You start off in the Iron Age, at the south end of the map, with a handful of Phalanxes, two Helepoleis, some Villagers and a Priest. Try to keep the weaker members of your army alive, and save often: if you lose the Priest, you can't heal, and your soldiers won't last as long. If you lose all Villagers, restart or reload immediately, since you can't build Docks to cross water. Build a Storage Pit, and as you send your military forces north, have your Villagers start gathering Wood. That way, they won't stand around uselessly while the soldiers fight.