Well, I've just started an Epirote campaign, blitzed Macedonia, lost Taras, sailed to Taras and retaken it and then CTD'ed ;) but thanks a lot for all your answers, it's cleared a lot. fx about the caravans, it always bugged me that I could build them in some places and not in others. Just theoretically: could I build a lvl 3 gov > build caravans > demolish lvl 3 gov > build lvl 1 or 2, and still get the effects of the caravan building? or would it then be rendered useless.
As for new experience, I'm getting a bit of it in my Epirote campaign fighting Camillan Romans, whom I really didn't fight that much as AS :)