Stake your claim to populous, diverse lands and lucrative trade routes as you parry foreign invasions – or step into the invader's shoes yourself. The Hindustani unique units are the Ghulam, a heavily armored infantry unit adept against masses of archers, and the Imperial Camel Rider, a powerful unique upgrade to the Heavy Camel Rider.
With the release of Dynasties of India, the Indian civilization was reworked to Hindustanis, with three new South Asian civilizations (Bengalis, Dravidians, and Gurjaras) added, making the Indians the first civilization to receive a full rework.
The Elephant Archer is replaced with the Ghulam as the new unique unit. Elephant Archers are no longer accessible for the Hindustanis, but are now available as an Archery Range unit for the civilizations introduced in Dynasties of India.
The Fisherman bonus is removed and the Caravanserai is introduced as the Hindustani unique building.
The Stable units armor bonus is removed and Hindustanis regain access to Plate Barding Armor.
Female Task 2Samajh gaī (समझ गई - سمجھ گئی ) - Understood (feminine)
Male Task 2Samajh gayā (समझ गया - سمجھ گیا) - Understood (masculine)
Female Task 3Karūṁgī (करूँगी - کروں گی) - Will do (feminine)
Male Task 3Karūṁgā (करूँगा - کروں گا) - Will do (masculine)
Task 4Turant (तुरंत - ترنت) - Right away
Task 5Hamla! (हमला - حملہ) – Attack! (This one is probably left over from the time when Indians used Age of Empires III dialogue, since this line is used there when you order your villagers to attack. Seems to be fixed in the Definitive Edition)
BuildNirmātā (निर्माता - نرماتا) - Builder
ChopLakaṛhārā (लकड़हारा - لکڑھارا) - Lumberjack
FarmKisān (किसान - کسان) - Farmer
FishMachuā (मछुआ - مچھؤا) - Fisherman
Female ForageKisān (किसान - کسان) - Farmer
Male ForageCārā khojne vālā (चारा खोजने वाला - چارا کھوجنے والا) - Forager
HuntŚikārī (शिकारी - شکاری) - Hunter
MineKhānik (खनिक - کھانک) - Miner
RepairMistrī (मिस्त्री - مستری) - Repairer
Military
Select 1Haṁ (हाँ? - ہاں؟) - Yes
Select 2Āpkī sevā maiṁ (आपकी सेवा में - آپکی سیوا میں) - At your service
Select 3Ādeś? (आदेश? - آدیش؟) - Orders?
Move 1Samajh gayā (समझ गया - سمجھ گیا) - Understood
Move 2Maiṁ cal rahā hūṁ (मैं चल रहा हूँ - میں چل رہا ہوں) - I'm walking
Move 3Jī Śrīmān (जी श्रीमान - جی شریمان) - Yes sir
Select 1Yahā tum jāo (यहा तुम जाओ - یہا تم جاؤ) – Here you go
Select 2Tumhe kyā chāhie? (तुम्हे क्या चाहिए? - تمہے کیا چاہئے؟) - What do you want?
Select 3Mujhe kyoṁ ciṛh rahe ho? (मुझे क्यों चिढ़ रहे हो - مجھے کیوں چڑھ رہے ہو؟) – Why are you teasing me?
Select 4Sūcnā denā (सूचना देना - سوچنا دینا) – Give information (not used)
Move 1Tum jo bhī pūchoge, maiṁ vo karūṁgā (तुम जो भी पूछोगे, मैं वो करूंगा - تم جو بھی پوچھو گے، میں وہ کروں گا.) – I will do whatever you ask
Move 2Merī kŕpā se (मेरी कृपा से - میری کرپا سے) – By my grace
Move 3Jaisā āpne nivedan kyā (जैसा आपने निवेदन क्या - جیسا آپنے نویدن کیا) – As you requested
Move 4Maiṁ karūṁgā! (मैं करूँगा - میں کروں گا) – I will do! (not used)
AI player names[]
When playing a random map game against the computer, the player may encounter any of the following Hindustanis AI characters:
Chandragupta II: Also known by his title Vikramaditya, was one of the most powerful emperors of the Gupta Empire in northern India.
