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The Siege of Jerusalem is the fourth scenario of the Saladin campaign in Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings. It's based on the the 1187 Siege of Jerusalem.
Scenario Instructions
- Starting age: Castle Age
- Starting resources: 200 food, 1000 wood, 200 gold, 1000 stone
- Population limit: 75
- Starting units: Four Villagers, one Light Cavalry, four Heavy Camels, eight Mamelukes, eight Archers of the Eyes.
- Gaia units: None
- Enemies: Jerusalem (Byzantines), Hospitallers (Teutons), Knight Templar (Teutons)
- Allies: None
Objectives
- Do not allow any Jerusalem Monastery or the Dome of the Rock to be destroyed.
- Destroy the 5 towers defending Jerusalem so that Saladin's army can occupy the city.
Official hints
- Cut off Jerusalem's food supply by raiding outlying farms.
- The two Orders of Knighthood have outlying bases that should be dealt with before assaulting the city.
- Trebuchets can make short work of towers from a distance.
Strategy
To win this scenario, you must destroy all five towers in the City of Jerusalem which occupies a large citadel at the center of the map. You will lose if you destroy a monastery or the Dome of the Rock. This is the first mission in the Saladin campaign in which you can research everything in your civilization's tech tree.
Your opponents are the same as those from the previous mission, except there are no British. The Hospitallers have their main base in the northeast, while the Knights Templar are based in the far south. These bases are not well-fortified, but both orders of knights have major buildings in the city proper as well. All three enemies will attack with heavy cavalry. Jerusalem will also use Pikemen, Crossbowmen, Mangonels, and Cataphracts. The Hospitallers will use Teutonic Knights and Scorpions, while the Knight Templar will attack with Battering Rams. All three will start in the Castle Age, but Jerusalem will advance to the Imperial Age and may upgrade its units.
Starting up your base
You start in the northeast with no buildings other than five Pavilions. Construct your own village there - you'll have easy access to wood, gold, and stone as well as a few Sheep. Start with the Town Center, then get your first three Villagers on food and create more. Your first priorities now should be fortifications and stone. Scout around a bit with your Light Cavalry so you can see the whole area, then get to work on the Stone Walls and Gates. Your starting units should be adequate to handle the first few attacks. Most of the crusaders' attacks will be on the west edge of your base, so you should build a Castle on the outskirts. None of their units (with the exception of the rams the Knight Templar will use) are particularly threatening to a Castle, but they are exceptionally persistent and can cause significant damage. Building a second Castle nearby will mitigate the problem somewhat, and garrisoning your Archers of the Eyes (if they're still around) is not a bad idea. The cliff in the southeast corner of your base is a good place for your third Castle. Keep creating Villagers and aim to have around four on each resource, plus a few more for building and repairing.
Although heavily fortified, you do not have to break open the walls of Jerusalem and raid the city to destroy the towers.
