Age of Empires Series Wiki

Feel free to comment on a page! To do this, simply scroll to the bottom at type into the box.

READ MORE

Age of Empires Series Wiki
Age of Empires Series Wiki

Scourge of the Levant is the fifth scenario of the Tamerlane campaign in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. It is based on Tamerlane's military campaign in the Levant.

Intro[]

Silence gripped the court as the narrative evoked fear and awe. The meal had been finished for some time, and the fires were beginning to die low. 'If Tamerlane turned west, he surely would have collided with the mighty Ottoman Empire. Would he even dare to do such a thing?'

For some time, the local Turkoman tribes of the Levant had been requesting aid against Ottoman aggression. With his army rested and his coffers full of Indian riches, Tamerlane was ready for more bloodshed. He knew that there was more than one way to motivate an army. Religious fervor and promises of land and plunder drove his men forward.'

This land was familiar with the terror of previous invasions, but nothing could prepare them for the onslaught that lay ahead. Thirsty for glory, Tamerlane's armies flooded across mountains, plains, and rivers to terrorize Armenia, Georgia, and the Levant.'

Scenario instructions[]

Starting conditions[]

Main objectives[]

  • Acquire 10,000 gold in plunder, tribute, or any other means.

Hints[]

  1. Tamerlane's forces can support a population of 200.
  2. You begin this scenario without any Villagers. Scout for any locals who might be willing to join your cause or, alternatively, use Monks to convert them from your enemies.
  3. Strike early while many of your adversaries are still weak and unprepared.
  4. There are only a handful of mineral deposits on the map. You can acquire additional gold by raiding trading posts, sacking enemy towns, or collecting Relics.
  5. Your enemies are heavily dependent on trade for their gold income. Harass their trade route or, better yet, shut them down entirely.

Scouts[]

  • Tamerlane's army (1, Purple) has camped in the north of the map near the Black Sea. The local fishermen will feed the army for a short time, but expanding early is imperative.
  • Directly to the southeast is Georgia (3, Red), a mere shadow of its former glory. Their ill-equipped army is no match for Tamerlane's horde.
  • The east of the map is controlled by the city of Baghdad (6, Orange), an enormously wealthy prize defended by camelry and Crossbowmen.
  • Far to the west lies the domain of Cilician Armenia (2, Blue). Their army of swordsmen and Light Cavalry is led by a core of Composite Bowmen.
  • Just east of Cilician Armenia is the city of Aleppo (4, Yellow). Aleppo's army of Spearmen and Monks should be little more than a nuisance to Tamerlane.
  • The city of Damascus (5, Cyan) lies in the southwest. Their army of camelry and Cavalry Archers may pose a threat initially, but without trade they are helpless.
  • The Mamluk Sultanate (7, Green) is your most dangerous foe. Their military base protects and supplies Damascus from the south, and they will meet Tamerlane's horde with an army of Mamelukes, Light Cavalry, and Siege Onagers.
  • Some of the local people may be sympathetic to your causeโ€”if you can locate them.

Players[]

Player[]

  • Player ( Tatars): The player will start in the northernmost part of the map, with an army and a decent amount of resources. These resources should be better spent at getting technologies and not necessarily an army, since the player will find a base soon after destroying a Georgian outpost, which will not need much army.

Enemies[]

  • Cilician Armenia ( Armenians; Byzantines before The Mountain Royals): The Armenians have their base to the west, near the city of Aleppo. Its army consists of Composite Bowmen, Swordsmen, and Light Cavalry. However, their base has no walls and can fall to a early attack.
  • Georgia ( Georgians; Persians before The Mountain Royals): The weakest opponent. Georgia defends itself with an ill-equipped army and is no match for Tamerlaneยดs army.
  • Aleppo ( Saracens): The city of Aleppo is a weak opponent, only defended by Spearmen and some Monks.
  • Damascus ( Saracens): A stronger opponent, Damascus will rely on Camel Riders and Cavalry Archers for defense. Their trade routes are vital, but can be easily intercepted, or eliminated by destroying their sole Market outside of their city.
  • Baghdad ( Saracens): Another strong opponent. Baghdad will field armies of Camel Riders, Mamelukes and Arbalesters, along with Capped Rams to attack player buildings. Baghdad will occasionally attempt to flank the player via Georgia's town location.
  • Mamluks ( Saracens): The Mamluk Sultanate is the strongest opponent, despite being smaller than Damascus and Baghdad. However, they will soon build up their army, which consists of Mamelukes, Light Cavalry, and Siege Onagers.

