Easy starting point for a Normal Campaign

[Sp4]

I had war declared by Syracuse, Venetti, Rome and Athens as soon as I defeated the first Spartan army. Macedon joined the whole thing after Athens dragged them in but they asked for a peace treaty when Sparta and Athens were destroyed in the same turn. The Venetti never came, the Romans never came and the Syracuseans (?) were destroyed by Libya before rebelling, retaking Syracuse, declaring war on me again before I sent a fleet and army there to take the town. Then.. Rome.. I had been at war with Rome for 60 turns by this point but I've never seen any Roman armies, even once I started bringing my soldiers into Italy via Syracuse and I literally defeated Rome without fighting anything other than garrisons.

The hardest fight I got from the Venetti after they threw a stack (literally a stack) of Oathsworn and cavalry at me and took out my army sent to 'hold' Illyria, should they ever decide to come and play but this happened so long after the wardec that I forgot I even was at war with them.