Establish trade routes
Trade is the lifeblood of most empires, from antiquity to modern day, and establishing a network early on will provide significant dividends. You’ll receive your first Merchant during the Antiquity Age, allowing you to dispatch them to neighboring Cities, with which you may then produce a trade route. To continue expanding your trade network, you can also recruit Merchants, though it’s costly and requires a few turns to complete production.
In any case, a trade route with another settlement unlocks their resources for your empire. If you don’t have access to, say, Horses, which rather unsurprisingly you require to produce cavalry units, then you’ll want to establish a trade line with a neighboring empire that does offer the nags. But it’s give and take, and you’ll also be providing the other party with resources, thereby making your neighbors stronger and richer.
