To destroy or not to destroy (unique buildings)

[fleaza]

if im really annoyed with that faction i demolish their ass into oblivion. usually i leave them alone. i have NEVER demolished a unique greek building. greek culture is just too cool to defile.

[Andy1984]

When I'm annoyed with a faction, I prefer to give them a ridiculous death on the battlefield. Last time a vast majority of Lusotanni poured into my city, I reconquered the gates knowing that I would loose that way. (The AI can't escape if they control no gateway and no gates are broken, so they'll fight to the death.) Hundreds of ill-equiped peasants died in flaming oil. Out of their ca. 3500 soldiers, over 75% died, and rightly so.

There is no way I would retaliate towards a faction by destroying my unique building.

[Hegix]

I play as I wish the real ancients would have "played". Never ever destroy unique buildings, repair them if neccesary and roleplay taking good care of them. They are all part of the world's cultural heritage.

[Maion Maroneios]

That depends on which kind of "ancients" you played, I'm afraid. A Hellen, Roman or Iranian would probably respect a culture's "unique buildings" more. On the other hand, I doubt an "uncivilized" German or Celt would show the same respect and instead choose to loot or even completely destroy them.

Don't take me wrong here. We Greeks demolished the colums of our own Parthenon to get the Lead in them, which we in turn used to make bullets and fight against the Turks. I say this so that no idiot calls me a Hollywood-fan or that I say Germanics are the worst and Greeks the best.

Maion

[Ludens]

That depends on which kind of "ancients" you played, I'm afraid. A Hellen, Roman or Iranian would probably respect a culture's "unique buildings" more. On the other hand, I doubt an "uncivilized" German or Celt would show the same respect and instead choose to loot or even completely destroy them.

When the Goths and Vandals sacked Rome, they were actually a good deal more careful then when the Romans took Carthage and Corinth. Although the two "sacks" of Rome had a devastating ideological impact, the actual damage done was small. The Vandals apparently only destroyed one building, while the Romans joined the Goths in hymns when the latter appropriated a few Christian Relics (yes, the Goths were converts at this time, and IIRC so where the Vandals). This seems unlikely to have occurred if the Goths were destroying everything in sight. The Vandals also took from the city a former empress and her daughter, at the ladies' request. This went into history as a "kidnap".

Similarly, the sack of Carthage by the Vandals was supposed to have put an end to the city, yet archaeology does not bear this out. The city was already decaying before the Vandals moved in, and would continue to exist until the seventh century. One contemporary Christian chronicler actually welcomed the Vandal take-over because they put an end to the debauchery in the city. Certainly, archaeologists found that the consumption of fortified wine and gourmet oysters declined sharply, so he probably was right.

Terry Jones (of the BBC series "Barbarians") uses this to argue that the Barbarians were far more humane than the Romans. This may or may not be the case, but it does show how much contemporary prejudice against barbarians skewed our view of history.

[Darpaek]

When the Goths and Vandals sacked Rome, they were actually a good deal more careful then when the Romans took Carthage and Corinth.

"CAREFUL?!"

What did the Vandals do? They showed up in Africa and they "lived there." Maybe they destroyed a church or two and replaced it with an Arian one... but that's hardly care!

The Romans spent a years worth of time, manpower, and money devoted to the care of Carthage! Every single brick and stone in Carthage received attention from "careful" Roman hands! ;)

[Maion Maroneios]

@ Ludens:

I never said the "civilized" people didn't sack or enslave/loot cities and "unique buildings", or that when they did it was justified. Nor that the peoples I aforementioned (Germans, Celts) always sacked cities unthinkingly or with zero respect to another culture. I just see that, according to History, the aforementioned people practised looting and sacking in a much higher frequency than more "civilized" nations like the Romans, Greeks and Iranians.

Maion

[Reality=Chaos]

That depends on which kind of "ancients" you played, I'm afraid. A Hellen, Roman or Iranian would probably respect a culture's "unique buildings" more. On the other hand, I doubt an "uncivilized" German or Celt would show the same respect and instead choose to loot or even completely destroy them.

Don't take me wrong here. We Greeks demolished the colums of our own Parthenon to get the Lead in them, which we in turn used to make bullets and fight against the Turks. I say this so that no idiot calls me a Hollywood-fan or that I say Germanics are the worst and Greeks the best.

Maion

He said he plays like he WISHED the ancients would have done it, not how it actually happens

[Hax]

Just destroyed the Aigai in Makedonia playing as Pontos. I left the Akropolis of Athenai alone, though!

[Rahwana]

Just destroy them all except with those trade bonus... unhapiness means my army will be withdrawn when red fac shown, and if those city rebels, they deserve enslavment (extermination). Nothing could stop my Gladius from drawing blood!