Cultural Radius of Conquered Cities

[PerpetualNewbie]

In my latest game, I was pushed into battle a little earlier than I wanted, and didn't want to raze the cities in my wake, so I was just handing them out to the weaker AI cities who had been forced onto tiny islands. After taking the city, I would just move out of the 9-tile radius and give it away.

Anyway, when I took Bombay from the Japanese, I gave it back to India. It had absolutely no improvements in the town, and I had set it to wealth. But instead of the normal 9-tile influence, Bombay immediately assumed a 21-tile influence. (They of course immediately demanded that I leave "their" territory...)

I had never seen that before, maybe because I normally keep conquered cities, and when I retake cities I have lost, I never get the old radius back. Is that something special about India, or does it occasionally happen, or what?

Thanks.

[dunk]

When the original civ gets a city back, the borders are supposed to go back to where they were before it was captured. Bombay was originally an Indian city, so when they got it back, the borders re-established themselves. It's supposed to do that for your cities as well. It's only cities that you have founded.

For example, if I capture Rome, it gets a 9 tile radius. We'll say that 15 turns from now, Rome expands to the 21 tile radius. Then, let's say the Russians come over and capture Rome. It would get a 9 tile radius again. If I re-capture Rome, again, it would have a 9 tile radius since it wasn't my city originally. If the Romans recapture Rome, however, it would be restored to the borders it had before I captured it. Kapeesh?

[PerpetualNewbie]

It's supposed to [restore previous cultural borders] for your cities as well.

Really? I might have a save from about that time. I'm pretty sure that after I recaptured Jerusalem (I founded it), it went to the 9-tile, instead of the 21 it was prior to the Japanese attack.

But I don't usually lose developed cities. Usually, I only losing border towns without much in the way of improvement, since any towns that are worth keeping are worth posting a decent garrison.

Note: I play at Monarch, if that helps explain why I can garrison a decent force in any towns worth the name...

[alexman]

Originally posted by dunk999

If I re-capture Rome, again, it would have a 9 tile radius since it wasn't my city originally.

Actually, it's not because it wasn't your city originally. It's because you didn't generate enough culture there to have your borders expand.

If you had built a temple in Rome and held it for 10 turns after that, your borders would extend two tiles around the city after recapturing it.