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This article is about the civilization introduced in Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten. For the civilization introduced in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties, see Indians (Age of Empires III).
Civilization Technology tree Strategy

Explore one of the most culturally vibrant and coveted regions in all of Asia! Wage war across the rich Indian subcontinent, the land of a thousand kingdoms and sultanates. Place vast armies under your command led by lethal camelry and durable Elephant Archers to terrify the invaders of your homeland. Prosperity is dearly won, yet your empire and deeds will stand the test of time.
—Description[1]

The Indians were an Asian civilization introduced in Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten. With the release of Dynasties of India, the Indian civilization was split and reworked into Hindustanis, Gurjaras, Bengalis, and Dravidians, making the Indians the only civilization to receive a full rework.

Most of the assets of the Indians, like the technology tree, unique upgrade, unique technologies, unit dialogues, civilization theme, and jingles passed onto the Hindustanis. However, their unique unit was split among the other three civilizations. Their Castle, Wonder (the Brihadeeswarar Temple), and the fishing bonus (modified) passed onto the Dravidians. Their civilization icon (modified) and campaign passed onto the Gurjaras. As such, the Hindustanis are considered the continuation of the Indians. The Hindustanis received new bonuses to focus more on North and North-West India, rather than the whole subcontinent. The AI player names were also divided among the four civilizations, and the Hindustanis receive some names which were assigned to Persians before the release of the expansion, representing some Afghan and Turco-Afghan rulers.

The Hindustanis civilization is available to everyone owning the Definitive Edition, without the need to purchase the expansion, but the expansion provides access to the new Hindustani campaign Babur. The Gurjaras' Prithviraj campaign is also available to everyone owning the Definitive Edition, without the need to purchase the expansion.

The Indians are also featured as a playable civilization in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties.

Characteristics[]

As the civilization was split by Dynasties of India, the majority of their bonuses were given to the Hindustanis or removed, except the Elephant Archer, which was made a regional unit and rebalanced.

Unique units[]

ElephantArcherIcon-DE Elephant Archer: Mounted archer with a high amount of hit points - turned into a regional unit.
ImperialCamelRiderIcon-DE Imperial Camel Rider: Upgrade of the Heavy Camel Rider, provides additional HP and attack.

Unique technologies[]

UniqueTechCastle-DE Sultans: Increases the speed of all gold income by +10%.
UniqueTechImperialDE Shatagni: Gives Hand Cannoneers +1 range.

Civilization bonuses[]

  • Fishermen work 10% faster.
  • Villagers are 10%/15%/20%/25% cheaper in the Dark/Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
  • Stable units have +1/+2 pierce armor in the Castle/Imperial Age.

Team bonus[]

Camel units have +4 attack against standard buildings.

Changelog[]

AoE2-DLCicon-2 The Forgotten[]

AoE2-DLCicon-3 The African Kingdoms[]

  • Villagers are 10%/15%/20%/25% cheaper in the Dark/Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
  • Guilds and Ring Archer Armor are added to the Indian technology tree.
  • Initially can research Arrowslits. With patch 4.8, it is removed from the Indian technology tree.
  • Elephant Archers cost 100 food, 80 gold and the Elite Elephant Archer upgrade costs 1,000 food, 800 gold.
  • Elephant Archers have 280 hit points (330 for Elite), and 3 pierce armor.

AoE2-DLCicon-4 Rise of the Rajas[]

AoEIIDE icon Definitive Edition[]

AoE2Icon-DynastiesIndia Dynasties of India[]

Campaign appearances[]

Since Dynasties of India, in the campaigns, Indians everywhere were replaced by either of the four civilizations, not necessarily only Hindustanis. Even some former non-Indian civilization appearances were replaced by Indian civilizations.

Battles of the Forgotten Icon Battles of the Forgotten[]

CampaignIcon-PrithvirajDE Prithviraj[]

In the HD Edition
  • A Promising Warrior
    • Chauhan Army - Ally
    • Indian Village - Ally
    • Indian Town - Ally
    • Raja Someshwar - Ally
    • Bandits - Enemy
    • Bhimdev Solanki - Enemy
    • Koteshwar Temple - Enemy
  • The Digvijaya
    • Indian Villages - Ally
    • Chandelas - Enemy → Ally
    • Gaharwars - Enemy → Ally
    • Kashmir - Enemy → Ally
    • Paramaras - Enemy → Ally
  • The Elopement
    • Delhi - Ally
    • Indian villages - Ally
    • Bandits - Enemy
    • Prithviraj - Enemy
    • Raja Jaichand - Enemy
    • Kannauj - Ally → Enemy → potential Ally
  • Battles of Tarain
    • Tarain - Ally
    • Chauhan Army - Ally
    • Bathinda - Enemy
In the Definitive Edition
  • Born of Fire
    • Nagarjuna - Enemy
    • Bhadanakas - Enemy
    • Chandelas - Enemy
    • Paramaras - Enemy
    • Chauhan - Ally
  • The Digvijaya
    • Jayachandra - Enemy
    • Chaulukya - Enemy → Ally
    • Lohara - Enemy → Ally
    • Dacoits - Neutral
  • Hand of a Princess
    • Jayachandra - Enemy
    • Chaulukyas - Ally
    • Kannauj - Ally
    • Sanyogita - Ally
    • Lal Kot - Ally
  • The Legend of Prithviraj
    • Yadava - Enemy
    • Indian Dynasties - Ally → Neutral
    • Rajas - Neutral
    • Chola - Enemy

