The Shah is a hero King in Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings. He is named after the traditional title of Persian monarchs and other rulers. He appears as an enemy in the fourth scenario of the Genghis Khan campaign, where his assassination is an optional objective, and as an ally in the first scenario of the Vlad Dracula campaign under the name Sultan Murad II. He is also available in the Scenario Editor.
Like other King units, the Shah such has no attack, but has a fast movement speed and decent Line of Sight. As a hero, he cannot be converted and can regenerate health (since The Conquerors). Since The Forgotten, the Shah has the sprite of a Middle Eastern King.
Trivia[]
- Although the stat board displays his attack power as 0, he can actually attack, inflicting minimal damage on the target; however, his AI causes him to immediately flee when being attacked. In the original version of Age of Empires II, he had a special attacking sprite which was taken from the Laser Trooper, a cheat unit from Age of Empires. This was a remnant from alpha versions, where the Laser Trooper's graphics were used as a placeholder for the King, with a crown icon in the owning player's color above it. From The Conquerors onwards, the Laser Trooper sprite is no longer used and the Shah's attacking motion is hard to even make out.
- The Shah's role in The Horde Rides West is a combination of three different historical characters:
- Shah Muhammad II of Khwarazm (1169-1220), who incurred the wrath of Genghis Khan by turning down an offer of alliance and killing the Mongol ambassadors and traders. Genghis sent an army to kill him, but Muhammad II escaped to an island in the Caspian Sea where he died of pleurisy.
- His uncle Inalchuq (d. 1219), the governor of Otrar, who caused the diplomatic riff by seizing the aforementioned Mongol traders under accusations of espionage, and was captured and executed by the Mongols (reportedly, by pouring molten silver on his eyes and ears).
- His son Manguberdi (1199-1231), who advocated an offensive policy against the Mongols and led the Khwarazmian resistance after the fall of the main cities (hence the Khwarazmians becoming stronger if you don't kill the Shah in the scenario).