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The little bits of history on these pages is from the help file [Empires.hlp] in the Age of Empires folder. I take no credit for the information and niether should you.
Technology Buildings Non-Technology Buildings BALLISTA TOWER | FARM | FORTIFICATION | GUARD TOWER | HOUSE | MEDIUM WALL | SENTRY TOWER | SMALL WALL WATCH TOWER | WONDER Technology Buildings
The academy was the Greek equivalent of a school. Students, usually only free men and favored slaves, received an education at the academy. Subjects of study included the typical fare of schools but also politics, athletics, and military training. The most rigorous of the Greek academies were those of Sparta, where boys were taken from their parents at an early age and educated in a military environment. The academy prepared the individual for service to the state as a citizen and as a soldier in the phalanx. In one of the remarkable encounters of history, the future Alexander the Great was educated at the Academy of Aristotle. Archery Range
The bow was developed as a hunting weapon long before the first towns appeared and was easily adapted to warfare. Because the bow allowed fighting from a distance and from behind cover, 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
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
The earliest boats were simply tied up to rocks or trees on shore to take on or drop off cargo or were physically pulled onto 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
The government center was the administrative center of the town, village, city, kingdom, or empire. It was often the palace of the strongman or king. It was here that justice was dispersed, records kept, taxes collected and stored, diplomacy conducted, and plans made. The development of the government center spurred technology such as architecture through the commission of public works and writing for the keeping of records. The expansion of kingdoms led to a hierarchy of elites, often a nobility, that were needed as middle managers when the expanse of lands exceeded the ruler’s ability to control directly. The provinces of the Persian Empire, for example, were ruled like independent states by satraps who owed tribute and allegiance to the king in Susa. Granary
Following the advance of farming, humans faced for the first time the happy problem of how to safely store large quantities of food grains. The granary made it possible to preserve growing season surpluses for consumption during winter months. The granary was a central location where grain could be warehoused, guarded, and distributed fairly as needed. The need to protect food supplies was an early reason for building walls and fortifications. Without protection, the surpluses in the granary were easily taken by raiders from nearby hunting and gathering groups. Market
The specialization made possible by the development of agriculture created the need for a place where craftsmen could meet to barter their wares for those of others and for food. The market in each town and village was the place where barter and exchange took place. The development of the market marked the change from the small hunting/foraging group that shared its harvest to the much more complex economy that rose with the rise of towns and cities. Specialization resulted in efficiencies of scale and greater overall production, but the market was needed to allocate the community’s production fairly among the food providers and specialists. The profit motive spurred innovation to increase production. The potter, for example, looked for ways to make more and better pots for the same effort to increase the amount of food that he could obtain by trading pots. Siege Workshop
The earliest fortifications yet discovered date from 7000 BC, but evidence of siege weapons doesn’t appear until much later. We can assume, however, that siege equipment was in use long before the first evidence that has survived. Evidence of a scaling ladder does not appear until about 2500 BC. The earliest record of a simple battering ram comes from 1900 BC. A more powerful ram plus the undermining of walls appears by 880 BC. The mobile siege tower first appears one hundred years later. The catapult was invented by Greeks in 397 BC. There were no further significant advances in siege engines until the advent of gunpowder. Siege engines were researched and built in siege workshops. Stable
The horses that survived the last Ice Age were relatively small animals unsuited for riding or pulling. They were hunted out of existence in the Americas and domesticated first for food on the steppes of Asia. Over many generations of selective breeding, they grew large enough to be of use other than as food. One issue that had to be resolved was how to harness them without causing choking. Humans eventually learned to ride, first from the rear, non-control position over the hips, and then from the forward control position that we are familiar with today. The first evidence of horses being ridden appears in the second millennium BC, although it is generally accepted that they were ridden earlier in Asia. The Stable represents the application of animals, primarily the horse, to warfare, first pulling chariots and then carrying warriors. Detailed records survive from Assyria and elsewhere related to the acquisition, training, equipping, and employment of horses in battle. Storage Pit
