The Saracens are a civilization in Age of Empires: The Age of Kings. They represent the Islamic world, primarily of North Africa and central Western Asia, such as the medieval Egyptians, Turks, Arabs and Khwarazmian Empire.
Overview[]
The Saracens are very similar to the other civilizations. The Saracens are probably most notable for their playstyle that involves camel cavalry over horses. Camels are nearly identical to horse cavalry, but their powerful "Scare horses" ability means they are normally able to work as anti-horse cavalry units. Camels also receive a substantial bonus when fighting on desert terrain, so the Saracens benefit from desert maps such as Arabia or Oasis. The unique unit of the Saracens is the Mameluke, which is essentially just an improvement over other camels with no additional special abilities, but they are still great units by virtue of their highly dependable stats and ability to defeat late-game Paladins. Saracen Castles are very balanced, since they can train a strong cavalry (Mamelukes), and like all civilizations, they can also train a strong infantry (Two-Handed Swordsmen) and a strong siege unit (Trebuchets). Mamelukes being unique means that the player is not at risk of losing the unit to Monk conversion if they send them on a raiding mission deep in enemy territory.
Saladin is the Saracen hero, and he has some decent special abilities for boosting offensive abilities or the economy. He is also a camel cavalry hero, which means in the first age, he can help defeat Scout Cavalry, who regularly dominate the battlefield. Saladin can also fill the role of camel cavalry for the civilization until Mamelukes and camels become available in the Castle Age.
The Saracens are the second most featured civilization in a campaign, with 9 appearances as enemies and 6 times where the player plays as them. The Saracens are present in two of the bonus historical scenarios.
Features[]
- Unique unit: Mamelukes (Heavy Camel Cavalry)
- Hero: Saladin
- Economy bonus: Mining
Hero powers[]
- Benefactor- Adds 100 gold to the player. This skill is only usable when the hero is standing on a town center.
- Rain of Arrows- Friendly ranged (archer) units in sight gain +33% attack.
- Aura of Invincibility- Friendly units in sight gain +33% defence.
- Hit and Run- Adjacent friendly units gain +2 movement and +25% attack
Discounts[]
- Stables
- Market
- Horse archers
- Onagers
- Bombard cannons
- Light Cavalry
- Camels- Heavy camels (not mentioned in the game set up menu)
Premiums[]
- Knight - Cavalier
- Paladin
- Longswordsmen - Two handed swordsmen
- Champions
In-game dialogue[]
In-game, Saracen units speak Arabic, which is identical to what is used in Age of Empires II.
 Age of Empires: The Age of Kings | |
|---|---|
| Gameplay elements | Building · Unit · Terrain · Map object · Technology tree |
| Civilizations |  Britons ·  Franks ·  Japanese ·  Mongols ·  Saracens |
| Unit types | Infantry · Archer · Cavalry · Siege · Unique · Mercenary · Hero · Non-combatant |
| Campaigns | Joan of Arc · Minamoto Yoshitsune · Genghis Khan · Saladin · Richard the Lionheart |
| Categories | Images |