CampaignIcon-Tamerlane Tamerlane[]

  • Sultan of Hindustan
    • Delhi - Ally
    • Delhi Garrison - Enemy
    • Shah Tughlug - Enemy
    • Outlying Villages - Enemy
    • Outlying Villages - Enemy

CampaignIcon-BayinnaungDE Bayinnaung[]

CampaignIcon-FranciscoDE Francisco de Almeida[]

  • Estado da India
    • Hindu Pirates - Ally or Enemy
    • Cannanore - Enemy
    • Kolathiri Raja - Enemy
    • Zamorin of Calicut - Enemy

CampaignIcon-GajahMadaDE Gajah Mada[]

CampaignIcon-SuryavarmanIDE Suryavarman I[]

In-game dialogue language[]

In The Forgotten, the Indians used their namesake civilization's dialogue in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties, which is anachronistic for the time frame as Villagers use the English greeting "Hello!".

With the release of The African Kingdoms, Indian units receive new dialogue in Hindi. The same voice lines are used by the Hindustani units as well.

Villager
Military
Monk
King

AI player names[]

When playing a random map game against the computer, the player could have encountered any of the following Indian AI characters (names in italics were inherited by the Hindustanis):

  • Akbar (Hindi: अकबर, Urdu: اکبر): Popularly known as Akbar I and later Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. He is the the AI personality of the Indians in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties.
  • Babur (بابر): Born Ẓahīr-ud-Dīn Muhammad, 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.
  • 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.
  • Chandragupta II: also known by his title Vikramaditya, was one of the most powerful emperors of the Gupta Empire in northern India.
  • Humayun (Hindi: हुमायूं, Urdu: 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.
  • Iltutmish (इल्तुतमिश): The third ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, belonging to the Mamluk dynasty. Iltutmish consolidated the position of the sultanate in the Indian subcontinent.
  • Jayachandra (जयचन्द): was an Indian king from the Gahadavala dynasty. He is also known as Jayachchandra (IAST: Jayaccandra) in inscriptions, and Jaichand in vernacular legends (Moved to the Gurjaras in Dynasties of India).
  • 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.
  • Prithviraj Chauhan (भारतेश्वरः पृथ्वीराजः): was a king from the Chahamana (Chauhan) dynasty. He ruled Sapadalaksha, the traditional Chahamana territory, in present-day north-western India. He controlled much of the present-day Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi; and some parts of Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. His capital was located at Ajayameru (modern Ajmer), although the medieval folk legends describe him as the king of India's political centre Delhi to portray him as a representative of the pre-Islamic Indian power (Moved to the Gurjaras in Dynasties of India).
  • Rajendra Chola (இராஜேந்திர சோழன்): Possibly refering to Rajendra Chola I or Rajendra I, was a Chola emperor of South India (Present day Tamil Nadu, Andhra pradesh, Kerala, Part of Karnataka and Telangana) who succeeded his father Rajaraja Chola I to the throne in 1014. During his reign, he extended the influence of the Chola empire to the banks of the river Ganga in North India and across the Indian ocean to the West and Southeast Asia, making the Chola Empire one of the most powerful maritime empires of India (Moved to the Dravidians in Dynasties of India).
  • Sultan Balban (सुल्तान बलबन): Ghiyas ud din Balban, the ninth sultan of the Mamluk dynasty reigned 1266–1287 dynasty of Delhi.
  • Sultan Ala-ud-din Khilji (علاءالدین خلجی): The second and the most powerful ruler of the Khalji dynasty of Delhi Sultanate in the Indian 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]

History[]

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.
AoE2DE History Indians

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.
—In-game section

Trivia[]

  • The Indians are the only civilization to receive an extensive rework and split. This came after years of criticism that the Indian civilization was too broad and misrepresenting due to covering several vastly different cultures and ethno-linguistic peoples.
  • The Indians had the housing bonus of the Incas during development. This is shown in the Slavs vs Incas gameplay preview of Age of Empires II: Forgotten Empires.
  • The 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. It also appears in the civilization icons of 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.
  • In The Forgotten, the Indians use the Middle Eastern architecture set. Their architecture set 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 Forgotten Empires mod gave them the Taj Mahal; The Forgotten, the Gol Gumbaz; Tzontlimixtli's mod, the Sanchi Stupa; and since Rise of the Rajas, the Brihadeeswarar Temple. All but the first one can be found in the Scenario Editor.
  • The Indians were the only non-Native American civilization with no access to the Knight line. Since Dynasties of India, none of the Indian-derived civilizations (Hindustanis, Gurjaras, Bengalis, and Dravidians) have access to it. 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 all common elephant units; the Gurjaras receive Elephant Archers and the new Armored Elephant; and the Hindustanis receive only the Armored Elephant. Thus the Indian-derived civilizations receive various degrees of elephant and camel units at last, with the Battle Elephant and Camel Riders being mutually exclusive.
  • None of the Indian civilizations 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.
  • 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 still having great 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. However, when Indians were split into Hindustanis to make their identity stronger with several changes and removal of Parthian Tactics. The Hindustanis still have good Cavalry Archers, but it is not their go-to unit.
  • 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 historically unsuccessful in their invasions of the subcontinent.