Strategy[]

The player starts with an army and some Fishing Ships. Send one Light Cavalry immediately to the Gaia Town Center and task the Fishing Ships to gather food. Once the Town Center is captured, use the Villagers to build an economy, but defend them well, as the enemy will instantly begin attacking the Villagers. Train a Transport Ship and send the army south, except for one Monk. Once the Transport Ship is trained, transport the Monk to the small island to the west of the dock, and transport its Relic to the Monastery. Use one Light Cavalry to find the to the mining camp with a Relic. Use the starting resources to research some technologies to benefit the army and use the later resources to replenish the army.

Raiding for gold[]

Similar to the Harbinger of Destruction scenario, the player can get resources by destroying certain buildings. Destroying a Market, Dock, Town Center or Monastery yields the player 500 gold, while Castles yield 1,000 gold and the Mosque and Wonder yield 1,500 gold. In addition, defeating an enemy gives an additional 1,000 gold. On top of this, when the player has killed 50, 100, 250, 500 or 1,000 units 200 gold is received, and similarly when the player has razed 10, 25, 50, 100 or 200 buildings 200 gold is received. Due to the size of these tributes, the player only needs to defeat a few enemies. The easiest player to start with is Georgia, due to their small base and lack of a well developed army. They can be defeated using the initial army with only minor losses, even before the player locates the Gaia Villagers.. After this, shift attention to Aleppo. Gather a bit of stone to afford a Castle, and place it to the south of the player's base next to the river. Make sure that the Castle is not attacked during its construction. The Castle provides support against the mass of Pikemen that Aleppo produces as well as destroying trade carts, and can be used to train a few Trebuchets to destroy their buildings. Combine this with the army to destroy Aleppo. Now that two enemies have been defeated, the player probably has enough gold, after using the market to win the scenario. If this is not the case, attack the north base of Cilician Armenia, as that has several valuable buildings while having little protection. Now the player should have enough resources to win after using the market.

One thing to note is that attacking any of the Trade Carts is going to draw a lot of aggression from Aleppo and Baghdad, so the player should avoid doing so until they're ready to fight a large army. Damascus is likely to attack the player while they build up, but once their Market south of the player's base is destroyed, they'll lose all of their income and eventually run out of resources with which to train units.

The player can also try to defeat all the enemies; just make sure the gold stockpile does not exceed the goal.

Defensive strategy[]

If the player finds it too overwhelming to fight the four Saracen AIs at the same, they can also adopt a defensive strategy (provided that they got the Relic near the starting base in the beginning). After taking control of the Gaia village, build a Castle right to the south of it and garrison it with 20 Heavy Cavalry Archers, which should take care of most attacks from the four Saracen AIs (be careful about enemy rams). Build a strong economy to gather as much resources as possible. By the time the player reaches around 7,000 gold (from Relics, mining and enemy units killed by the Castle), they can use the Market (research Guilds) to sell resources until they get 10,000 gold. This strategy may seem time consuming, but it is achievable in less than two in-game hours. In addition, the player can also keep one of the Markets from Georgia to trade with.

Outro[]

Tamerlane's forces ran rampant, looting and burning as they went. For a land that had only recently experienced the plague, this scourge must have seemed to signal the end of the world.'

Although he was known for his military campaigns, Tamerlane was also a patron of the arts. When a city was sacked, the artisans and scholars were spared and sent to his capital at Samarkand, where they created a vibrant blend of cultures.'

'Populations who resisted him, however, were not so lucky. After his siege had broken the Armenian fortress of Van, Tamerlane ordered its inhabitants hurled from the crags.'

Just like Hulegu roughly a century before, Tamerlane showed particular cruelty to the city of Baghdad. Each man in Tamerlane's army was required to bring him two heads. The warriors slaughtered the population of the city, then slew the prisoners they had brought with them. It is said that to satisfy Tamerlane's command, some even slew their own wives.'

For the survivors of this savagery, it seemed as if the sun would never rise again.'

Trivia[]

  • Before update 95810, the Armenians and Georgians were represented by the Byzantines and Persians, which use the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern architecture sets, respectively, yet medieval Armenian and Georgian architecture strongly resembles the Eastern European architecture style (i.e. the architecture style used Slavs, Lithuanians, Bulgarians, and Magyars) as evident with the Cathedral of Ani and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, respectively. Since the update, they are represented by their own civilizations introduced in The Mountain Royals.
    • Even though the civilizations were changed with the release of The Mountain Royals, the Scouts section continued to mention Armenian Cataphracts, which they no longer started with nor could train. And in the Co-op version, they were still represented by the Persians and Byzantines, remaining the same scenario as before. Both issues were fixed in update 99311.
  • The scenario is likely inspired by the third Attila the Hun scenario, as in both, the player must collect the same amount of gold by sacking enemies in order to complete the scenario; although here, the player starts in the Imperial Age, with a much larger army, and even the possibility to build a Market to sell and buy gold.
  • While the outro mentions that "Tamerlane showed particular cruelty to the city of Baghdad", it is possible to reach the 10,000 gold mark before attacking Baghdad at all.
  • This is the only scenario outside of The Mountain Royals where the Armenian and Georgian civilizations make an appearance.
  • For some reason Georgia is named Microsoft YaHei in the Chinese version.

