Wait a tic... there is indeed still a mathematically possible way to get that Great Library first. That would be a Great Leader! Zimbabwe switches to Wealth, losing 299 shields, and starts an archer.
I demand Rome withdraw from my territory, and they declare war of course. There were turns left on the previous peace treaty, but if I was the one paying for peace, it can't be a Phony Peace Treaty exploit. :)
Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.
It was on the sixth elite attack overall, counting both wars. So I got fairly lucky, though not impossibly so.
We get: The Wheel, Mathematics, Mysticism, Philosophy, Code of Laws, Map Making, Horseback Riding, Polytheism, and Construction! Not Republic, though the Aztecs have it.
So now I've got the Great Library, but at the cost of quite a bit of development, a TOTALLY wasted Golden Age, and one very pissed off Caesar right next door.
I keep holding off Roman units at Fortress Ulundi. In 470 BC, I whip barracks in Zimbabwe and an archer in Ulundi, and revolt to Republic. Got to get out from the Despotism restrictions, and this war won't last too much longer. 5 turns of anarchy, not too bad, though it does kinda hurt in the middle of a war. But we do get some very good news:
Uh oh, a Legionary now shows up, and I see it defeat an Aztec spear. That's Rome's Golden Age, so now all I can hope is that Caesar concentrates on the Aztecs until I can make peace. And we get some bad news:
Well, England's pretty far away; they won't be able to threaten me before we can make peace. They do have one city in my tundra guarded by only a warrior, which I promptly kick out.
Rome mostly stops sending units my way now - they must be getting pounded hard by the Aztecs. I don't think I had to fight off a single Legionary at Ulundi.
Many turns later, in 10 AD, I decide to start pushing AT Roman cities. Meanwhile, England will cede 22 gold and the World Map for peace. I take it.
70 AD: Neapolis captured! Pompeii would also be autorazed a few turns later.
In 170 AD, Rome acquires Feudalism, and now they'll have Pikemen defending their cities. I decide to settle for peace. Rome cedes: Contacts with France and Iroquois, a city up in my tundra, and the world map which does show Iroquois and France.
