Palace

“From this seat we shall govern all that lies before us – and all that lies beyond.”

The Palace is the administrative heart of an empire, the seat from which a ruler commands their civilisation’s destiny. Every empire begins with a Palace in its capital, a symbol of sovereignty and centralised authority. Should the capital fall to an enemy, the machinery of government relocates to the next largest city, ensuring that no single military defeat can extinguish the flame of governance.

Stats

Effects

• +3 gold per turn in the capital city.
• If the capital is captured, the Palace automatically transfers to the next largest city in your empire.

Strategy

The Palace requires no deliberate action to construct and costs nothing to maintain, making it a pure benefit. Its +3 gold bonus makes the capital a natural candidate for your economic hub. When planning city placement, keep in mind that your capital will always carry this gold advantage. In wartime, the Palace’s transfer mechanic means that losing your capital is painful but not fatal – your government will carry on from elsewhere, though you should still defend the capital fiercely to deny your enemy a well-developed city.

Historical Background

Throughout history, the seat of government has held both practical and symbolic significance. Ancient capitals such as Memphis, Persepolis, and Rome served as administrative centres from which vast bureaucracies managed taxation, law, and military deployment. The palace itself – from the Latin “Palatium,” referring to the Palatine Hill where Roman emperors built their residences – became synonymous with royal authority. When capitals fell in war, successor states routinely established new seats of power: the fall of Rome saw governance shift to Ravenna, and the collapse of the Western Roman Empire prompted Constantinople’s rise as the uncontested centre of Roman civilisation.