Harsha Vardhana (हर्षवर्धन) (c. 590–647 CE) was an Indian emperor who ruled northern India from 606 to 647 CE. At the height of Harsha's power, his Empire covered much of North and Northwestern India. The peace and prosperity that prevailed made his court a centre of cosmopolitanism, attracting scholars, artists and religious visitors from far and wide. The Chinese traveller Xuanzang visited the court of Harsha and wrote a very favourable account of him, praising his justice and generosity. The Sanskrit poet Banabhatta wrote his biography Harshacharita ("Deeds of Harsha").
Bappa Rawal (बप्पा रावल): A semi-legendary ruler of the Mewar region in Rajasthan, India. The bardic chronicles describe him as a member of the Guhila clan of Rajputs, and some of these describe as the founder of his dynasty. Several historians have identified him with Kalabhoja, a ruler of the Mewar branch of the Guhilas.
Sabuktigin: Also known as Abu Mansur Nasir al-Din Sabuktigin (ابو منصور سبکتگین) (942 – August 997), also spelled as Sabuktagin, Sabuktakin, Sebüktegin and Sebük Tigin, was the founder of the Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 977 A.D to 997 A.D.
Mahmud Ghaznavi (محمود غزنوی): The first independent ruler of the Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 999 to 1030. At the time of his death, his kingdom had been transformed into an extensive military empire, which extended from northwestern Iran proper to the Punjab in the Indian subcontinent, Khwarazm in Transoxiana, and Makran.
Muhammad Ghori (محمد غوری): Also known as Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad, was the Sultan of the Ghurid Empire along with his brother Ghiyath ad-Din Muhammad from 1173 to 1202 and as the sole ruler from 1202 to 1206.
Ghiyath al-Din (غیاث الدین محمد بن سام): brother of Ghori and ruler of the Ghurid Empire from 1163 and co-ruler with his brother from 1173 to 1202.
Qutb-ud-Din Aibak (قطب الدین ایبک), (1150 – 14 November 1210) was a general of the Ghurid king Muhammad Ghori. He was in charge of the Ghurid territories in northern India, and after Muhammad Ghori's death, he became the ruler of an independent kingdom that evolved into the Delhi Sultanate ruled by the Mamluk dynasty.
Iltutmish (ایلتتمش): The third ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, belonging to the Mamluk dynasty. Iltutmish consolidated the position of the sultanate in the Indian subcontinent.
Ala-ud-Din Khalji (علاء الدین خلجی): The second and the most powerful ruler of the Khalji dynasty of Delhi Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent.
Babur (بابر): Born Ẓahīr-ud-Dīn Muhammad (ظہیر الدین محمد), was an invader from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the base for the Mughal dynasty in the Indian subcontinent and became the first Mughal emperor. He is a descendant of Tamerlane and Genghis Khan.
Humayun (همایون): The second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of northern India from 1531–1540 and again from 1555–1556. He is the father of Akbar.
Man Singh I (राजा मान सिंह): The Rajput Raja of Amber, a state later known as Jaipur in Rajputana. He was a trusted general of the Mughal emperor Akbar, who included him among the Navaratnas, or the nine gems of the royal court.
As the medieval period dawned, the northern regions of modern-day India were ruled primarily by the Gupta Empire. At its zenith under Chandragupta II Vikramaditya, this short-lived state stretched from the Indus River to the Ganges Delta. While exceptionally advanced for its time in economic, political, military, intellectual, and social terms, the Gupta Empire was overextended and vulnerable to external invasions. Nomadic incursions from the northwest posed a constant problem, as did the extremes of the local climates; flooding in particular was a major issue. This state would not outlive the 6th century AD, but it left a significant imprint on the polities that succeeded it.
After the Gupta Empire fell, its possessions passed to the control of countless major and minor entities. These never matched the power of the Guptas, but they inherited its strengths and advancements: a sophisticated division of labor system, significant scientific achievements, bustling trade networks, and powerful military technology, to name a few. Sanskrit epics tell of a powerful and magnanimous 7th century rules, Harsha Vardhana, who forged some of these polities into a pseudo-empire, but his state, too, had relatively little longevity.
