Suryavarman I is a campaign in Age of Empires II HD: Rise of the Rajas. It follows the story of the real-life Suryavarman I, the emperor of Khmer Empire from 1006 to 1050.
Campaign[]
| “ | As the 11th century Khmer Empire spirals into ruin, one prince, Suryavarman, shows the courage and cunning to prevent its collapse. Seizing the throne, however, is just the first of many tasks. Can he prevail and establish a timeless legacy as the king who attained Nirvana? | ” |
| —In-game campaign description | ||
| “ | It is the early 11th century and the Khmer Empire is in turmoil, torn apart by competing factions and surrounded by hostile neighbors. Only one prince, Suryavarman, has the courage and cunning to defeat his rivals and restore the Khmer to their former glory. Seizing the throne, however, is just the first of many tasks. Will Suryavarman muster the strength to expand his domain, overcome adversity, and create a timeless legacy as the king who attained Nirvana? | ” |
| —In-game campaign description before the Definitive Edition | ||
The Suryavarman I campaign consists of 5 scenarios. The player plays as the Khmer, and the player color is cyan. In the Definitive Edition, the campaign is also available in co-op mode, where the second player color is Green. In Challenging a Thalassocracy, the second player plays as the Dravidians.
The campaign is narrated by Sangrama, a Khmer general under the service of Suryavarman I's successor Udayadityavarman II, who tells the tale in front of captains under his command during a mission to suppress one of several rebellions that occurred during the course of Udayadityavarman II's reign.
Unit[]
Suryavarman I is a cavalry hero with the appearance of an Elite Battle Elephant. As a hero, he cannot be converted and can regenerate health. He deals his full attack as trample damage. In the co-op version of the scenario, he is controlled by player A.
History[]
The campaign covers how Suryavarman I comes to power before forming an alliance with the Chola Empire to confront the Kingdom of Tambralinga and the Srivijaya Empire, and expanding the Khmer Empire's territory westwards and eastwards, covering parts of the modern-day Thailand and Vietnam, before being posthumously enshrined as the Nirvanapada ("The king who went to Nirvana").
Trivia[]
- In the early version of the Suryavarman I campaign's intros and outros, Suryavarman I himself (along with various Khmers) are erroneously shown wearing Siamese (Thai) warrior clothing. This was corrected in later patches, although Suryavarman I in the expansion's cover and the in-game icons of various Khmer hero units are still shown wearing Siamese clothes.
- The box art depiction of Suryavarman I seems to be based on the Thailand film King Naresuan, which has a background of 1590-1605 CE. He is depicted with western-style armor, which does not match the campaign background of 1002-1050 CE. In reality, no known depiction of Suryavarman I exist.
- The campaign icon is based on towers used as Shrines in traditional Khmer Hindu architecture; five such towers can be found in Angkor Wat, which was originally constructed under Suryavarman II and devoted to the god Vishnu.
- The campaign was adjusted from a two-sword difficulty to one-sword difficulty in update 87863, possibly because many of the objectives in the scenarios are simple "build and destroy" (with the last scenario giving the player an option to build and defend a Wonder).
Gallery[]
Rise of the Rajas box art, showing Suryavarman I on the left
Suryavarman I
Art of Suryavarman in the Definitive Edition
Art of Suryavarman as he appears in the Rise of the Rajas
Sangrama, the campaign narrator
Angkor Wat as it appears in the campaign artwork
Jayaviravarman, one of the major opponents, who took over after the former king Udayadityavarman I
A mural of the Grand Chariot gifted to Rajendra Chola
Foes of Suryavarman
The cutscene background in the Definitive Edition
The cutscene background in the HD Edition
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