Gallery[]

See also[]

References[]

Civilizations in Age of Empires II
Categorised by architecture sets
AfricanCivIcon-Ethiopians Ethiopians · CivIcon-Malians Malians
Central AsianCivIcon-Cumans Cumans · CivIcon-Tatars Tatars
Central EuropeanCivIcon-Goths Goths · CivIcon-Huns Huns · CivIcon-Teutons Teutons · CivIcon-Vikings Vikings
East AsianCivIcon-Chinese Chinese · CivIcon-Japanese Japanese · CivIcon-Koreans Koreans · CivIcon-Mongols Mongols · CivIcon-Vietnamese Vietnamese
Eastern EuropeanCivIcon-Bohemians Bohemians · CivIcon-Bulgarians Bulgarians · CivIcon-Lithuanians Lithuanians · CivIcon-Magyars Magyars · CivIcon-Poles Poles · CivIcon-Slavs Slavs
MediterraneanCivIcon-Armenians Armenians · CivIcon-Byzantines Byzantines · CivIcon-Georgians Georgians · CivIcon-Italians Italians · CivIcon-Portuguese Portuguese · CivIcon-Romans Romans · CivIcon-Sicilians Sicilians · CivIcon-Spanish Spanish
Middle EasternCivIcon-Berbers Berbers · CivIcon-Persians Persians · CivIcon-Saracens Saracens · CivIcon-Turks Turks
Native AmericanCivIcon-Aztecs Aztecs · CivIcon-Incas Incas · CivIcon-Mayans Mayans
South Asian/IndianCivIcon-Bengalis Bengalis · CivIcon-Dravidians Dravidians · CivIcon-Gurjaras Gurjaras · CivIcon-Hindustanis Hindustanis · CivIcon-Indians Indians (removed)
Southeast AsianCivIcon-Burmese Burmese · CivIcon-Khmer Khmer · CivIcon-Malay Malay
Western EuropeanCivIcon-Britons Britons · CivIcon-Burgundians Burgundians · CivIcon-Celts Celts · CivIcon-Franks Franks
Categorised by expansions
AoE2-DLCicon-0 The Age of KingsCivIcon-Britons Britons · CivIcon-Byzantines Byzantines · CivIcon-Celts Celts · CivIcon-Chinese Chinese · CivIcon-Franks Franks · CivIcon-Goths Goths · CivIcon-Japanese Japanese · CivIcon-Mongols Mongols · CivIcon-Persians Persians · CivIcon-Saracens Saracens · CivIcon-Teutons Teutons · CivIcon-Turks Turks · CivIcon-Vikings Vikings
AoE2-DLCicon-1 The ConquerorsCivIcon-Aztecs Aztecs · CivIcon-Huns Huns · CivIcon-Koreans Koreans · CivIcon-Mayans Mayans · CivIcon-Spanish Spanish
AoE2-DLCicon-2 The ForgottenCivIcon-Incas Incas · CivIcon-Indians Indians (removed) · CivIcon-Italians Italians · CivIcon-Magyars Magyars · CivIcon-Slavs Slavs
AoE2-DLCicon-3 The African KingdomsCivIcon-Berbers Berbers · CivIcon-Ethiopians Ethiopians · CivIcon-Malians Malians · CivIcon-Portuguese Portuguese
AoE2-DLCicon-4 Rise of the RajasCivIcon-Burmese Burmese · CivIcon-Khmer Khmer · CivIcon-Malay Malay · CivIcon-Vietnamese Vietnamese
AoE2-DLCicon-5 The Last KhansCivIcon-Bulgarians Bulgarians · CivIcon-Cumans Cumans · CivIcon-Lithuanians Lithuanians · CivIcon-Tatars Tatars
AoE2Icon-LordsWest Lords of the WestCivIcon-Burgundians Burgundians · CivIcon-Sicilians Sicilians
Dawn of the Dukes icon Dawn of the DukesCivIcon-Bohemians Bohemians · CivIcon-Poles Poles
AoE2Icon-DynastiesIndia Dynasties of IndiaCivIcon-Bengalis Bengalis · CivIcon-Dravidians Dravidians · CivIcon-Gurjaras Gurjaras · CivIcon-Hindustanis Hindustanis
AoE2Icon-ReturnRome Return of RomeCivIcon-Romans Romans
AoE2Icon-MountainRoyals The Mountain RoyalsCivIcon-Armenians Armenians · CivIcon-Georgians Georgians
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