If iamphet says your save is corrupted, than it is corrupted. Sad, starting new is something very ugly.

To bugs and EB:
EB maxes the possibilities of RTW out, much more than RTR. To run it smooth at least 2GB RAM is recommended, the video card does not matter that much if your RAM is enough.

Switching to the Alexander-exe ist something that minimizes bugs and RTW CTDs, see the minimod from Maksimus (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=94861).

Don't stop to play EB, you will regret it later..

XSamatan