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Khitans

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Civilization Technology tree Strategy

“ Relive the glory of the Liao dynasty and Kara-Khitai, terrorizing your enemies with mobile hordes and diabolical weapons. The Khitan unique units are the Liao Dao, an infantryman whose lethal sword slashes cause lasting damage, and the Mounted Trebuchet, a powerful siege engine carried around by camels. Additionally, instead of farming, the Khitans gather food from Pastures, which can be tended by two Villagers instead of just one. ”
—In-game description

The Khitans are an East Asian civilization introduced in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - The Three Kingdoms. They are based on Liao dynasty and Kara Khitai, ancestors of the Daur people, but also on the Tanguts (as seen in their Castle model and Mounted Trebuchet unique unit).

Characteristics[]

Unique units[]

Unique building[]

Pasture: Replaces the Farm

Unique technologies[]

  • Lamellar Armor: Infantry and skirmishers reflect 25% melee damage back to the attacker.
  • Ordo Cavalry: Melee cavalry regenerates 150% hit points per minute in combat.

Pasture technologies[]

Note: These technologies replace the Farm technologies at the Mill.

Civilization bonuses[]

Team bonus[]

Infantry units +2 attack vs ranged soldiers

Overview[]

This section is most likely incomplete and may need expansion. You can help by adding to it.

Campaign appearances[]

The Khitans have no campaign of their own. They appear as AI players in the following scenarios:

Genghis Khan[]

Victors and Vanquished[]

In-game dialogue language[]

Khitan units use the same language as those of the Mongols and Huns. The choice of Mongol voice lines was mainly because the Khitan language is an extinct language similar to the Mongol language. A more accurate choice to represent the Khitan language might be the Mongolic Daur language, spoken by alleged descendants of the Khitans.

Note: The Mongol script is written vertically and from left to right (see here for an example), so the one shown here has to be rotated clockwise by 90°; further, it might not be visualized well in the browser
Villager
Military
Monk
King

AI player names[]

  • Abaoji (阿保机/阿保機): Founder of the Liao dynasty.
  • Yelu Yaogu (耶律遥古): Second son of Abaoji, and second emperor of the Liao dynasty.
  • Yelu Jing (耶律璟): The fourth emperor of the Liao dynasty. Son of Yaogu.
  • Yelu Xian (耶律贤/耶律賢): The fifth emperor of the Liao dynasty, the great grandson of Abaoji.
  • Wenshunu (文殊奴): Also known as Yelu Longxu (耶律隆绪), sixth emperor of the Liao dynasty.
  • Zhigu (知古): A politician of the Liao Dynasty who made significant contributions to the establishment of the Liao dynasty's political system.
  • Chala (查剌): Also known as Yelu Hongji (耶律洪基), eighth emperor of the Liao dynasty.
  • Yelu Yanxi (耶律延禧): The last emperor of the Liao dynasty before its westward migration.
  • Yelu Dashi (耶律大石): Founder of Qara Khitai (Western Liao dynasty) who led Khitan refugees from the destroyed Liao dynasty to Transoxiana. He later defeated the Seljuks in the Battle of Qatwan to gain a foothold in Central Asia.
  • Xiao Tabuyan (萧塔不烟/蕭塔不煙): Empress of the Qara Khitai by marriage to her cousin Yelu Dashi. She took control of Qara Khitai after Yelu Dashi's death.
  • Yelu Yilie (耶律夷列): Son of Yelu Dashi, second emperor of the Qara Khitai.
  • Yelu Pusuwan (耶律普速完): Yelu Yilie's younger sister, fourth ruler of Qara Khitai.
  • Yelu Zhilugu (耶律直鲁古/耶律直魯古): Yelu Yilie's second son, the third emperor of the Qara Khitai, and the last emperor of the Yelu family.
  • Kushluk (屈出律): A Naiman prince and rival of Genghis Khan who fled Mongolia, and later usurped the throne of the Qara Khitan dynasty.

History[]

“ The Khitans were a pastoral, nomadic people that lived on the eastern side of the Khingan Mountains between Mongolia and northeast China. Heavily dependent on herding cattle and horses, the Khitan economy was intrinsically tied to their pastoral lifestyle. The Khitans ability to effectively breed horses in the steppes would prove an essential aspect of their establishment of the Liao Dynasty (907-1125 CE), as their excellent cavalry gave them an advantage on the battlefield against their enemies. Their main armies were composed of ordo cavalry: heavily armored soldiers who fought with a lance, bow, sword, and mace. Each ordo soldier was provided a forager and an orderly, both of whom supported the elite ordo member and fought in battle. The Liao also slowly started to take advantage of gunpowder technology, which they adopted from the Chinese.

The Liao dynasty was founded by Abaoji Yelü, a brilliant military leader who took advantage of the declining Chinese Tang dynasty to seize territory to the south, including modern-day Beijing. Instead of simply plundering these territories, Khagan ('Great Khan') Abaoji intended to rule them: he famously established a two-part government with two capitals to control both his southern Chinese territories and the northern Khitan lands. Notably, Abaoji synthesized traditional Khitan identity with Chinese institutions and practices. The Khitan people met this move with significant resistance, but it was overwhelmingly effective for controlling both the Khitans and their Chinese subjects. The Khitans also created a written script based on Chinese characters, which proved essential in the administration of an empire.

Despite initially practicing a shamanistic religion, the Khitans also adopted Buddhism. They built many beautiful pagodas throughout their kingdom, many of which still stand today: one famous example is the Yingxian Pagoda, the oldest and tallest multi-story wooden structure in the world.

