| “ | Relive the conquests of Alexander the Great at the head of an army of disciplined infantry and powerful siege engines, building a vast empire stretching from Greece to India. | ” |
| —Description[1] | ||
Macedonians are a playable civilization introduced in Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome. They are based on the inhabitants of the kingdom of Macedonia, who were a major power in ancient times, and had conquered the Greek city-states, Persia, Egypt, and Northwestern India under Alexander the Great. The in-game Macedonians represent the successor states of the Macedonian empire founded by Alexander's generals, better known as the "Diadochi", such as the Antigonids, Epirus, Ptolemaics, and Seleucids.
Characteristics[]
Civilization bonuses[]
- All non-ranged units have +2 line of sight.
- Academy units have +1 pierce armor in the Bronze Age, +2 in the Iron Age.
- Siege Workshop units cost -25%.
- All units are 4 times more resistant to conversion.
Team bonus[]
- Houses have +50 hit points.
Missing technologies[]
Missing units[]
- Long Swordsman, Chariot Archer, Elephant Archer, Chariot, Camel Rider, Heavy Catapult, Helepolis, Juggernaut, Fire Galley, Priest*
Overview[]
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They are primarily an aggressive civilization due to their variety of bonuses for elite units. Like the Persians, the Macedonians lack economic upgrades found in the Market and are slow in the beginning of the game, making them unreliable in games with low resources, although with a reduction in costs for siege units they can produce cheaper sieges.
A notable downside is their inability to construct Temples and train Priests, but that is made up for all their units being 4 times more resistant to conversion than those of other civilizations.
Changelog[]
The Rise of Rome[]
- Siege Workshop units cost -50%.
- Wheel and Catapult is not available.
- Academy units have +2 pierce armor in all ages.
Definitive Edition[]
- Siege Workshop units cost changed to -25%.
- Wheel and Catapult is available.
- Academy units have +1 pierce armor in the Bronze Age and +2 pierce armor in the Iron Age.
Return of Rome[]
- Team bonus added: upon release, Houses had +25 hit points. With update 99311, Houses have +50 hit points.
Campaign appearances[]
The Third Macedonian War (Third Greek War before the Definitive Edition) scenario is played as the Macedonians.
In Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Return of Rome, they receive a new campaign, Pyrrhus of Epirus.
The Macedonians appear as AI players in:
The Rise of Rome[]
- 2. Pyrrhus of Epirus
- Army of Pyrrhus - Enemy
- 3. The Siege of Syracuse
- Syracuse - Enemy
- 6. Mithridates
- Macedonia - Enemy
- Macedonia - Enemy (Before the Definitive Edition)
Imperium Romanum[]
- 2. Year of the Four Emperors
- Otho - Enemy (Before the Definitive Edition)
Trajan[]
- 2. Roman Repute
- Dacian Villages - Ally
- Dacian Army - Enemy
- Decebalus - Enemy
- 3. Heads Will Roll
- Dacian Villages - Ally
- Dacian Army - Enemy
- Decebalus - Enemy
Pyrrhus of Epirus[]
This campaign is played as the Macedonians.
- 1. A Second Alexander
- Lysimachus - Enemy
- 2. The Many Kings of Macedon
- Epirus - Ally
- Lysimachus - Neutral → Enemy or Ally
- Neoptolemus - Enemy → Ally → Enemy
- Demetrius - Enemy
AI player names[]
When playing a random map game against the computer, the player may encounter any of the following Macedonian AI characters.
- Pyrrhus (Πύρρος) - King of Epirus (306-302; 297-272 BC) and Macedon (288-285; 274-272 BC)
- Agathocles (Ἀγαθοκλῆς) - Tyrant of Syracuse 317-289 BC and King of Sicily 304-289 BC
- Timoleon (Τιμολέων) - Greek statesman and ruler of Syracuse, lived c. 411-337 BC
- Hiero (ἱερόν) - Tyrant of Syracuse 478-467 BC (Hiero I); 270-215 BC (Hiero II)
- Perseus (Περσεύς) - Mythological Greek Hero and founder of Mycenae; last king of Macedon 179-168 BC
- Andriscus (Ἀνδρίσκος) - Last king of Macedon 149-148 BC (between Perseus and Andriscus was a period of Roman rule)
- Antiochus (Ἀντίοχος) - Name of 13 kings of the Seleucid Empire, most notably Antiochus III the Great, Seleucid king 222-187 BC
- Philopoemon (Φιλοποίμην) - Greek statesman and Achaean general (strategos), lived 253-183 BC
- Hippocrates (Ἱπποκράτης) - Greek physisian and 'Father of Western Medicine', lived c. 460-370 BC
History[]
- Main article: /History
Trivia[]
- The civilization's icon introduced in Return of Rome portrays the Star of Vergina, which was possibly the symbol of the Argead dynasty that Alexander the Great belonged to, and one was found on his father Philip II's tomb.
- The user interface image in Return of Rome depicts a Medusa, which was a popular figure in ancient Greece artworks, especially in Alexander's Macedon, being emblazoned on his cuirass.
- Although the civilization is based on the kingdom of Macedonia, only 4 AI player names actually represent leaders from there, while the rest of the AI names represent leaders from Syracuse and some from Greece lands.
- Notably, Alexander the Great himself is absent from this list, as in-game he is represented in the Greeks civilization rather than among the Macedonians.
- Although the Macedonians include many Greeks, they have the Roman architectural style instead of the Greek.
- The Macedonian playstyle focuses around slow but heavily armored units with high resistance against conversion, which is comparable to the Teutons from Age of Empires II which play in a similar way.
- The inability to build and use Temples as the Macedonians is similar to the Native Americans lacking Stables in Age of Empires II.
Gallery[]
References[]
| Civilizations in Age of Empires categorised by architecture set | |
|---|---|
| East Asian architecture |  Choson ·  Lac Viet ·  Shang ·  Yamato |
| Egyptian architecture |  Assyrians ·  Egyptians ·  Hittites |
| Greek architecture |  Greeks ·  Minoans ·  Phoenicians |
| Mesopotamian architecture |  Babylonians ·  Persians ·  Sumerians |
| Roman architecture |  Carthaginians ·  Macedonians ·  Palmyrans ·  Romans |