The Savar (Savaran before the Definitive Edition) is a cavalry hero featured in the Bukhara campaign scenario in Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten. There, they can be bought (10 for 1,500 gold) by clicking on the main Pavilion. Savars are also available in the Scenario Editor.
In The Forgotten, Savars have the appearance of Cataphracts, while in the Definitive Edition they have their own unique sprite. Besides having higher attack and hit points than Cataphracts, they also benefit from cavalry technologies. As heroes, they also cannot be converted and can regenerate health.
History[edit | edit source]
The Sasanian Empire, which lasted from 224 AD to 651 AD, had a feudal system with caste-like social classes. The azadān, or high rank noblemen, formed the backbone of Sasanian Persian armies fighting as heavy, versatile cavalry units, the Savaran or Aswarān ("horsemen", singular Aswar/Savar). This aristocratic feudal cavalry would answer to the highest-ranking lords of the empire (wuzurgān, or "magnates") or directly to the Shahanshah. The use of the Cataphract design in-game is reflected historically as Aswarān were usually refered as such by their Roman enemies. From direct frontline attacks to suppressing fire, always as well armored cavalry units, Savaran were trained all their life as noble combatants, and were skilled in one-on-one combat with swords, axes, and maces, were unrivaled archers and all members of the Aswarān mounted atop heavy horses with leather, bronze or iron barding, and wore mail armor, usually reinforced with lamellar. As a feudal elite dedicated to mounted combat, great feats and court life, it is assumed that Aswarān were precursors of the medieval Knights in Western and Central Europe in the Middle Ages, and later warriors in West Asia such as the Faris and Mamluks.