Gallery[]

Campaigns in Age of Empires II
The Age of Kings
William Wallace PC: Marching and Fighting ยท Feeding the Army ยท Training the Troops ยท Research and Technology ยท The Battle of Stirling ยท Forge an Alliance ยท The Battle of Falkirk
PS5 - Xbox: Preparing for Battleยท The Battle of Stirling ยท Forge an Alliance ยท The Battle of Falkirk
Joan of Arc An Unlikely Messiah ยท The Maid of Orleans ยท The Cleansing of the Loire ยท The Rising ยท The Siege of Paris ยท A Perfect Martyr
Saladin An Arabian Knight ยท Lord of Arabia ยท The Horns of Hattin ยท The Siege of Jerusalem ยท Jihad! ยท The Lion and the Demon
Genghis Khan Crucible ยท A Life of Revenge ยท Into China ยท The Horde Rides West ยท The Promise ยท Pax Mongolica
Barbarossa Holy Roman Emperor ยท Henry the Lion ยท Pope and Antipope ยท The Lombard League ยท Barbarossa's March ยท The Emperor Sleeping
Others E3 1998
* added with update 75350
The Conquerors
Attila the Hun The Scourge of God ยท The Great Ride ยท The Walls of Constantinople ยท A Barbarian Betrothal ยท The Catalaunian Fields ยท The Fall of Rome
El Cid Brother against Brother ยท The Enemy of my Enemy ยท The Exile of the Cid ยท Black Guards ยท King of Valencia ยท Reconquista
Montezuma Reign of Blood ยท The Triple Alliance ยท Quetzalcoatl ยท La Noche Triste ยท The Boiling Lake ยท Broken Spears
Battles of the Conquerors Tours ยท Vinlandsaga ยท Hastings ยท Manzikert ยท Agincourt ยท Lepanto ยท Kyoto ยท Noryang Point
Hidden scenario The Saxon Revolt
The Forgotten
Alaric HD: All Roads Lead to a Besieged City ยท Legionaries on the Horizon! ยท Emperor of the West ยท The Sack of Rome
DE: The Battle of the Frigidus ยท Razing Hellas ยท The Belly of the Beast ยท The Giant Falls ยท A Kingdom of Our Own
Vlad Dracula The Dragon Spreads His Wings ยท The Return of the Dragon ยท The Breath of the Dragon ยท The Moon Rises ยท The Night Falls
Bari HD: Arrival at Bari ยท The Rebellion of Melus ยท The Great Siege
DE: Arrival at Bari ยท The Rebellion of Melus ยท Loose Ends ยท The Best Laid Plans ยท The Onrushing Tide
Sforza HD: An End and a Beginning ยท O Fortuna ยท The Hand of a Daughter ยท The Ambrosian Republic ยท A New Duke of Milan
DE: Mercenaries and Masters ยท His Own Man ยท Prodigal Son ยท Blood and Betrayal ยท Viva Sforza!
El Dorado# (removed) Tales of La Canela ยท The Split ยท The Amazones ยท The Cannibals
Prithviraj* HD: A Promising Warrior ยท The Digvijaya ยท The Elopement ยท Battles of Tarain
DE: Born of Fire ยท The Digvijaya ยท Hand of a Princess ยท The Fate of India ยท The Legend of Prithviraj
Battles of the Forgotten@ Bukhara ยท Dos Pilas ยท York ยท Honfoglalรกs ยท Langshan Jiang ยท Kurikara ยท Cyprus ยท Bapheus ยท Kaesong (cut)
# added with patch 3.3; * added with patch 3.5; @ added with patch 3.6
The African Kingdoms
Tariq ibn Ziyad The Battle of Guadalete ยท Consolidation and Subjugation ยท Divide and Conquer ยท Crossing the Pyrenees ยท Razzia
Sundjata Hunted ยท The Sting of the Scorpion ยท Djeriba Gold ยท Blood on the River Bank ยท The Lion's Den
Francisco de Almeida The Old World ยท Lion of Africa ยท Ruins of Empires ยท Estado da India ยท A Son's Blood
Yodit Path of Exile ยท The Right Partner ยท A Fallen Crown ยท Broken Stelae ยท Welcome Home
Rise of the Rajas
Gajah Mada The Story of Our Founders ยท Unconditional Loyalty ยท The Oath to Unify Nusantara ยท Serving the New King ยท The Pasunda Bubat Tragedy
Suryavarman I Usurpation ยท Quelling the Rebellion ยท A Dangerous Mission ยท Challenging a Thalassocracy ยท Nirvanapada
Bayinnaung The Burmese Tigers ยท The Mandalay Cobra ยท The Royal Peacock ยท The White Elephant ยท The Old Tiger
Le Loi The Dai Viet Uprising ยท The Mountain Siege ยท The Battle at Hanoi ยท Reaching South ยท A Three-Pronged Attack ยท The Final Fortress
Definitive Edition
The Art of War Early Economy ยท Booming ยท Rushing the Enemy ยท Fast Castle Age ยท Defending Against A Rush ยท Land Battle ยท Destroying a Castle ยท Naval Battle ยท Battle Formations
Pachacuti A New Power Arises ยท The Field of Blood ยท War of Brothers ยท The Falcon's Tent ยท Like Father, Like Son

