Why am I being attacked?

[tjarmusz]

O.k. I just started reading the info on these forums and have found it to be very helpful. This is my first post and I need sopme guidence. I'm currently playing as Catherine on Prince difficulty. It is a small pangea map with 7 people normal settings. I have followed the axemen rush/pop chop approach.
It worked well taking two of bizmarks cities. Then I joined alex to help war with eygpt, we both made peace with her, then he later killed her off. My question is this, Alex and I are neighbors. We have the same religion, he likes the civics I have "wisely" chosen, he is glad that I have supplied him with resources, he appreciates the fact that we shared a mutual struggle, our trade relations have been fair, and I gave him an early tribute. I've got like + 12 to him liking me and -1 because of our close yet open borders.
We're best pals and yet out of nowhere "we're so sick of your bull**** time to die". Is there anything I can do to prevent this other than more early waring? The early waring has caused me to be a little behind in tech, but not too bad, and my military, while not as great as his is by no means small or weak. Also soon after he attacks the arabs jump in, again for no good reason. I'm not a warmonger and don't want to go hardcore war for too many turns and would rather build than have 50 units per city. Any thoughts, suggestions?

[tjarmusz]

Or perhaps the questions should be,what should I do to prevent, or deal with it?

[Jaybe]

Alexander is one of the more aggressive leaders and is about as unpredictable as Montezuma. To guarantee his not declaring war on you, you HAVE to be stronger than he. He either paid to get the arabs to join, or the arabs just decided to jump on the bandwagon because they thought you were easy pickin's.

To be competent at Civ, you have to be competent at warfare! IRL, nations that were not able to succeed in war LOST. Doesn't mean that you have to warmonger, but it IS part of the challenge to the game.
EDIT: (I reread your post, and now see that this paragraph doesn't really apply to it).

Once I commence on my first offensive war, I am usually the strongest military on the continent, so I rarely have war declared on me after that point (Rome, huge continents, marathon). Having the strongest military is the best deterrent.*

* Query: Is this just a cultural belief/prejudice of the United States since WWII, and was transferred into Civ, or is it "true"???
:End Edit

[Jaybe]

Originally posted by Jaybe
Having the strongest military is the best deterrent.*

* Query: Is this just a cultural belief/prejudice of the United States since WWII, and was transferred into Civ, or is it "true"???

As long as it is perceived that you have the strongest military.

[tjarmusz]

Thanks for the reply. Does the AI know what units I have or what upgrades have been done to them? If not I could have 30 warriors and they could have 20 swordmen and they wouldn't attack because they think my army is larger...Is that how it works?

[Old Geezer]

Originally posted by tjarmusz
Or perhaps the questions should be,what should I do to prevent, or deal with it?

It cannot, ultimately, be prevented. The way the game dynamic is designed, once you distinguish yourself as the clear frontrunner, it is not a matter of if you will be attacked, but when. At least with this version of Civ, if you've been milking the diplomatic front, you've got a good chance of having allies in this inevitable war. Even if their contribution to the war is merely as a distraction, that is significant. In past versions of Civ, it was much simpler. At a certain point, the math would dictate that every AI civ in the game would declare war on you. Period.

[Jaybe]

It isn't really KNOWN what their info sources are, though supposedly it is the power graph on the F9. The power graph is (also supposedly) your military with real estate also somehow factored in. Don't know how attack & defense strengths are considered, nor promotions. Some of these suppositions are from Civ3 days, and may have no bearing on Civ4.

Edit: missed a word, inserted for halfway proper grammar

[Jaybe]

I disagree, Old Geezer. I have been at the top in score and power in many Civ4 (and 2 Warlords) games, and not been attacked at all in mid-to-late game. Being ahead may affect attitudes, but does not predetermine being attacked.

[tjarmusz]

My so-called friends don't help me no matter how good relations are or how much I try to bribe them. The reason I didn't kill alex first was because I had 8 axemen and he had like 6 archers and a phalanx and was a little ways from me. Germany was right next to me already had 3 cities and had a settler and axeman ready to make a fourth. I knew this would make him strong in future years so I killed the settler and captured both cities leaving hjim with his capital and essentialy crippling him. So given the situation what should I have done differently? If I go for alex germany gets too strong, if I go for germany, alex gets me later...

[Jaybe]

So given the situation what should I have done differently?

Have a stronger army?? Make every unit count??

I personally cannot say (perhaps someone else can try). One of the options available to you perhaps is to go back to a previous save and play it out differently, see what might have worked.

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Build more units. And use them on an unpopular, nearby AI.

Psychos like Alexander, Montezuma, and Isabella will always attack you if they perceive you to be weak.

[Quillan]

Hit the F9 key, and then click on the Demographics link at the bottom of the advisor screen. The listing for Soldiers is the measurement of your military power. The ranking on the far right of that row is where you stand out of all the civilizations in the game. If that is low, watch out. As stated, Alexander, Isabella and Montezuma are almost guaranteed to take advantage of a military weakness. Monty will probably attack you regardless, but Alex and Bella are a bit more circumspect. If your army was down at the bottom of the ranking, that alone would explain why Alex jumped you. To prevent it, make sure you have a stronger rated army.

As to the question of whether that is a US value that's been applied to Civ, I think not. Vegetius wrote Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum, or "Therefore, he who desires peace, let him prepare for war". That dates back to the late 300s AD, so it can hardly be called a modern value.

[tjarmusz]

Tjanks again for the suggestions. I'll try a reload, check my ranking and try to dispatch alex asap after I subdue bizmark.

[ElConejo]

Originally posted by tjarmusz
Tjanks again for the suggestions. I'll try a reload, check my ranking and try to dispatch alex asap after I subdue bizmark.

Ah the power of time travel.. Let us know how it turns out!

[Jaybe]

And tjarmusz, don't neglect to carry on from where you had left off (so make sure it's saved). Sometimes, as you may already know, having to suffer through a tough situation can also be rewarding. Might even pull a rabbit out of the hat!