:D

It wouldn't be a bad idea if you want to play in historical order. The hispania map could be the second or third in the list.

DLC madness incoming, indeed, the list does expand

Note that this is a digital implementation of a board game. The DLCs are the digital implementations of the physical expansion maps, of which many exist simply because of the huge and unceasing popularity of the boardgame. None of them are required to play or enjoy the game - they're strictly alternative maps, for variety; some offer a more competitive 2-player experience, some have some gimmicks to alter game play a bit, but the base game maps have plenty of life in them by themselves. I'd recommend getting only one or two expansion maps at most unless you discover yourself to be a huge fan and playing all the time.
(Salsa is the main exception, as it offers a new resource - but that's also generally considered to be the weakest expansion, which most people prefer to play without.)

The main difference between all maps is the number of provinces and cities (the more there are on the map, the less "competition" there is in the game for being the first in certain locations), as well as the distribution of land and sea routes between those cities. The base game should come with two maps: Italy for 2-4 players, and the Mediterranean for 3-5 players.

Also note that Concordia is a solid mid-weight euro game; you can expect it to be a noticeable step up from a strategy perspective than what you might be used to if you're mostly used to playing Catan, Dominion or even Wingspan. It's certainly accessible enough for new players, but both optimal gameplay and the scoring system might take a little bit of getting used to.

So many beautiful ladies in-game. A bit odd for Classical Greek World, or at least it seems so.

Thanks a lot for the detailed information!
I'm fond of RTS but not familiar with this kind of games and the ones you mentioned. The most similar I played was Knights of Honor (European map with optional RTS battles for each province) but I got exhausted (hours and hours of playing the same map but EVERY TIME I gained a territory, the game took rather artificially another territory from me, so I was stuck with my initial territories forever...) so it discouraged me to try similar games.
At least Concordia seems simpler and clearer in terms of options, judging by its interface, and focus on trade for a change, so I'll definitely try the base game if as you say, it's not a truncated version of the real game. ROMA VICTRIX!

Do you know for certain that it doesn't have a direct connection option? I can understand an account being required for online multi-player match making with other people across different platforms.

Nope, just the wording of the blurb at the bottom of the store page. That said, my comment isn't really aimed at this game in particular, but the sorry state LAN play is in these days, with dedicated servers going extinct and everything being tied to launchers, accounts, and whatnot.

they still hadn't invented women back then

Right, they invented the Republic and the Democracy, yet:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_Greece#Women_in_ancient_Greece
> No women ever acquired citizenship in ancient Athens, and therefore women were excluded in principle and practice from ancient Athenian democracy.