Sipahi (Age of Empires III)

This article is about the unit in Age of Empires III. For other uses, see Sipahi.

Sipahi
Information
Introduced in	Age of Empires III
Type	Cavalry Heavy cavalry Hand cavalry
Civilization(s)	Ottomans
Age	Fortress Age
Training
Cost	400 Food 3 Population
Train time	40 seconds
Statistics
Hit points	750
Resistance	20% Ranged
Speed	6.5
Line of Sight	15
Kill XP	40
Siege attack
Damage	28 Siege
Range	6
Rate of Fire	3.0
Hand attack
Damage	35 Hand
Area of Effect	3
Rate of Fire	1.5
Trample attack
Damage	23 Hand
Area of Effect	3
Rate of Fire	2.0

“	Powerful cavalry available only from the Home City.	”
—In-game description

The Sipahi (Spahi before update 14.43676) is a melee heavy cavalry unit in Age of Empires III that is unique to the Ottomans and can only be shipped from the Home City or chosen as an age up reward when aging to the Industrial Age. It is the second strongest melee cavalry unit in the game, behind the Mahout Lancer.

Overview

The Sipahi is effective against enemy Skirmishers, archers, shock infantry and artillery, but can be countered by heavy infantry and light cavalry. The Sipahi fights with a mace, and deals damage over a certain area rather than a single unit. It is considered one of the most effective units in the game and is almost twice as strong as a Cuirassier. 5 Sipahis can be sent as a Fortress Age shipment, costing only 1,000 food to ship, which means a player can get the equivalent of 9 Cuirassiers in just one Fortress Age shipment, making it one of the best shipments in the game.

Sipahi have a special trait; like the Explorer and his dog, they can regenerate hit points, allowing them to last longer in a game.

It is ill-advised to use the Trample mode with the Sipahi, because the Trample mode has the same Area of Effect as a normal hand attack, while it has lower attack damage and a longer Rate of Fire.

In the original game, the player could have a maximum of 43 Sipahi (3 with the The Grand Vizier politician in the Industrial Age and 40 shipped from the Home City – 22 in the Industrial Age and 18 in the Imperial Age), but in the Definitive Edition, infinite cards of Sipahis were introduced.

Special abilities

• Health Regeneration: Regenerates hitpoints when idle (0.25% per second after 3.5 seconds idle).

Upgrades

The Sipahi is automatically upgraded in the Industrial Age and Imperial Age.

• Guard Sipahi: +30% hit points and damage
• Imperial Sipahi: +50% hit points and damage

Further statistics

Unit strengths and weaknesses
Strong vs.	Light infantry, counter-skirmishers, artillery
Weak vs.	Heavy infantry, light ranged cavalry, ranged shock infantry
Improvements
Hit points	Cavalry Cuirass (+10%) Comanche Horse Breeding (+10%) Cree Tanning (+5%) Gadaa System (+5%; Ethiopians only) Navajo Weaving (+5%) Tar Kilns (+5%)
Attack	Gadaa System (+5%; Ethiopians only) Yoga (+5%) Pillage (+25% siege attack bonus damage vs. buildings) Horsemanship (+1.0 bonus damage vs. Walls; Lakota only) Wind Horses (-10% Rate of Fire)
Resistance	Kapikulu Corps (+10% hand resistance; Ottomans only) Sudanese Quilted Armor (+10% hand resistance) Pancerni (+10% ranged resistance)
Speed	Horse Secrets (+10%; Haudenosaunee only) Apache Endurance (+5%) Comanche Mustangs (+5%) Wind Horses (+0.5)
Line of Sight	Town Watch (+3)
Other	Kapikulu Corps (delivers 5 Sipahis; Ottomans only) Jagiellonian Legacy (delivers 3 Sipahis if The Grand Vizier was chosen for the Ottomans)

Home City Cards

Click for a list of Home City Cards related to the Sipahi

Some cards are highlighted with:
Green	TEAM Shipment that is sent to each player in a team
Purple	Shipment that can be sent an INFINITE number of times
Red	Shipment that can be sent twice
Blue	Shipment that arrives fast (5 seconds)

