Emerging from inner Persia, the House of Sasan toppled feeble Parthia, establishing a dynasty capable of challenging their Roman neighbors to the west. Even after the Muslim conquest, the Sasanian legacy lived on in the structure of the medieval Persian states. Stun your enemies with a stampede of mahouted War Elephants and hails of arrows thick enough to blot out the sun while your Savaran ride them down, or field an army of gunpowder units worthy of the great Safavid Empire. Nothing is beyond your grasp!
The Persians are based on the large number of Persian dynasties that existed throughout the Middle Ages. Although their design and description were largely inspired by the Sasanian Empire, they are supposed to represent all Persian factions that existed during the Middle Ages.
They were best known for their rivalry with the Roman Empire and gradual adoption of Islam following the Arab invasions. They would grow to become a major hub and center of the Islamic world, contributing much to Islamic art and culture. Like their predecessor in the original game, the Persians specialize in cavalry and navy.
Since BC, the region of Persia has been known as the place where various large empires like Parthia and Sassanid once stood. In addition, the region of Persia was also part of international trade routes between India, Far East, and the Middle East. This is reflected by two of their bonuses: They start the game with more food and wood, and their Town Centers possess higher HP and working speed. To ensure the safety of traveling ships in the Persian Gulf, the ruling empires stationed their military (including naval vessels) in the region. Therefore, Persian Docks also possess higher HP and work faster.
The Persians were known to employ powerful armored cavalry on the battlefield. This is reflected by their virtually complete Stable. The borders of the Sassanian Empire were often raided by various nomadic tribesmen; by Arabs to the south and by Central Asians to the north and east. Using neighboring vassal states (e.g. the Lakhmid Kingdom of Arab) as a buffer zone was one of the methods used by the Sassanian to stop these raids. To reflect this, the Persians have a team bonus which increases the attack of their Knights against archers.
During the Sassanian, Ghaznavid, and Timurid era, war elephants were part of the Persian military force. This is reflected by their unique unit, the War Elephant. The riders of elephants were known as Mahouts, and this name is used as one of the Persians unique technologies, which increases the War Elephants' movement speed. The Sassanian Empire was also known to build complex fortification lines along their borders. Thus, their other unique technology, Boiling Oil, provides Castles with additional attack against rams.
The Persians were also known to employ archers on the battlefield. This is reflected by their newest unique technology, Kamandaran, which removes the Gold cost from Archer-line units.
The Persians are a cavalry civilization. They are in fact the only civilization to have access to the complete cavalry technology tree including the Blacksmith upgrades (bar the Battle Elephant as it is a semi-unique unit to the Southeast Asian civilizations). This also benefits their unique unit, the War Elephant. Their infantry and archer units are not very prominent as important upgrades such as Bracer, Two-Handed Swordsman, and Arbalester are missing. Still, the Persians can utilize fully upgraded Hand Cannoneers and Halberdiers. They also have access to a large variety of siege weapons, but they lack Siege Engineers. Their navy is overall strong, but the lack of Shipwright can be unfavorable in longer games, and the lack of Bracer hurts their Galleons as well. Their Monks are among the weakest of all civilizations, especially the lack of Heresy is unfortunate as the Persians rely on expensive units that are prone to conversion (Paladin, War Elephant). The defensive structures are also weak for the Persians as they cannot even upgrade their Stone Walls. Still, their Castles get all upgrades and the additional Boiling Oil. Their economy is simply excellent; they get all economy technologies as well as a head start with the additional resources given at the game start that is further bolstered by their faster working Town Centers.
The Persians have no campaign devoted to their civilization (apart for their stage Bukhara in Battles of the Forgotten) but still make appearances in various campaigns. They appear in the following campaign scenarios:
When playing a random map game against the computer, the player may encounter any of the following Persian AI characters:
Ala ad-Din Muhammad II (علاءالدین محمد خوارزمشاه): was the Shah of the Khwarezmian Empire from 1200 to 1220. His ancestor was a Turkic slave who eventually became a viceroy of a small province named Khwarizm. He is perhaps best known for inciting the Mongol invasion of Khwarezmia, which resulted in the utter destruction of his empire.