Khitan society produced some exceptional women leaders. After Abaoji's death in 926 CE, custom dictated that his widow should be buried in the imperial tomb with him. The empress dowager, Yingtian, famously said: 'I am not unwilling to follow the deceased emperor underground. But my sons are young and the country has no ruler. I cannot go.' Instead, Yingtian cut off her hand, which was buried with Abaoji. She went on to rule as a successful regent for the next two decades before losing power to her grandson.

After the rise of the Song dynasty in 960 CE, the Khitans maintained their hold on Chinese territories through military prowess, forcing the Chinese to sue for peace in 1004 CE. The Chinese paid for the peace in silk and silver, but they eventually grew tired of this relationship with the Liao dynasty. In the north, another group also rose up against the Liao: the Jurchens. Led by the defiant Wanyan Aguda, the Jurchen armies conquered Manchuria and formed an alliance with the Song dynasty around 1120 CE. Five years later, this pact bore fruit when the Liao dynasty finally fell. However, this was not the final end of the Liao: a small group of royals and their followers moved west to establish the Western Liao dynasty (Kara-Khitai), which lasted for nearly a century (1120-1218 CE). 		”
—In-game history section

Trivia[]

  • The Khitans' civilization icon seems to be based on the Vermilion Bird.
  • The user interface emblem is based on the Liao dragon crown.
  • The Khitans are the only Steppe Lancer civilization that lacks Bloodlines. They are also the second civilization to have access to Heavy Cavalry Archers and Parthian Tactics without Bloodlines (the first being the Japanese in The Conquerors) and the first civilization in the Definitive Edition to have this technology tree setup.
  • The Khitans are the only civilization whose Scout Cavalry bonuses do not translate to their Steppe Lancer or Cavalry Archer. In this case, the Khitan Scout Cavalry line is trained and upgraded +25% faster and their Heavy Cavalry Archer upgrade is available an Age earlier and at 50% discount, whereas the Steppe Lancer line does not have any bonuses. Furthermore, Ordo Cavalry affects the Scout Cavalry and Steppe Lancer lines, but not the Cavalry Archer line.
  • The Khitans practically have a full Blacksmith. They are the first civilization since the Portuguese in The African Kingdoms to have this trait.
  • The Khitan civilization incorporates elements of the Tanguts, like their unique siege unit (based on the Boxi (泼喜, 潑喜) regiment, where soldiers utilized camels equipped with miniature catapults or long staff slings on their backs) and their Castle design (based on the fortifications of the Xi Xia city of Khara-Khoto). This has been met with controversy, since the Khitans and Tanguts have very distinctive languages and culture: the former is closely associated with the Mongols, while the latter is sometimes associated with Tibetans.
    • Historically, the Tanguts were often allied to the Khitans. Since the establishment of Xi Xia relied on the help of Wenshunu, the Xi Xia became a vassal state of the Khitans. When the Liao dynasty collapsed to the Jurchens, some of the Khitan who migrated to Central Asia established the Qara Khitai, and the Tanguts took in some of the refugees.
  • Like the Mongol civilization theme music, the Khitan theme utilizes the khel khuur (xomus) alongside some vocalisation and shigshuur (Shaman's rattle).
  • They are the only civilization introduced in The Three Kingdoms which have access to camel units and the only one with access to Cannon Galleons instead of Lou Chuans.
  • The Khitans are one of five civilizations that have access to a generic unit earlier than other civilizations, the others being the Burgundians, Cumans, Armenians, and Bohemians (Cavalier, Battering/Capped Ram, generic infantry except for the Man-at-Arms, and Hand Cannoneer, respectively).
  • The Jurchens and Khitans share similarities in both gameplay and themes. Historically, both were equestrian peoples based in northern China that formed their own "conquest dynasties" with the Jin and Liao Dynasty respectively. These often fought against each other and the Song dynasty, and were eventually conquered by the Mongols. Both peoples were also seen as "steppe nomad" civilizations by the Chinese (although the Jurchens were more sedentary farmers). In-game, both civilizations have economic bonuses related to livestock (shepherds and herders generating 10% more food and Pastures for the Khitans, meat not decaying for the Jurchens), have bonuses and unique technologies that affect their Steppe Lancers, Cavalry Archers, and Light Cavalry (mounted units attacking 20% faster for the Jurchens; access to Heavy Cavalry Archer upgrade an Age early and Ordo Cavalry for Steppe Lancers and light cavalry for the Khitans), have very potent siege weapons (Mounted Trebuchet for the Khitans; Siege Engineers available in the Castle Age, siege technologies costing less wood, and units taking less friendly fire damage for the Jurchens) and have access to regional gunpowder units (i.e. the Fire Lancer and Rocket Cart) to reflect their adoption of gunpowder from the Chinese. Both have average-to-subpar Monks. The only significant difference is that the Jurchens have better defenses, but lackluster infantry, whereas the Khitans are the opposite.
    • The Khitans are also tied with Jurchens as the civilizations with access to the most lines of regional units, with four unit lines each: the Khitans have the Camel Rider line, the Steppe Lancer line, the Fire Lancer line, and the Rocket Cart line. The Jurchens do not have Camel Riders, but have access to the Lou Chuan instead.

Gallery[]

Notes[]

  1. ↑ This bonus has three implications:
    • Shepherds and Herders work 10% faster.
    • Herdable animals and Pastures have +10% food.
    • Shepherds and Herders have +10% carry capacity.
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