• Definitive Edition
• The Asian Dynasties

Shared

Card	Description	Age
Cavalry Damage	Cavalry damage +15%
Cavalry Hitpoints	Cavalry hit points +15%
Cavalry Combat	Cavalry hit points and damage +15%
Liberation March	Infantry, cavalry, and shock infantry train time -35%, speed +5%

• "Cavalry Damage" is available to the British, Lakota, and Swedes.
• "Cavalry Hitpoints" is available to the British and Haudenosaunee.
• "Cavalry Combat" is available to the British, Dutch, French, Italians, Lakota, Mexicans, Ottomans, Russians, and Spanish.
• "Liberation March" is available to the Mexicans and Spanish.

Chinese

Card	Description	Age
Western Reforms	Unit hit points and damage +8%

Ethiopians

Card	Description	Age
Ignatian Spirituality	Unit (except herded animals) hit points +5%, regeneration rate +1.0 (even in combat)

Europeans

Card	Description	Age
Wanderlust	Land military and land villager hit points +5%; land villager and construction wagon speed +5% (can be sent 3 times)

• "Wanderlust" is available to the British and Dutch upon revolting to South Africa.

French

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Hand Cavalry Attack	Hand cavalry and hand shock infantry damage +15%

Germans

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Cavalry Attack	Heavy cavalry, light ranged cavalry, and shock infantry damage +10%; Germans-only heavy cavalry, light ranged cavalry, and shock infantry damage +15% instead
Spanish Riding School	Cavalry speed +10%, +4 Uhlans

• "TEAM Cavalry Attack" does not stack with the Italian "TEAM Cavalry Attack" card.

Inca

Card	Description	Age
Road Building	Land military speed +10%

Indians

Card	Description	Age
Dravidian Martial Arts	Unit all melee attack damage +15%; Rajput hand attack damage +20% instead, +1 Hindu Villager
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics	Unit hit points and damage +5%

Italians

Card	Description	Age
Schiavoni Swords	Infantry, cavalry, and shock infantry all melee attack damage +15%
TEAM Cavalry Attack	Heavy cavalry, light ranged cavalry, and shock infantry damage +10%; Italians-only heavy cavalry, light ranged cavalry, and shock infantry damage +15% instead

• "TEAM Cavalry Attack" does not stack with the German "TEAM Cavalry Attack" card.

Lakota

Card	Description	Age
Morning Star	Temporarily reveals all enemies and treasures; Axe Rider can now loot treasures for double the resources or XP; hand cavalry bonus damage against treasure guardian +2.0

Maltese

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Knights of the Round Table	Delivers 1 Hospitaller for each Town Center and Command Post present on the map; unit hit points +2%

Mexicans

Card	Description	Age
Plan of Casa Mata	Transforms all Dragoons into Chinacos; hand cavalry speed +5%; costs 250 food, 250 wood
TEAM Mariachi	For the next 30 seconds, military building training and research work rate +400%, unit speed +10%
Colegio de San Nicolas	Delivers 1 Large Collection of Books (500 XP); unit Line of Sight +4; building (except Wall) Line of Sight +8; reveals enemy units' positions for 20 seconds
National Servant	Unit (except herded animals) hit points +10%; Padre heal work rate +200%	Imperial Age

• "Colegio de San Nicolás" is available upon selecting the Michoacán Federal State.
• "National Servant" is available upon selecting the Estado de México Federal State.

Ottomans

Card	Description	Age
3 Sipahis	Delivers 3 Sipahis; costs 600 food
4 Sipahis	Delivers 4 Sipahis; costs 1,000 food
5 Sipahis	Delivers 5 Sipahis; costs 1,000 food
6 Sipahis	Delivers 6 Sipahis; costs 1,500 food
TEAM Timariots	Delivers 4 Sipahis; costs 1,500 food

Russians

Card	Description	Age
TEAM Kamchatka Expeditions	Cavalry and shock infantry hit points +10%, Line of Sight +4

Spanish

Card	Description	Age
Hand Cavalry Attack	Hand cavalry damage +15%
Hand Cavalry Hitpoints	Hand cavalry hit points +15%
TEAM Spanish Inquisition	Delivers 1 Inquisitor; military and economic unit Line of Sight +10

Swedes

Card	Description	Age
Hand Infantry/Hand Cavalry Hitpoints	Hand infantry and hand cavalry hit points +15%

United States

Card	Description	Age
Seminole Ponies	Delivers 9 Hussars; cavalry train time -10%; hand cavalry hit points and damage +15%, speed +5%	Imperial Age

• "Seminole Ponies" is available upon selecting the Florida Federal State.