The next couple of centuries saw the emergence of a new threat as waves of Muslim invasions cascaded into the Indian subcontinent. While Indian magnates such as Bappa Rawal (8th century) initially succeeded in stemming the onrushing tide, this threat gradually grew too much for the often fragmented Indian states to muster sustained resistances. Beyond the Hindu Kush, powerful Turco-Persian Muslim dynasties were rising: the Ghaznavids had formed a formidable state in modern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran. One particularly infamous ruler, Mahmud Ghaznavi (10th-11th century), launched seventeen separate campaigns to pillage much of North and West India. Following the Ghaznavids were the Ghorids, another powerful dynasty that toppled the Ghaznavids and thrust further into India during the 12th and 13th centuries. Both factions were notable for their heavy use of ghulams, former slaves who had been trained as professional soldiers, creating a warrior elite that dominated both battlefields and palaces.
The Ghorid invasions were a watershed moment due to their permanent impact. Whereas their predecessors had merely lead campaigns of pillaging and destruction, the Ghorids, under the brothers Ghiyath and Muhammad, defeated Prithviraj Chauhan of Ajmer and established permanent control over much of northern India. Their successor, Qutb al-Din Aibak, created a new superpower: the Delhi Sultanate (13th-16th century), which essentially consisted of a Muslim warrior-elite ruling over a culturally and socially majority Indian population. Like many of history's conquerors, the Delhi sultans deemed it infinitely more prudent to perpetuate the existing systems in their new empire than to attempt to tear them down and impose their own.
The following centuries were tumultuous ones. The Delhi Sultanate and its neighbors were rattled by successive Mongol invasions which, while achieving no significant lasting gains, gutted the region's infrastructure. Particularly brutal was Timur/Tamerlane's invasion of 1398, which tore through northern India and reduced the glorious city of Delhi to a charnel house. Over a century later, the Mughal conqueror Babul - yet another Persified warlord from Central Asia - would remark in his autobiographical Baburnama that he observed a land not yet healed from the ravages of the past centuries. Nevertheless, Babur was able to mold the weakened northern Indian polities that he conquered into a powerful state, the Mughal Empire, which would rule the region from 1526 well into the early-modern period.
The history of the Indians already began in the Bronze Age when the first civilization, named the Indus or Harappan civilization, emerged in the fertile valley of the Indus in the fourth millennium BC. In this early period, the foundations of Indian culture were already made, for the caste system and the Vedas were introduced. The Vedas, a collection of the oldest Sanskrit texts, would influence the dozens of Indian political entities and religions throughout its history.
After the fall of the great Mauryan Empire (322 – 185 BC) India would not be under one rule again until the end of the medieval period. Instead, it was an ever shifting patchwork of political entities where some proved more successful than others:
The Gupta Empire (320-600 AD) was able to reunite the north of India through conquest and political marriage. Thanks to its strong rule, the empire enjoyed peace and prosperity, which in turn led to great cultural development: during this period literature, science, and architecture reached new heights and therefore it is often called the Golden Period. Internal factors, White Hunnic raids, and the disruption of Central Asian trade resulted ultimately in the fragmentation of the Gupta Empire.
Between the 8th and 10th century three great empires competed in an attempt to control the economically valuable Gangetic Plains. This long conflict, known as the Tripartite Struggle, often centered around the city of Kannauj. From the northwest the Gurjara-Pratihara Empire (550-1036) claimed it, from the northeast the Pala Empire (750-1174), and from the south the Rashtrakuta Empire (753-982). During the two centuries Kannauj changed hands regularly, but in the end no real victor emerged: the constant fighting made the kings neglect their internal politics and economy. Soon, feudatories in all three empires started to declare their independence.
