The Phoenicians are a playable civilization in Age of Empires. They are primarily an offensive civilization.
The Phoenicians are excellent in all areas of combat, especially at sea, but lack elite siege units, making them ineffective when combating heavily fortified areas on land, but their cheap Elephant Units can make up for it if used properly.
They are best used on water maps due to their many naval bonuses, such as fast firing Catapult Triremes, and increased woodcutting speed.
Historically, the Phoenician culture put high emphasis on naval exploration, expansion, and trading among the Mediterranean sea, as well at warfare during the Carthaginian era. To reflect this, their woodcutters work faster and their Catapult Triremes fire faster. When they reached North Africa, they tamed some African Elephants which were highly used during the Punic wars at a later time, which is represented in their cheaper Elephant units.
Historically, they had impressive cultural advance, being known for their excellent shipworking skills, and they are credited along with the ancient Syrian city state of Ugarit, to be the first creators of human alphabet. They also had many relations with the Greek, as evidence of trade between the Canaanites (early Phoenicians), Egypt, Cyprus, and Greece has been discovered, as well as the fact that the Phoenician phonetic alphabet was adopted and modified by the Greeks probably at the 8th century BC.[1] Their art was largely inspired by the Greeks, however historically their architecture, and culture (to an extent) was inspired by the Egyptians due to their relationship, and trade networks with the Egyptians.
The Carthaginian civilization introduced in The Rise of Rome originated as a Phoenician colony (hence the word "Punic", the name Romans gave to the Carthaginians). It is evident from the original game's AI player names and the Phoenicians' Elephant units bonus that the Phoenicians were originally intended to include the Carthaginians, because war elephants were used extensively by Carthage but not in ancient Phoenicia.
The Phoenicians are the only Mediterrranean civilization that have access to Elephant units and Legion, but the only one that lack access to elite siege weapons.
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Age of Empires
The Rise of Rome