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This article is about the technology in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. For the technology in Age of Mythology: Tale of the Dragon, see Stirrup. |
Stirrups is a technology in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition that is unique to the Bulgarians and can be researched at the Castle. Once researched, it increases the attack speed of all cavalry units by 33%.
Tactics[]
Mounted Konniks have the slowest melee attack of a cavalry unit in the game; however, after researching it, their attack rate drops to that of a Knight (1.8), while having a higher base attack than Knights, so in the Castle Age, this technology is a must if the player wants to utilize them, though it is quite expensive and Blacksmith technologies should still be prioritized first. In the post-Imperial Age, Elite Konniks attack faster than generic Paladins and at the same rate as Savars. This, combined with their easy creation and being able to fight dismounted, make the Konnik one of the best cavalry units in the game, as well one of the finest unique units.
Stirrups also affects light cavalry, which puts their Hussars at a huge advantage in "trash wars" as well performing extremely good at raiding and killing Villagers, and probably makes a fully upgraded Bulgarian Hussar the strongest in the game and able to defeat generic Hussars, Mongol Hussars, and even Malian Light Cavalry with Farimba in one-to-one combat.
With update 36906, to compensate for losing access to Paladins, Stirrups was changed to affect the Knight line as well, and as a result, Bulgarian Knights become one of the most dominant units in the Castle Age, excelling at assaults and able to stand up against even Camel Riders and Pikemen, and Bulgarian Cavaliers when fully upgraded have the highest potential damage per second among the cavalry units in the game (excluding elephants), even outperforming Lithuanian Paladins with 4 Relics collected and Malian Cavaliers with Farimba (~11.85 damage per second vs 10.53 and 10.56, respectively).
Dismounted Konniks and Cavalry Archers are unaffected by Stirrups.
Team bonuses[]
Portuguese: Researching Stirrups is 25% faster.
Changelog[]
Definitive Edition[]
- Initially, Stirrups affected only the Scout Cavalry line and mounted Konniks. With update 36906, Stirrups affects all cavalry units.
History[]
The stirrup, which gives greater stability to a rider, has been described as one of the most significant inventions in the history of warfare, prior to gunpowder. As a tool allowing expanded use of horses in warfare, the stirrup is often called the third revolutionary step in equipment, after the chariot and the saddle.
The earliest foot supports was a toe loop that held the big toe and was used in India late in the second century BC, though may have appeared as early as 500 BC. Buddhist carvings in the temples of Sanchi, Mathura and the Bhaja caves dating back between the 1st and 2nd century BC figure horsemen riding with elaborate saddles with toes slipped under girths. In this regard archaeologist John Marshall described the Sanchi relief as "the earliest example by some five centuries of the use of stirrups in any part of the world".
Cavalry reenactor with stirrups
It is speculated that stirrups may have been used in China as early as the Han dynasty (206 BC– 220 AD). The paired stirrups was invented in China during the Jin Dynasty by the early 4th century AD. The earliest extant double stirrups were discovered in the tomb of a Northern Yan noble, Feng Sufu, who died in 415 AD. The stirrup appeared to be in widespread use across China by 477 AD.
By the late 6th or early 7th century AD, primarily due to invaders from Central Asia, such as the Avars and the Bulgars, stirrups began spreading across Asia to Europe from China. In terms of archaeological finds, the iron pear-shaped form of stirrups, the ancestor of medieval European types, has been found in Europe in 7th century Avar graves in Hungary. By the 8th century stirrups began to be adopted more widely by Europeans.
Trivia[]
- In the alpha, a technology called "Stirrup" existed, allowing the training of lance cavalry units. This was removed at one point during development, meaning stirrups did not appear in the final game until over 20 years later.