From the 10th through the 13th centuries, one of the most successful dynasties in maintaining power were perhaps the Cholas in southern India. Not only did the Chola Empire rule the south at their peak; it was one of the few that broke the maritime boundaries of India by conquering overseas territories and establishing trade with Arabia and China. This maritime policy made the Cholas influential throughout East Asia. The Cholas were also renowned as patrons of the arts: the beauty of Chola sculptures was unseen, while King Rajaraja I constructed the Brihadeeswarar Temple, one of the greatest Hindu temples in the world.
This long-lasting rise and fall of political entities made India a melting pot of different cultures. Regardless of the dominating religious elements of ancient Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism could often be found in one kingdom. However, during the medieval period, a fourth important religion came into play: Islam appeared in India as soon as the 7th century and would join the dance for power in the 12th century when political struggles in Central Asia forced Turks towards northern India. From these conquests emerged the Delhi Sultanate in 1206. At the height of their power, the sultans ruled over North and Central India while being one of the few entities to successfully resist the Mongol invasions. For five dynasties and 300 years, the Sultanate was seen as an important force, a symbol of prestige, and a source of unimaginable wealth. In 1526, it was conquered by a new Turkic power, the Mughals, signaling the end of the medieval period and uniting India again under one rule for the first time since the ancient Mauryan Empire.[1]
Trivia[]
The Hindustanis are the first civilization to receive an extensive rework in terms of civilization bonuses, unique unit, civilization name and icon, and technology tree. This came after years of criticism that the Indian civilization was too broad and misrepresenting due to covering several vastly different cultures.
The Hindustani civilization icon is a round shield with the Najmat-al-Quds or eight-pointed star of Jerusalem, an auspicious symbol in Islam derived from the Rub-el-Hizb symbol (shown on the Saracens icon).
The preceding Indian icon is an Indian dhal shield with four umbos in the middle, instead of one. In Dynasties of India, this shield type is used by the Urumi Swordsman, Shrivamsha Rider, and melee version of the Ratha, and as civilization icons by the Dravidians and Gurjaras.
The Indian icon also features two Hindu symbols as decoration, the Wheel of Dharma and Om written in Devanagari script. Players often complained that this design was too complex and made the icon difficult to identify, leading to the use of simpler icons for the civilizations introduced in Dynasties of India.
The user interface image displays a lion in front of a sun, based on the flag of the Mughal Empire. In Ain-i-Akbari, Hindustan is the official name of the Mughal Empire.
In The Forgotten, the Indians use the Middle Eastern architecture set. Their formerly unique architecture was designed by the modder Tzontlimixtli for The African Kingdoms, and officialized (with slight variations) in Rise of the Rajas. Other unique architectures in The Forgotten (the Italians and Slavs, which evolved into the Mediterranean and Eastern European sets) also started as fan mods.
This set is based mainly on Rajput architecture, blending Hindu designs with Persianized domes and arcs in the Imperial Age. However the Monastery is based on the Konark Sun Temple in Odisha.
The Indians have changed Wonders more than any other civilization. The mod version of Forgotten Empires gave them the Taj Mahal; The Forgotten, the Gol Gumbaz; Tzontlimixtli's mod, the Sanchi Stupa; Rise of the Rajas, the Brihadisvara Temple; and Dynasties of India, Humayun's Tomb (with Brihadisvara becoming the Wonder of the Dravidians). All but the first one can be found in the Scenario Editor.
Prior to Dynasties of India, the Indians were the only non-Native American civilization with no access to the Knight line. After Dynasties of India, none of the Indian-derived civilizations (Hindustanis, Gurjaras, Bengalis, and Dravidians) has. Yet historically the armies of various Indian states fielded heavy cavalry rather than relying on camel riders. This design choice was likely inspired by Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties, where the Indians have access to various camel and elephant units but no cavalry outside of mercenaries and native warriors.
After Rise of Rajas, it was commonly requested by players to give Indians Battle Elephants for historical reasons and as a result of finding the unique Elephant Archer underwhelming. In Dynasties of India, the Bengalis and Dravidians receive Battle Elephants and Elephant Archers (now no longer a unique unit), yet the Indian-derived Hindustanis don't receive the former and also lose the latter.
