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This article is about the civilization in Age of Empires. For the civilization in Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings, see Persians (Age of Empires II).
Civilization Technology tree Strategy History

ā€œThrow off the Median yoke, conquer Babylon, and build a diverse empire stretching from India and Egypt to Thrace. Powerful elephants will trample anything that stands in your way!ā€
—Description[1]

The Persians are a playable civilization in Age of Empires that comes with powerful aggressive units to reflect their rapid expansion of their empire under Cyrus the Great. They are based on the Achaemenid Empire.

The Persians re-appear in Age of Empires II.

Characteristics[]

Civilization bonuses[]

Team bonus[]

Stables work 20% faster.

Missing technologies[]

Academy, Ballista Tower, Craftsmanship, Siegecraft, Irrigation, City Watch, Aristocracy

Missing units[]

Chariot Archer, Chariot, Heavy Catapult, Ballista, Fire Galley

Overview[]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it.

Changelog[]

ReturnRome-AoEIcon Age of Empires[]

RomeIcon The Rise of Rome[]

  • Farming penalty eliminated.

Age of Empires Definitive Edition icon Definitive Edition[]

  • Hunters work 30% faster and carry +3 food.
  • War Elephants and Elephant Archers move 20% faster. With update 38862, War Elephants and Elephant Archers move 25% faster.
  • Triremes fire 33% faster (but stated 25%).
  • Artisanship, Wheel, and Coinage are available.
  • With update 38862, Plow is available.

AoE2Icon-ReturnRome Return of Rome[]

  • Team bonus added.
  • Walls cost -20%.
  • The Trireme firing rate bonus is extended: the Scout Ship line fires 18%/25%/33% faster in the Tool/Bronze/Iron Age.
  • Ballistics is available.

Campaign appearances[]

The Persians appear as AI players in:

NuRoR hoplite idle Glory of Greece[]

NuRoR priest idle Voices of Babylon[]

  • 2. The Tigris Valley
    • Ebla Raiders - Enemy (since the Definitive Edition)
  • 5. The Great Hunt (original)
    • Elam - Enemy
  • 5. The Great Hunt (since the Definitive Edition)
    • Susa - Enemy
    • Elamites - Neutral
  • 5. The Great Hunt (since Return of Rome)
    • Susa - Enemy
    • Elamites - Enemy
    • Elamites - Enemy
  • 6. The Caravan
    • Elamites - Enemy (since the Definitive Edition)
    • Elamites - Enemy

Reign of the Hittites[]

The Rise of Rome[]

  • 6. Mithridates
    • Artaxiad Armenia - Enemy (since the Definitive Edition)

Imperium Romanum[]

Enemies of Rome[]

RoR Sargon of Akkad Sargon of Akkad[]

RoR Trajan Trajan[]

RoR Pyrrhus of Epirus Pyrrhus of Epirus[]

AI player names[]

Names shown in italics are only used in the original game, names shown in bold are used in both the original game and its expansions.

  • Cyrus (š‚šŽ¢šŽ½šŽæšƒ; Ś©ŁˆŲ±ŁˆŲ“) - Cyrus I, king of Anshan c. 600-580 BC
  • Darius (šŽ­šŽ šŽ¼šŽ¹šŽŗšŽ¢š) - Darius (I) the Great, king of Persia 522-486 BC
  • Cyrus II (šŽ¤šŽ¢šŽ½šŽ¢š) - Cyrus the Great, king of Persia 559-530 BC
  • Darius II (šŽ­šŽ šŽ¼šŽ¹šŽŗšŽ¢š) - King of Persia 423-405 BC
  • Xerxes (šŽ§ššŽ¹šŽ šŽ¼ššŽ ; Ų®Ų“Ų§ŪŒŲ§Ų± Ų“Ų§Ł‡) - King of Persia 486-465 BC
  • Xerxes II (šŽ§ššŽ¹šŽ šŽ¼ššŽ ) - King of Persia 424 BC
  • Cyrus III - Did not exist in Persia
  • Cambyses (šŽ£šŽ²šŽ¢šŽŖšŽ”šŽ¹; Ś©Ų§Ł…ŲØŪŒŲ²) - King of Anshan 580-559 BC (Cambyses I); King of Persia 530-522 BC (II)
  • Datis (ŲÆŲ§ŲŖŪŒŲ³) - Median admiral under Darius I, leader of Persian forces during the Persian Wars
  • Bessus - King of Persia 330-329 BC
  • Mardonius (šŽ¶šŽ¼šŽÆšŽ¢šŽ“šŽ”šŽ¹; Ł…Ų±ŲÆŁˆŁ†ŪŒŁˆŲ³) - Persian military commander during the Persian Wars, lived ?-479 BC, died in Battle of Plataea
  • Spitamenes - Sogdian warlord, leader of the Sogdian and Bactrian uprising against Alexander the Great, lived 370-328 BC
  • Artaphernes - Brother of Darius I and satrap of Sardis; His son, also Arthaphernes, was military commander under Darius I, leader of Persian forces during the Persian Wars

History[]

Main article: /History
ā€œ700 to 332 BC

The Persians were unlikely empire builders but in a relatively short span of years they conquered most of the Near and Middle East. They benefited from the leadership of a series of strong kings in succession and by a lack of competent leaders among their neighbors. They expanded very quickly, wobbled for a few hundred years under internal and external pressures, and then collapsed suddenly and utterly.

Despite their accomplishments and the breadth of their influence, our knowledge of the Persians is surprisingly limited. Very few Persian records have survived and many of these are written in Elamite, a language we understand poorly today. There is nothing to compare with surviving records of the Egyptians, Greeks, Hittites, and others. Historians rely heavily on what neighbors wrote about the Persians, such as Herodotus who traveled widely within their empire during its peak. Archaeology has revealed that while the empire was certainly in decline prior to Alexander's conquest, it was once well-governed, efficient, and no fluke of history.
ā€
—Excerpt from the Age of Empires manual

Trivia[]

  • The civilization crest (icon) introduced in Return of Rome portrays the royal standard of the Achaemenid Empire, Shahbaz, which means the Royal Falcon. The standard is shown on top of a type of common Persian shield shape, usually made of wicker and reed. Such shields were also found among Assyrians and Cypriots, as well as among the Mycenean Greeks where it was called the Dipylon shield or Boeotian shield.
  • The UI emblem artwork depicts the Faravahar, a major symbol of Zoroastrianism, an ancient Iranian religion beginning around 15th Century BC and declining after the Arab conquest of Persia in 7th Century AD.

Gallery[]

References[]

Civilizations in Age of Empires categorised by architecture set
East Asian architectureChoson AOE DE ROR icon Choson Ā· Lac Viet AOE DE ROR icon Lac Viet Ā· Shang AOE DE ROR icon Shang Ā· Yamato AOE DE ROR icon Yamato
Egyptian architectureAssyrian AOE DE ROR icon Assyrians Ā· Egyptian AOE DE ROR icon Egyptians Ā· Hittite AOE DE ROR icon Hittites
Greek architectureGreek AOE DE ROR icon Greeks Ā· Minoan AOE DE ROR icon Minoans Ā· Phoenician AOE DE ROR icon Phoenicians
Mesopotamian architectureBabylonian AOE DE ROR icon Babylonians Ā· Persian AOE DE ROR icon Persians Ā· Sumerian AOE DE ROR icon Sumerians
Roman architectureCarthaginian AOE DE ROR icon Carthaginians Ā· Macedonian AOE DE ROR icon Macedonians Ā· Palmyran AOE DE ROR icon Palmyrans Ā· Roman AOE DE ROR icon Romans
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