Yup, RTR saved the day for me too. I´m currently playing the Seleucids. In 30 years I´ve fought 178 battles (not counting rebels), concuered Ptolemy, Asia Minor, Parthia and Armenia plus the pesky 3 cities in India with a staggering 11-12% growth rate!!!! Even if I build a peasant-unit with a city-size of 2000 it will still outgrow me by 80 citizens/ turn so imagine when it hits the 6, 9 or even 12.000 I´´ be outgrowed by the thousands... each turn! I´ve solved this problem by letting each city there build a full stack of 20 peasants, then let it rebel, take the city back (make cash) and enslave them to be sent to other cities in my empire that needs to grow. I just take out the govs from the cities that I don´t want to re-direct slaves to. Although I own the east, from Pergamum and Cyrene to the Indus I can only afford three armies that I keep in Libya, Phrygia and Media because thoose peasant-filled cities of the east are draining my economy, hmm.

A note though is the three full stacks of rebels in India packed with eles. My first battle against them my commander, Alexander, encountered them in a forrest and I must say that flashbacks to Alexander - the movie was eminent. I took out 1700 of them but lost well over 1100 pikemen and Alexander was cruelly scarred.... hmm, more flashbacks to the movie.

The only way you can survive with the Seleucids is to hit Ptolemy and take Damascus, Sidon, Tyre and Jerusalem before they know what hit them and take your army in Seleukia directly to Ecbatana, although they´re your ally even in turn one they´re sending an army towards Seleukia.

I haven´t had this much fun in ages so now I´m waiting for the Romans to arrive while I´m building up my infastructure, he he!