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This article is about the civilization in Age of Empires. For their appearance in Age of Mythology, see Egyptians (Age of Mythology).
Civilization Technology tree Strategy History

Sail the Nile River, construct massive pyramids to send your pharaohs to godhood, and lead armies of powerful charioteers as you vie for control of the rich lands of Canaan and the Levant.
—Description[1]

The Egyptians are a playable civilization in Age of Empires. They represent the ancient and sophisticated river valley culture that once controlled the upper and lower Nile regions of the Egyptian Kingdom.

The Egyptians also appear in Age of Mythology.

Characteristics[]

Civilization bonuses[]

Team bonus[]

Priests have +1 pierce armor.

Missing technologies[]

Bronze Shield, Siegecraft, City Watch*

Missing units[]

Broad Swordsman, Horse Archer, Cavalry, Armored Elephant, Catapult, Ballista, Phalangite, Fire Galley

Overview[]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it.

They are considered to be one of the best civilizations to play in Age of Empires and The Rise of Rome.

Changelog[]

ReturnRome-AoEIcon Age of Empires[]

  • Gold miners work 44% faster (but stated 20%).
  • Coinage is not available.
  • Priests have +3 range and Line of Sight.

Age of Empires Definitive Edition icon Definitive Edition[]

  • Gold miners work 20% faster.
  • Coinage is available.
  • With update 38862, Farms are 20% cheaper to build; they now cost 60 wood instead of 75 wood.

AoE2Icon-ReturnRome Return of Rome[]

  • Team bonus added.
  • With update 99311, the Priest range / Line of Sight bonus is lower in the Bronze Age (+2), but still +3 in the Iron Age.

Campaign appearances[]

Several different tutorials are played as the Egyptians, including the Dawn of Civilization tutorial campaign from the alpha version, Bronze Age Art of War tutorial scenario, and the official Ascent of Egypt campaign in the released version of the game.

The Egyptians appear as AI players in:

AoE Ascent of Egypt icon Ascent of Egypt[]

This campaign is played as the Egyptians.

  • 3. Exploration
    • Libyans - Enemy
  • 5. Skirmish
    • Egyptian Raiders - Enemy
  • 6. Farming
    • Lower Egypt - Enemy
  • 7. Trade
    • Libyans - Enemy (only in the original)
    • Libyans - Enemy (since Return of Rome)
  • 8. Religion
    • Libyan Raiders - Enemy
  • 9. River Outpost (since the Definitive Edition)
    • Nubians - Enemy
  • 10. Naval Battle
    • Libyan Raiders - Enemy

NuRoR hoplite idle Glory of Greece[]

NuRoR priest idle Voices of Babylon[]

Before the Definitive Edition, the fifth and eighth scenario are played as the Egyptians.

Reign of the Hittites[]

Imperium Romanum[]

AI player names[]

Names shown in italics are only used in the original game, names shown in bold are used in both the original game and its expansions.

  • Ramses - Name of 11 Pharaohs between 1295-1077 BC; Ramses I: Pharaoh 1292-1290 BC
  • Thutmose (𓅝𓄟𓋴𓀀) - Name of 4 Pharaohs between 1506-1388 BC; Thutmose I: Pharaoh 1506-1493 BC
  • Ramses II - Usermaatre Setepenre Ramses II "the Great"; Pharaoh 1279-1213 BC, he is considered the greatest and most famous of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs. He led Egypt to victory in all his military campaigns except against the Hittites in the Battle of Kadesh which was a stalemate. The English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelly's celebrated work Ozymandias (which is a Greek name for Ramses II) is based on him.
  • Thutmose II - Pharaoh 1493-1479 BC
  • Ramses III - Usermaatre Meryamun Ramesses III was Pharaoh during 1186-1155 BC. He is considered the last great ruler of the ancient New Kingdom of Egypt. He led Egypt in the wars against the "Sea peoples" and successfully defended the kingdom from the invasions which are thought to have toppled most other great powers of the Bronze Age world.
  • Thutmose III - Pharaoh 1479-1425 BC, he is considered a warrior king and a military genius, and the one to create the world's first combat navy. Egypt reached its largest extent under him.
  • Ramses IV - Pharaoh 1155-1149 BC
  • Amosis (𓇹𓄟𓋴) - Pharaoh 1539-1514 BC
  • Necho - Pharaoh 672-664 BC (Necho I); 610-595 BC (Necho II)
  • Seti - Pharaoh 1290-1279 BC (Seti I); 1200-1194 BC (Seti II)
  • Haremhab - Pharaoh 1319/1306-1292 BC
  • Amenophis - Hellinized form of Amenhotep; Pharaoh 1526-1506 BC (Amenophis I); 1427-1402 BC (II); 1388-1351 BC (III); 1351-1334 (IV, commonly known as Akhenaten)
  • Hatshepsut - Half-sister and wife of Pharaoh Thutmose II, then ruled as Pharaoh (Queen Regnant) during 1479-1458 BC, she was one of the most prolific builders of monuments and structures among ancient Egyptian rulers.
  • Menes - First dynastic Pharaoh, believed to be the same person as Narmer, around 3150 BC

