Of course.
Of course.
there is a rebel city to your west, exterminate it for a good cash bonus... it is also a wealthy region with a port. Sail to arabia and develop the coastal regions (2 rebel settlements)... then build ports in both, it is vital for your trade wealth. It goes without saying that you should get ports rigged up in your starting regions asap. Prepare for war on all sides, babilu and mada will regularly attack that rebel city you conquered, saba will eventually try and take the arabian provinces so fortify maka and the (former) rebel city with 8 units. Mada also has a mild obsession for taoka for whatever reason.
Playing mods without getting to grips with vanilla is not a good idea... well you could try roma surrectum with 0 turn recruitment. It is impossible to fail, unlike ROP
Just wondering, isn't going for Arabia an unhistorical move. So in case you try to play it "historical", you shouldn't go for Arabia I think? Gameplaywise holding all of the Persian Gulf has great economical benefits, of course!
Also, don't know which mod is a good mod for less experienced players... Don't have much experience with Roma Surrectum, planning on trying out a campaign but everytime I try one I just feel like I prefer Europa Barbarorum... But still, I should play a few dozens of turns before formign an opinion, I guess. Point is, Roma Surrectum doesn't seem quite so easy either, and with 0-turn recruitment resulting in a lot of big armies, and the new buildings, it might be overwhelming for a new player. Rise of Persia feels a lot more like vanilla I think.
those 2 arab regions are vital for your naval trade, there is no choice but to take them. An easy faction for newbies would be taras, they are isolated from the other factions and can develop at their own pace
persia is a tough faction because it forces you to blitzkrieg, you cannot consolidate and play defensively because you are surrounded by powerful hostile factions. Basically blitz like a mofo
I found Athens really easy too, take the islands which have smaller rebel garrisons than mainland cities, then win one big battle against Lakedaimon (granted this is never easy), and you pretty much all of the Balkans is open to you.