Region:

The largest inland sea; between Europe, Africa and Asia.

Characteristics:

• Runs the gamut from semi-tropical with palms and broad-headed pines at the lower elevation.
• To fairly high mountains with pine, cypress, fir and oaks of all classes in between, palms and pine at low-level along the littoral.
• Though not heavily forested, has the broadest range of topography and resources on it.
• Not as wet as Temperature.
• Never snows except on the top of the highest peaks.
• Precipitation is predominant and fairly frequent but light during winter except for very occasional periods when it may gloomily rain for several days on end saturating the terrain, rare in early spring and late autumn and non-existent during summer.
• Long dry summers.
• Typically good for either attack or defense because of the mix of terrains regardless of type.
• Either a land map or a water map.
• Excellent for islands or archipelago map types.
• Mediterranean is the most versatile of the map categories and well balanced resource-wise.

Typical Mediterranean type variations:

• Fortress
• Nomadic
• Herocide

Elevation

• Primary (Lowlands).
• Secondary (Midlands).
• Tertiary (Highlands).
• Quaternary (Ocean Floor).

Mediterranean Land types:

1.1. Andalusia

• Characterized as the Guadalquivir River and Valley meandering northeast to southwest on the diagonal across the map to its outlet on the Atlantic near Cadiz (Gades).
• Significant marshland to either side of the river delta, and island just off of the coast of the delta (site of Gades).
• Mountains to both sides of the fairly broad river valley.
• Main river navigable along its length.
• Some shallows crossings of the river and over tributary streams (though tributaries may have rocky fords).
• Some mountain valley and hilltop building spaces that are highly defensible while the river floodplain is basically flat and not very defensible.
• Civs territorially divided along the southeast and northwest sides of the main river.
• (an alternative as 3.4.1a. could be Cisalpine Gaul or the Po River Valley that would have the foothills of the Alps to the north and Apennines to the south while the delta opens out onto the Adriatic Sea to the east)

Mediterranean Water types:

1.2. Pillars of Hercules

• Mediterranean landforms juxtaposed north and south to the Strait of Gibraltar.
• Massive mountains representing the gates.
• Either the high Atlas to the South or the Sierra Nevada to the north.
• Ranges backing up to the edges of the map behind the coastal plain.
• Civilization divided on either side of the strait as appropriate to the map.

1.3. Balearic Archipelago

• Islands map consisting of 3 islands, the largest in the center, on which player placement is randomized for all 3.
• Highest elevation in the center of the center island more-or-less balancing exploitable/buildable area amongst all 3.
• Civilization Territories are divided proportionately to territory but may not be integral to a single island.

1.4. Cycladic Archipelago

• Islands map constituted of many smallish islands in excess of the number of players, some of which can be volcanic.
• All islands have some kinds of resources and may have a settlement if it doesn't already have a starting Civ Centre.
• Civilization Territories are divided proportionally on the map but are inclusive of more than one island.

1.5. Crete

• Islands map with a longish very well resourced island oriented east-west on the lower half of the map and a number of scantily resourced 'cycladic' smaller islands arranged across the upper half of the map.
• Some of the larger cyclads may be volcanic in one form or another (active and inactive).
• The civilizations begin in the cyclads, each on its own small island with a starting Town Centre, but then must emigrate to Crete to survive and expand.
• This map is the classic Emigration map in the game.

1.6. Peloponnesus

• A quasi-continental type map.
• Has two major land areas that are connected by only a very small narrow but barely navigable for passage by the largest of ships canal cutting through a 'land bridge' of no particular significance (unless it be towered-up) at about the center of the map; the northerly one abuts the edge of the map while the southerly is surround by the sea and both are connected via shallows across the canal.
• Many deep bay and inlet indentations about the periphery of its coastlines both north and south portions; some small islands off the various coasts.
• Relatively mountainous with valleys extending inland from indentations and a few passes through the mountains.
• Civilization Territories divided around the coast of the peninsula principally by mountain ranges extending from the interior down to the coastal cliffs and promontories.

1.7. Central Mediterranean

• Characterized by Mediterranean landform landmasses to the north and the south sides of the map representing the boot of Italy and Tunisia/Carthago.
• A large island rather triangularly shaped (base located on the east, apex to the west) located in the water mass between the two represents Sicily, having good defensible port locations geographically at Syracuse, Messina, Palermo, and Motya/Lilybaeum (western tip).
• Much of the central islands coastline consists of cliff with few beaches interspersed making it a difficult place for landings from ships (except around Catania on the east side north of Syracuse).
• The central island always has an active volcanic mountain in its easternmost side (about center near the coastline).
• Few smallish streams accessing hinterlands.
• Civilization Territories divided on each land mass and island as appropriate to the map land proportions.

1.8 Corinthian Isthmus

• (based upon AoK's map--in the Mediterranean motif)
• Civilization Territories are divided north and south of the isthmus as appropriate to the map but the isthmus itself is a no man's land belonging to none, and in this case the Corinthian canal doesn't exist.

1.9 Phoenician Levant

• Characterized by Mediterranean landforms coastal-mountain-valleys arranged on the north-south axis on the right portion of the map.
• Represents the land-bridge crossroads of Israel, Lebanon, Syria between Egypt to the south and the Fertile Crescent and Anatolia to the northeast and north.
• Off the coast to the west is a fairly good sized island (eastern portion of) representing Cyprus which is initially uninhabited but well resourced especially in ore (was a traditional source of copper--so it may be fought over).
• The Civilization Territories are arranged in a north-south tier divided proportionally on the eastern landmass, the Levant, with starting Town Centers placed at coastal 'port' locations within.

1.10. Latium

• Representative of the central section of Italy
• The land runs north-south divided by a central range, the Apennines, with seacoasts on either side.
• This map is typical of central Italian typography, flora & fauna, and must always have an active volcano come up in the southwestern land quadrant not far from where the port of 'Naples' would be.
• Has a few small islands off either east or west coast in the sea.
• Civilization Territories are divided by the Apennine spine to either side and proportionately north-south, and there are few narrow passes through the mountains connecting the sides.