Historical Battles
Tours ยท Vinlandsaga ยท Hastings ยท Manzikert ยท Agincourt ยท Kyoto ยท Noryang Point
Bukhara ยท Kurikara ยท Cyprus ยท Bapheus ยท Lepanto
Dos Pilas ยท York ยท Honfoglalรกs ยท Lake Poyang
Event scenarios E3 2019 Demo ยท Mongol Raiders ยท Barbarossa Brawl ยท Mangudai Madness ยท The Siege (co-op) ยท Ayn Jalut
The Last Khans
Tamerlane Amir of Transoxiana ยท Gurkhan of Persia ยท Harbinger of Destruction ยท Sultan of Hindustan ยท Scourge of the Levant ยท A Titan Amongst Mortals
Ivaylo A Most Unlikely Man ยท An Unlikely Alliance ยท Tsar of the Bulgars ยท Echoes of Heroes ยท Where the One-Eyed Man is King
Kotyan Khan Raising the Banners ยท The Battle at the Kalka River ยท Saving the Huts ยท Blood for Blood ยท A New Home
Lords of the West
Edward Longshanks Vain Ambition ยท A Man of God ยท Of Castles and Kings ยท Toom Tabard ยท Hammer of the Scots
Grand Dukes A Kingdom Divided ยท The Wolf and the Lion ยท The Cleansing of Paris ยท Unholy Marriage ยท The Hook and Cod Wars ยท The Maid Falls
The Hautevilles Guiscard Arrives ยท Roger in Sicily ยท Bohemond and the Emperor ยท Bohemond in the East ยท Wonder of the World
Dawn of the Dukes
Algirdas and Kestutis Family Affairs ยท No Man's Land ยท The Tatar Yoke ยท A Worthy Opponent ยท In the Shadow of the Throne
Jadwiga The Matter of the Crown ยท Star of the Poles ยท Duel of the Dukes ยท The Siege of Vilnius ยท Vytautas' Crusade ยท The Fruits of Her Labor
Jan Zizka The One-Eyed Wanderer ยท Courage and Coin ยท The Iron Lords ยท The Golden City ยท The Emperor's Fury ยท Warrior of God
Dynasties of India
Babur Pearl of the East ยท The Last Timurids ยท Into India ยท The Battle of Panipat ยท The Rajputs
Rajendra The Successor ยท Deeds of the Father ยท Rising Star ยท Sacred Waters ยท Slaying the Vritra
Devapala Dissatisfaction ยท Desire ยท Renunciation ยท Liberation? ยท Enlightenment
The Mountain Royals
Ismail The Red Hats ยท Road to Royalty ยท Alexander Safavi ยท The Fallen Amir ยท Khata'i
Thoros II Outlawed ยท The Emperor's Revenge ยท Caught in the Crossfire ยท Bloody Crestwaves ยท Of Turncoats and Traitors
Tamar Takeover ยท Yury's Revenge ยท The Protectorate ยท Tamar the Builder ยท The Queen in the Panther's Skin
Victors and Vanquished
Victors and Vanquished
Charlemagne ยท Finehair ยท Ironside ยท Nobunaga
Drake ยท Fetih ยท Gaiseric ยท Robert ยท Temujin ยท Xie An*
Constantine XI ยท Karlsefni ยท Komnenos ยท Mstislav ยท Otto ยท Ragnar ยท Seljuk ยท Shimazu ยท Stephen ยท Vortigern
* added with update 141935
The Three Kingdoms
Liu Bei The Oath of the Peach Garden ยท Heroes of the Realm ยท The Scholar and the Sandal Maker ยท The Great Escape ยท The Battle of Red Cliffs
Cao Cao The Yellow Turban Rebellion ยท Emperor In All But Name ยท The Battle of Guandu ยท Lord of the North ยท The Battle of Red Cliffs
Sun Clan The Imperial Seal ยท The Conquest of Jiangdong ยท The White Tiger ยท The Avenger ยท The Battle of Red Cliffs