Ethiopians

"Relive the glory of the once mighty Aksumite empire and rule over the Red Sea. Launch military expeditions into the Arabian peninsula and far beyond to hold a firm grip on your trading partners. Will your dynasty stand strong against internal conflicts or will your successor already be preparing your funeral. Only the strongest dynasty will survive…"

- Civilization description.

The Ethiopians are an African civilization featured in The African Kingdoms expansion as an archer civilization.

The Ethiopians were historically known for the Aksumite and Zagwe kingdoms, who were dedicated followers of Orthodox Christianity and Judaism. Ethiopian architecture was the best in the region, and many stelae and other tall monuments exist to this day. To highlight this, the Ethiopian team bonus grants extra line of sight for Towers and Outposts.

Ethiopian kingdoms were positioned in a vital area - on the Horn of Africa at the narrow entrance to the Red Sea. This made Aksum a vital center for trade on the Indian Ocean; goods and materials from Europe, India, Arabia, and even China went through Ethiopian ports; through the ages, they benefited from a regular influx of resources from outside the empire. This is represented in-game with the Ethiopians gaining 100 food and gold for free whenever they advance an age.

The Ethiopians were known to be mercenaries for fast deployments to other kingdoms (particularly Egypt) and were known to be very fierce in battle, but were underequipped. To highlight the Ethiopian army, the Shotel Warrior can be created quickly in the Castle, to stress this rapidity they have a castle unique technology: Royal Heirs bringing about Shotel Warriors creation nearly instantly, but has very low defenses with high attack. In addition, the Ethiopians get for free Pikemen and Halberdier upgrades (mainly because spears and polearms were a staple of most Ethiopian armies).

Along with spears and shotel swords, the bow and arrow were important weapons in Ethiopia, and archers formed the backbone of the kingdom's army. As a result, Ethiopians' archers fire +15% faster.

Finally, the Ethiopians are one of the few civilizations to have preserved some of the lost technology from the Classical Age period after the barbarians destroyed the Roman Empire (in this case, some of the Greek literature and siege weaponry developed by the ancient Greeks such as their crossbows and torsion siege engines). To highlight this, the Ethiopians are a civilization to access all siege weapons, and have an imperial unique technology: Torsion Engines that increases the blast radius for siege weapons.

Overview
The Ethiopians are a pretty cracking archer civilization. The Ethiopian Archery Range is pretty strong chiefly their foot archers: the Arbalests, since archers fire +15% faster. The Barrack lacks the Champion but gets Halberdiers. The Ethiopian's unique unit: the Shotel Warrior is a very fast infantry unit with high creation speed and being a fantastic raiding unit, however they are very weak in engagements. The Stable lacks the Paladin and upgrades such as: Bloodlines and Plate Barding Armor, but has the Hussar and the Heavy Camel. The Dock is moderate fine since they get Galleon. The Monastery doesn't get Block Printing and Redemption, however the monks are worthy. The Siege Workshop is awesome with all the units available and benefiting from the civilization's imperial unique technology: Torsion Engines, that increases the blast radius for siege weapons. Their economy is nice only missing Crop Rotation. The Ethiopians will meet trouble with some civilizations such as the Berbers, due to Genitours being an anti-archer mounted skirmisher and their Stable is better. The Ethiopians make a great civilization against civilizations like the Vikings who have slower archers and worst cavalry.

Unique Unit: Shotel Warrior (infantry)

Unique Technologies: Royal Heirs (Shotel Warriors are created nearly instantly), Torsion Engines  (Siege Workshop units blast radius increased)

Civilization Bonuses

 * Archers fire +15% faster
 * Receive +100 gold, +100 food when advancing to the next Age
 * Pikeman and Halberdier upgrades free
 * Team Bonus: Towers and Outposts +3 LOS