History[]

Main article: /History
5000 to 30 BC

Egypt survived the catastrophe of 1200 BC by fighting off several major attempted invasions. They went into decline, nevertheless, following the death of Rameses III who was the last of the great warrior pharaohs. Their decline was partly due to trade coming to a virtual halt for several generations. A series of weak kings and civil wars over succession to the throne also eroded their strength.

In 728 BC Egypt was conquered by Nubia and held for 60 years. In 665 BC the Assyrians completed a conquest of Egypt by sacking Thebes. A new native Egyptian dynasty arose in 664 BC, eventually throwing out the Nubians and asserting their independence from Assyria by stopping payment of tribute. In 525 BC Egypt was conquered again from the east, this time by Cambryses II of Persia. When the Persians faltered in their war with the Greeks, the Egyptians reclaimed their independence briefly before succumbing once more to Persian invasion by 332 BC. Within a year, however, the Persians themselves were gone, destroyed by Alexander the Great who was accepted by the Egyptians as their pharaoh.

Greeks ruled Egypt as overlords from the time of Alexander the Great until 30 BC when Cleopatra VII, the last of the Ptolemaic dynasty, and Mark Antony were defeated by Octavian. Egypt thereafter became part of the Roman Empire.
—Excerpt from the Egyptians section in the Age of Empires manual[2]

Trivia[]

  • The civilization crest (icon) introduced in Return of Rome portrays the Eye of Ra in the "wedjat" style. The eye is an extension of Ra's power and is considered his feminine counterpart, and is equated with the disk of the sun. It was also sometimes called the right Eye of Horus, which is the solar counterpart to the lunar left Eye of Horus. The eye is etched on a typical common Egyptian infantry shield, which is painted yellow, symbolic for eternity, indestructability, gold, and the sun.
  • Egyptians reappear in the Age of Empires II scenario An Arabian Knight, where they are depicted by the Saracens, and then reappear in Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition as a revolutionary nation.
  • The UI emblem artwork depicts the gods Atum and Ra-Horakhty, from an 11th Century BC papyrus artwork featuring Ramses III before the gods of Heliopolis.

Gallery[]

References[]

Civilizations in Age of Empires categorised by architecture set
East Asian architectureChoson AOE DE ROR icon Choson · Lac Viet AOE DE ROR icon Lac Viet · Shang AOE DE ROR icon Shang · Yamato AOE DE ROR icon Yamato
Egyptian architectureAssyrian AOE DE ROR icon Assyrians · Egyptian AOE DE ROR icon Egyptians · Hittite AOE DE ROR icon Hittites
Greek architectureGreek AOE DE ROR icon Greeks · Minoan AOE DE ROR icon Minoans · Phoenician AOE DE ROR icon Phoenicians
Mesopotamian architectureBabylonian AOE DE ROR icon Babylonians · Persian AOE DE ROR icon Persians · Sumerian AOE DE ROR icon Sumerians
Roman architectureCarthaginian AOE DE ROR icon Carthaginians · Macedonian AOE DE ROR icon Macedonians · Palmyran AOE DE ROR icon Palmyrans · Roman AOE DE ROR icon Romans
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