.C. – 476 d.C. (Rome) and 1453 d.C. (Bizancium)): an exceptionally enduring civilization that grew from an Italian city-state into a massive empire across three continents. They profoundly shaped Western law, military strategy, engineering, and romance languages.
Grew from a small city-state into the ancient world’s largest empire, spanning from Britain to the Middle East. Known for law, engineering, and military organization. The Western Empire fell in 476 AD; the Byzantine East endured until 1453.
Hastatus
Velites
Equus
Triarus
Scorpio
Onagre
Ballista
Aries (ram)
Marcus Claudius Marcellus
Quintus Favius “maximus verrucosus cuncutanor”
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus
Siege walls
Marian reforms
Italic Heavy Infantry
Consular Bodyguard
Leavy Auxiliary spearmen
Castra
Trirrems
Quinquirrems
The Kushites
The Kushites (0 AD) (~1070 a.C. – 350 d.C.): an ancient African kingdom based in Nubia (modern Sudan) that frequently competed with Egypt, famously ruling it as the 25th Dynasty, and flourishing as an iron-manufacturing hub.
Nubian civilization along the Nile (modern Sudan) that at one point ruled Egypt itself (the 25th Dynasty “Black Pharaohs”). Later centered at Meroë, known for ironworking and pyramid-building. Declined after conflict with Aksum.
Nubian archers
Nubian spearmen
Napata
Meroe
Meroitic War Elephants
Meroitic Temple Guards
Napata Temple Guard
Nastasen
Amanirenas
Arakamani
Nubian pyramids
The Mauryans
The Mauryans (0 AD) (322 a.C. – 185 a.C.)
Bamboo speearmen
Longbownman
War elephants
Palace
Edict Pillar of Ashoka
Acharya Chanakya
Chandragupta Maurya
Ashoka the Great
War charriots
The Seleucids
The Seleucids (0 AD) (312 a.C. – 63 a.C.): a massive Hellenistic empire encompassing the Middle East and parts of Central Asia. They specialized in founding new Greek-style cities to integrate diverse territories.
The largest of Alexander’s successor states, spanning from Anatolia to India at its peak. A Hellenistic empire ruling a highly diverse population; gradually lost ground to Parthia and Rome before annexation.
Phalangites
Arab
War Elephants
Military Colony
Helennistic Metropolis
Seleucus I
Antiocus III the Great
Antiocus IV
Hieron tou Apollonos Pythiou
silver shields
romanized heavy swormen
Cataphracts were
Nisean horses
Scythed chariots
Thracian mercenaries
Syrian archers
Companion cavalry
The Ptolemies
The Ptolemies (0 AD) (305 a.C. – 30 a.C.): a Greek royal family that ruled Egypt following Alexander the Great’s conquests. They famously blended Hellenistic and traditional Egyptian customs, ending with Queen Cleopatra.
Greek-Macedonian dynasty ruling Egypt after Alexander’s death, founded by his general Ptolemy I. Blended Greek and Egyptian culture and built the Library of Alexandria. Ended with Cleopatra VII and Roman annexation.
Ptolemy I Soter
Ptolemy IV
Cleopatra VII
Mercenary Thureus Skirmisher
Cretan mercenary archers
Royal Guard
Egypt under the Ptolemies was the richest of Alexander’s successor states.
Nile Delta
Juggernauts
Egyptian spikemen
Nabatean camel archers
Judean slingers
Towered War Elephants
Hieron tou Horou
Lighthouse of Alexandria
The Biblioteque of Alexandria
Tarantine cavalry
Pharaonic Cult
Serapic Cult
The Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty (0 AD) (206 a.C. – 220 d.C.): the golden age empire of ancient China that consolidated imperial bureaucracy, unified Chinese culture, and formally opened the global Silk Road trading network.
Chinese imperial dynasty following the Qin, widely seen as a golden age that shaped Chinese identity (“Han Chinese”). Expanded imperial borders, opened the Silk Road, and standardized writing, currency, and administration.
Infantry crossbowman
Champion infantry crossbow
Tiger Guard
Youzhou Cavalry
War Chariots
Infantry spearmen
Rice paddies
Halberdier
Archers
Imperial Ministers
Han Xin
Liu Bang
Wei Qing
Mingtang Biyong
The Germans
The Germans (0 AD) (~ I a.C. – migraciones (siglos IV–VI d.C.): an ethno-linguistic group of tribes from northern and central Europe whose movements and eventual conflicts heavily accelerated the collapse of the Western Roman Empire.
Germanic-speaking tribes north of the Rhine and Danube, documented by Roman writers like Caesar and Tacitus. Alternately fought and allied with Rome; large-scale migrations helped bring down the Western Roman Empire.
Cimbrians
Slingers
Celtic-german
Tigurinian
Wagon encampment
Boiorix
Teutobod
Lugius
Teutonic
Ambrosian
The Britons
The Britons (0 AD) (~ VIII a.C. – V d.C.): the Celtic peoples inhabiting Great Britain prior to the Anglo-Saxon migrations, characterized by tribal kingdoms, intricate metalwork, and prolonged resistance to Roman occupation.
Celtic-speaking Iron Age tribes of the island of Britain, partly conquered and Romanized as “Britannia.” After Rome’s withdrawal, Anglo-Saxon settlement pushed many Britons into Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany, where their culture persisted for centuries.
Cranogion
Emain Macha
Boudicca
Caracatus
Cymbeline
Celtic Chariot
Druids
War dog
The Gauls
The Gauls (0 AD) (~siglo V a.C. – 51 a.C.): a diverse collection of Celtic tribes inhabiting western Europe. They were known for their expert metalworking, fierce resistance to Roman expansion, and distinct druidic culture.
Celtic-speaking peoples of modern France and Belgium, organized into tribal confederations. Skilled metalworkers and warriors who sacked Rome in 390 BC; conquered by Julius Caesar in the Gallic Wars.
Celicnon
Carnucos
Remogatnion
Brennus
Viridomarus
Vercingetorix
Harvesting machine
Naked fanatic