Shared

Card	Description	Age	HC level
Cavalry Combat	Cavalry get +15% hit points and damage		10

• "Cavalry Combat" is available to the Dutch, Ottomans, Russians, and Sioux (at a level 25 Home City).

Chinese

Card	Description	Age	HC level
Western Reforms	All units get +8% hit points and damage		40

French

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Hand Cavalry Attack	Heavy cavalry and Coyote Runners get +15% attack		10

Germans

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Cavalry Attack	Heavy cavalry, light ranged cavalry, and shock infantry get +15% attack		10
Spanish Riding School	Cavalry get +10% speed; +4 Uhlans		25

Indians

Card	Description	Age	HC level
Dravidian Martial Arts	All units get +15% hand damage; +1 Villager		40
TEAM Shivaji's Tactics	All units get +5% hit points and damage		25

Sioux

Card	Description	Age	HC level
Cavalry Damage	Cavalry get +15% attack		10
Cavalry Hitpoints	Cavalry get +15% hit points		10

Ottomans

Card	Description	Age	HC level
3 Sipahis	Ships 3 Sipahis; costs 600 food		1
4 Sipahis	Ships 4 Sipahis; costs 800 food		10
5 Sipahis	Ships 5 Sipahis; costs 1,000 food		10
6 Sipahis	Ships 6 Sipahis; costs 1,200 food		25
TEAM 4 Spahis	Ships 4 Sipahis; costs 1,200 food		40

Russians

Card	Description	Age	HC level
TEAM Cavalry Scout	Cavalry and shock infantry get +10% hit points and +4 Line of Sight		1

Spanish

Card	Description	Age	HC level
Cavalry Combat	Hand cavalry get +15% hit points and damage		10
TEAM Inquisition	All units get +10 Line of Sight		10

Changelog

Age of Empires III

• The unit is named Spahi.
• Spahis cost 280 food, have 10% ranged resistance and give 28 XP when trained or killed.

Definitive Edition

• Spahis now have 20% ranged resistance.
• Fixed a bug which causes Spahis shipped to non-Ottoman players (through "TEAM 4 Spahis") to not be automatically upgraded in the Industrial and Imperial Ages.

Knights of the Mediterranean

• With update 14.43676, the unit is renamed to Sipahi, costs 400 food and give 40 XP when trained or killed.

Trivia

• The original name of the unit, Spahi, is the Western rendition of Ottoman Turkish Sipahi, which itself was borrowed from Persian sepâhi.
• Before release, Sipahi were originally the unique Ottoman variant of the European Hussar.
  • The Sipahi shown in the history portrait is from that time of game development, which shows an unused texture in the final game for a visual upgrade called Elite Sipahi in the game files.

History

“

The Sipahis were cavalry for two different nations. Their name derives from a Persian word for soldier, "sipahi." They were elite cavalry in the Ottoman army, performing much the same duties as the janissaries, only mounted. There were more Sipahi than any other cavalry in the Ottoman army. They were also Algerian cavalrymen that fought for the French in Africa. These cavalrymen revolted when the French wanted them to leave Africa to aid France in the Franco-Prussian wars. Mounted soldiers, they wore baggy pants and riding boots. Long, heavy cloaks, turned out to show the lining, draped them shoulder to calf, and they covered their heads with turbans. Armed chiefly with swords, they also carried firearms and spears.

”

Gallery

An in-game Sipahi

The Sipahi's history portrait. This visual shown would be used for one of Sipahi's visual upgrades called "Elite Sipahi", when it was an Ottoman variant of the Hussar.

In-game Sipahi in the Definitive Edition

In-game Kapikulu Sipahi

Close up view of a group of Kapikulu Sipahi

Artwork of a real-life heavy Sipahi

Sipahi image from the Compendium section