However, Hindustanis receive the new Armored Elephant, thus giving them a melee elephant at last. They are the only Indian civilization with access to Armored Elephants but not any other, and whose Armored Elephants don't benefit from unique bonuses or technologies. They are also the only civilization who got Elephant units but have no unique technology and civilization bonus for them.
Because of the new Elephant Archer sharing a creation slot with the Cavalry Archer in the Archery Range, the Hindustanis are the only Indian civilization with Cavalry Archers.
The Steam Achievement for winning a game as the Indians before Dynasties of India has been accordingly renamed from Indian Victory to Hindustani Victory, but ironically still retains the image of the Elephant Archer, which the Hindustanis cannot even use anymore.
Similarly, when in the testing function in multiplayer games, the Hindustanis still have the original Elephant Archers in the test, even though they have now lost it.
Despite being identified as a gunpowder civilization, the Hindustanis do not have access to the Bombard Tower.
The Hindustani AI player Akbar is the AI personality of the Indians in Age of Empires III.
None of the Indian States have both Faith and Heresy.
In The Forgotten, the Indians joined the Saracens and Japanese as one of only three civilizations with all Archery Range technologies and units. However, in patch 5.5 of Rise of the Rajas, the Indians lost the Arbalester, and in Dynasties of India they lost Parthian Tactics.
In the beta, the Indian team bonus was +1 melee armor for Camel Riders, and they could research Treadmill Crane but not Faith or Heated Shot. They did not have discounted Villagers in the Dark Age, but 10% /20%/30% cheaper every Age advanced. Their Trade Workshop was East Asian styled despite using the Middle Eastern set otherwise. Fishermen worked 25% faster and carried +25 food.
When introduced, the Indians became the most powerful civilization in team games in most land maps, likely because of their economy suited to booming and their Imperial Camel dealing with most cavalry civilizations even with Paladins. This was likely the reason for their significant changes in update 42848; afterward, the Indians became one of the lowest picked civilizations in both 1vs1 and team games, despite having decent winning rates. For their backbone, Camel Riders are weak to arrowshots, they lack significant units to fight infantry civilizations until the Imperial Age, and Archer civilization at most times. They only have advantages dealing with cavalry civilizations that have lackluster infantry or lack prominent archery. Since that update, the Indians were played as a Cavalry Archer civilization, thanks to their fully upgraded Cavalry Archers and decent economy. This was considered highly conflicting, because the Indians are set as a Camel civilization with prominent gunpowder units. Due to lacking proper units to counter ranged units and infantry, especially the Native Americans, which erase the advantage of the Hindustanis' camel lines, they removed the Elephant Archer and gave an anti–archer infantry, the Ghulam, instead. In order to make them focus more on gunpowder units and Camels, Plate Barding Armor was restored and they have faster attack speed. Additionally, the Imperial Camel Rider has 1 less attack for balancing the attack rate, but the research cost is cheaper. Shatagni has more effect due to found it underwhelming, and the Hindustanis themselves are given a new civilization bonus, 1 more armor for their gunpowder units, but with the cost of the removal of Parthian Tactics.
It is speculated that the Indians were designed to counter the Huns and Mongols, who were extremely popular in The Conquerors. Both civilizations have their lowest win–rate against Indians (and incidentally, both were unsuccessful in their historical invasions of the Subcontinent).
Behind the scenes[]
During the development of The Conquerors, India was one of the regions considered for the new architecture set, but Ensemble Studios ultimately decided on a pre-Columbian American set, shared by Aztecs and Mayans.[2]
During development of the Forgotten Empires mod (which would become the The Forgotten expansion), the Forgotten Empires team considered adding the Tibetans before deciding on the more military-oriented Indians.[3]
Gallery[]
The Wonder of the Indians before Rise of the Rajas, the Gol Gumbaz
The Wonder of the Indians, introduced in Rise of the Rajas and used until Dynasties of India, the Brihadisvara Temple
The Wonder of the Hindustanis since Dynasties of India，the Humayun's Tomb
Note:This video is outdated. It shows the Indians with the Middle Eastern architecture. They have their own unique architecture as of the release of Rise of the Rajas.
