Ismail (Age of Empires IV)

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires IV. For the Safavid Emperor, see Ismail (Age of Empires II) and Shah Ismail. For the campaign based on the latter, see Ismail.

Ismail
Unit information
Introduced in	Age of Empires IV
Type	Heavy melee infantry
Statistics
Hit points	450
Melee armor	5
Ranged armor	5
Speed	1.29 tiles/s
Ability	Can construct: Huihui Pao, Counterweight Trebuchet, Mangonel, Springald Imperial Falcon Grunt Work
Melee damage
Attack	15
Rate of Fire	1.38 seconds
Charge damage
Attack	+2
Torch damage
Attack	33
Rate of Fire	4.12 seconds

“	Expert in siege warfare.	”
—Age of Empires IV description

Ismail is a heavy melee infantry leader in the The Fall of Xiangyang scenario of the The Mongol Empire campaign. He has the ability to construct the Huihui Pao trebuchet for 250 wood, 1,000 stone without the need for researching Siege Engineering, though he may also construct other siege engines after researching the technology.

He also has two other special abilities. The Imperial Falcon is a greatly enhanced version of the Scouting Falcon normally available to Mongol Scouts and Khans, giving Line of Sight over a much wider area for 120 seconds. His other ability, Grunt Work, allows infantry to repair the bridges to Xiangyang and Fancheng. It is unique in that once it is activated, its effect is permanent through the rest of the scenario. His main weapon is a khanda.

Ability

• Imperial Falcon (Active): Releases a specially trained falcon that provides vision in a great area for 120 seconds.
• Grunt Work (Active): Allows infantry to build the bridges to Xiangyang.
• Fortitude (Passive): Heals while out of combat.

Ismail's most notable ability is that he is able to construct siege engines, including the Huihui Pao, which is required to complete the scenario. He can also construct other siege engines once the Improved Siege Engineering technology is researched:

• Huihui Pao - Cost: 250 wood, 1,000 stone, training time: 50 seconds
• Counterweight Trebuchet - Cost: 300 wood, 600 gold, training time: 50 seconds
• Mangonel - Cost: 250 wood, 500 gold, training time: 45 seconds
• Springald - Cost: 200 wood, 200 gold, training time: 30 seconds

Campaign appearances

The Mongol Empire

• The Fall of Xiangyang: Ismail must assist Liu Zheng in besieging the twin cities of Fancheng and Xiangyang by constructing the mighty Huihui Pao siege engines. He also assists in the siege by scouting out the enemy defenses with his Imperial Eagle and directing the Yuan infantry to repair the bridges to the twin cities.

History

Ismail (Arabic: إسماعيل; Chinese: 亦思馬因 Yisimayin) was a Muslim siege expert from the Illkhanate who was sent by Ilkhan Abaqa, cousin of Kublai Khan, to serve in the Yuan army during the conquest of the Southern Song dynasty. He, along with other engineers from the Middle East, such as the Persian Al al-Din, helped design and operate the Counterweight Trebuchets used by the Mongols to great effect during the campaign. As a result, the siege engines became known as Huihui Pao (回回炮), or "Muslim Trebuchets" in Chinese. In-game, Ismail can construct both the Huihui Pao and the generic Counterweight Trebuchet (normally not available to the Mongols), despite both names historically referring to the same engine.

Gallery

Ismail and the Yuan soldiers celebrating at The Fall of Xiangyang.

Ismail in the Mongol camp, from the same scenario.