Originally Posted by katank
People, you are building way too many units. Keep only 2-3 peasants in every city is usually more than sufficient as a garrison.
I keep a few mobile response forces of cavalry or chariots to mop up random rebels and bandits.
Other than that, 3-5 armies is more than enough to maintain octopus expansion in all directions.
By the time I get 20 regions, I'm usually rolling in dough. When I have trouble keeping the treasury below 50k to avoid corruption since I get almost that much every turn, I either bribe like crazy or donate to a poor AI faction. The latter tends to produce a challenge.
For example, as a western faction, donations to Seleucids and bribing away of Egyptian forces help the Seleucids become a superpower for you to take on in end game.
I always prioritize the trader line, ports, roads, and mines in my building.
I rarely build military buildings and prefer to capture those facilities from the enemy.