Emp. Hormizd (هرمز چهارم): A name of rulers of the Sasanian Empire, in early Age of Empires II era Hormizd III/Hormizd IV/Hormizd V/Hormizd VI.
Emp. Kavadh (قباد): A name of rulers of the Sasanian Empire, Kavadh I/Kavadh II.
Emp. Yazdgerd (یزدگرد): A name of kings of the Sasanian Empire, Yazdegerd I/Yazdegerd II/Yazdegerd III.
Ismail Samani: (اسماعیل سامانی) was the Samanidamir of Transoxiana (892–907) and Khorasan (900–907). His reign saw the emergence of the Samanids as a powerful force.
King Bahram (بهرام): A name of rulers of the Sasanian Empire, in early Age of Empires II era Bahram V/Bahram VI Chobin.
King Chosroes II (خسرو پرویز): The last great king of the Sasanian Empire, reigning from 590 to 628.
Malik Nasir (الناصر يوسف): was the Ayyubid Emir of Syria from his seat in Aleppo (1236–1260) and the Sultan of the Kurdish Ayyubid Empire from 1250 until the sack of Aleppo by the Mongols in 1260.
Mahmud Ghaznavi (محمود غزنوی): was the first independent ruler of the Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 999 to 1030. At the time of his death, his kingdom had been transformed into an extensive military empire, which extended from northwestern Iran proper to the Punjab in the Indian subcontinent, Khwarazm in Transoxiana, and Makran.
Mohammad Shah (محمد شاه): In the Age of Empires II era the last Seljuq amir of Kerman, from 1183 until 1186.
Mondhir (ٱلْمُنْذِر): Munzir ibn Sawa Al Tamimi, the governor of the Persian Sasanian Empire in some parts of the Southern Persian Gulf.
Muhammad Ghori (محمد غوری):was the Sultan of the Ghurid Empire along with his brother Ghiyath ad-Din Muhammad from 1173 to 1202 and as the sole ruler from 1202 to 1206.
Shah Rukh (شاهرخ): Shahrukh Mirza, son of Tamerlane was the Timurid ruler of the eastern portion of the empire established by his father.
Shah Takash (تكش): Ala ad-Din Tekish, the Shah of Khwarezmian Empire from 1172 to 1200.
Shapur the Great (شاپور دوم بزرگ): was the second Sasanian King of Kings of Iran. The dating of his reign is disputed, but it is generally agreed that he ruled from 240 to 270, with his father Ardashir I as co-regent till the death of the latter in 242.
Yakub (يعقوب): Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar, a Persian coppersmith, was the founder of the Saffarid dynasty of Sistan.
The Persian Empire had existed for many centuries when the Middle Ages began. It had been reassembled following the conquest by Alexander in the fourth century BC and the subsequent breakup of his empire in later centuries. The Persians had been fighting the Romans since the third century AD.
The Persian Empire stretched from Mesopotamia to India and from the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf, encompassing the modern nations of Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan. They fought the Romans, and later the Byzantines, for control of modern Syria, Turkey, Palestine, Israel, Egypt, and Arabia. The capital of the Persian Empire was Ctesiphon, called Baghdad today.
During the third and fourth centuries, the Romans made several attempts to subdue the Persians. In 364 a peace treaty was signed between the two that allowed the Persians to consolidate their power to the east and north. Beginning with the sixth century, the Persians began attacking the Byzantine Empire in Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and modern Turkey. The war between the two powers went back and forth. In 626 the Persians besieged Byzantium itself without success, and the Byzantines were able to invade Persia the following year. Peace was made between the two exhausted empires in 628.
The Persians were unprepared for the fury of the Islamic Arabs in the seventh century. The Sassanid dynasty of Persia ended in battle in 636. The Persians did not have a capital with defenses comparable to those of Constantinople. Muslim conquest of Persia was complete by 651.[1]
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The Age of Kings
The Conquerors
The Forgotten
The African Kingdoms
Rise of the Rajas
The Last Khans