Zancle

Zancle is a small Greek faction located in the northeastern corner of Sicily, right across the strait from mainland Italy. It is one of a few factions playable in multiple scenarios, being available in both the Unification of Italy sandbox and the Sicily-only sandbox.

Its land neighbours are Himera and the Sikeloi. In the full Italy sandbox, Rhegion is in very close proximity as well, being just across the strait in the Italian mainland.

Sicily and its factions, including Zancle, are an addition of The Eagle King DLC and do not occur in the basic version of the game.

In-game Description
"Zancle is a major Greek city said to have been founded by Zanclus with the assistance of the giant named Orion. It would later be renamed Messene by Anaxalis of Rhegion when he seizes it to assure Rhegion's control of the straits dividing Italy and Sicily."

Starting Cities

 * Zancle:
 * Mylae:
 * Tauromenium:

Strategy
In the full map sandbox, it is likely that you will eventually receive naval incursions from mainland Italy as the game progresses. Otherwise, you have one of the more defensible starting areas within Sicily, with one of the least elongated borders. Your starting city is also relatively safe from aggression in the very early game when you are still unifying your starting cities.

Himera and the Sikeloi are both viable as targets for early expansion, though the Sikeloi do have a morale bonus that can give them the upper hand in an even fight. It is also possible to use Small Transport Ships to immediately cross over to attack Rhegion, if you fancy more of a challenge. The exact best target for initial expansion will probably depend on randomized factors such as AI vs AI conquest and diplomatic events.

To compensate for only starting with a few native cities, it might be a good idea to use the economic skill tree to boost population growth and unlock the Colonization skill as early possible.

Trivia & History

 * Tauromenium (originally known as Naxos after the island from which some of its first colonists came, and not called Tauromenium until it was destroyed and refounded in 358 BC) was the oldest of all Greek colonies on Sicily and not historically a dependency of Zancle. It founded colonies of its own, such as Katane, and may have even taken part in Zancle's foundation. Naxos/Tauromenium and its colonies were presumably divided between Zancle and the Sikeloi to simplify the in-game faction roster.
 * Zancle was captured by Rhegion in the 490s BC. The city was renamed to Messene or Messana by Rhegion's ruler Anaxilas, in honor of his homeland Messenia in southern Greece. The city may have managed to regain its independence in a revolt in the 460s BC.
 * The city seems to have lost most of its power by the 4th Century BC, when it switched hands between Syrakousai and Carthage on several occasions during the Greco-Punic wars on Sicily.
 * In the 280s BC, a band of Campanian mercenaries had become unemployed following the death of Syrakousai's king and ended up violently seizing control of Messene in a coup. These mercenaries would become known as the Mamertines, and would use Messene as their headquarters from which to launch raids.
 * The area was conquered by Rome during the First Punic War of 264-241 BC, which was initially started when the Mamertines of Messene appealed for Roman intervention against Carthage.
 * The faction's icon depicts a hare and a dolphin, with the exact design being taken from ancient coins found in Zancle.