The storage pit was the functional equivalent of the granary, but for meat instead of grain. Storing meat presented special problems because it spoiled so quickly and easily. Meat was generally stored by drying or salting. The Storage Pit also represents the tool- and weapon-making skill of hunting societies, leading eventually to metalworking, making war, and armor making. In this capacity it also serves as a storehouse and collection point for the raw materials of tool and weapon making: wood, stone, and gold (representing all metals). Temple
The temple was a religious center. It was often the earthly home or point of communication with a particular god or goddess. Priests or priestesses in the temple acted as the servants of the resident god or goddess and managed contact to and from the people, plus instruction, rituals, petitions, and answers to questions. The most common form of petition was the prayer. Another was the provision of gifts that supported the temple and its servants. A less common petition was the sacrifice of animals or even humans. The general belief of the time was that the more elaborate a temple, the taller it was, and the more grand, the more disposed the god or goddess would be to provide good weather, rainfall, and crop yields, while keeping away pests, disease, and human invaders. Town Center
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. Non-Technology Buildings
The Ballista Tower was the ultimate defensive fortification of the ancient era. It could withstand a major attack and was equipped and designed to take a heavy toll on attackers. Farm
The humble farm was the foundation of the great civilizations of antiquity and most human societies since. The farm was the technological advance that provided the large and dependable supplies of food necessary for civilization to arise. Farming began when edible seeds and fruits were preserved from one growing season and systematically planted in prepared ground the following season. The plants that resulted were nurtured and protected until the edible produce was suitable for harvest. Important farming advancements in ancient times included irrigation of rich but arid land, the plow that opened the soil for receiving seeds, and the continual selection of seeds from the most successful plants that gradually improved food plant yields. Fortification
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. Guard Tower
The Guard Tower was a superior fortification, well-designed for holding out against attack and for bringing weapons to bear on an attacker. House
Shelter increased in importance when humans expanded their range farther away from the equator in the wake of the receding ice sheets and into climates of wide seasonal variation. Growing human populations quickly occupied the few natural shelters available in these areas. The provision of man-made shelter made existence in challenging and variable climates possible. Without houses, year-round populations could not have increased beyond minimums. Medium Wall
One of the earliest human settlements yet discovered is the city of Jericho near the Jordan River in modern Israel. This site from 7000 BC is remarkable for possessing a stone masonry wall, dry moat around the wall, and a tower. At an astonishingly early date, Jericho demonstrated that the ancients understood principles of fortification that would carry forward essentially unchanged until the development of gunpowder. The Medium Wall is a defensive structure built of stone or other substantial construction to withstand a protracted attack. Sentry Tower
The Sentry Tower was an improved fortification of strong materials and designed for defense. Small Wall
In his book A History of Warfare, John Keegan speaks of three forms of fortification refuges, strongholds, and strategic defenses. He describes the refuge as a place of short-term safety from an enemy who does not possess the means for a protracted siege or who wants only to raid and carry off plunder, perhaps repeatedly over time. The earliest walls were built to protect food supplies from nomadic raiders who found readily available supplies of food an irresistible attraction. The existence of a granary made necessary the provision of a wall to keep the granary from being pillaged. A small wall represents the defense provided by a refuge. The modest investment in a wooden palisade or simple wall of dirt stopped the casual raider, but would not seriously delay a large army set on destroying or capturing a refuge. Watch Tower
The tower discovered on the wall at the ancient site of Jericho served several purposes. It extended the visual range of lookouts that would be watching for the approach of raiders and other visitors. An early warning might have been the difference between a successful defense and the fall of the town. The tower was a superior firing position for archery. Bowmen shooting down had an advantage in range and penetration power of arrows versus enemies shooting up. Enemies hiding at the bottom of the wall may have remained visible to archers in the tower. The tower itself was an independent bastion that could serve as the defensive position of last resort if the wall was carried. The Watch Tower was a simple tower, easily built, and intended mainly to give early warning. Wonder
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![WONDERS - [Asian, Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek]](pics/wonders.jpg)