Very excited for Dynasties of India, India is amazing! I just learned the new unique building of the Hindustanis (Indians revamped) is the ‘Caravanserai’ after watching Age of Noob’s masterly video on it.
One important observation however. It was the Saracens, Persians, Turks that ruled the Silk Road and its branches and made caravanserais famous worldwide during the time of Age of Empires 2, not ‘Hindustanis’!!
In fact, control of strategic caravanserais and trade hubs gave rise to the most powerful and most long-lasting Empire in the world at the end of AoE2, the Ottoman Empire (Turks), a superpower civ far, far from properly -or fairly- represented in Age of Empires 2.
The most spectacular, fascinating, and extraordinary Caravanserais are still visited today by millions of international tourists in Iran /Persia and Turkey/Turkiye. They are Koza Han (Bursa, Turkey), Ganjali Khan (Kerman, Iran), Zeinodin (Yazd, Iran), Kurkju Han and Buyuk Valide Han (Istanbul, Turkey), Abbasi Hotel (Isfahan, Iran), Wikala Qaytbay (Cairo, Egypt).
Therefore Caravanserais should most definitely belong to Persians, Saracens and Turks civs, not Hindustanis.
i agree, but it’s pretty well known fact that AOE is not a fan of historical accuracy. i mean we have woad raiders that do not even exist in the time line, we have mayans fighting chinese for dominance in arabia…
i guess they could change the name of the building at least, to preserve the Caravanserai identity for saracens and the like
Well, the trade boost is also very appropriate for Indians, probably more than Arabs/Turks, as the Silk roads started in India and China. Arabs and Turkic people were mostly just the people transporting the valuable goods from India and China to the West. Like a Medieval FedEx/DHL so to speak. So Saracens etc. merely facilitated the trade starting in India.
Your misconception is to assume Hindustanis are Indians despite their name. They are much more the Afghans that many of the people here wanted. Camels, GP, Silk road, ghilman is pretty clearly the persian dynasties of east persia i.e. Ghurids etc. And caravanserais are Persian basically thats why they got them.
I get your point but actually, AoE is among the (if not the) most historically accurate RTS ever. You can play on any geography-inspired map, but Mayans don’t get Chu Ko Nu. China does. So why give Caravanserai to India instead of Saracens, Persia and Turks?
India was of supreme importance in medieval production, but No man… definitely not only “people transporting” goods… Far from it.
Unrivalled legendary Persian carpets have long been individually the #1 most valuable product in WORLD trade since ancient times!! Also in the Middle Ages Turkish lamps, incredible ceramic and porcelain from Iznik and Kutahya (Turkey), also Turkish tea from Rize and Trabzon started rivalling China’s, becoming globally renowned, and do so even today - check it out. Plus gold and silver jewelry, gems, and precious stones from Iran and Turkey have been the most famous on Earth for centuries, a very important globally traded handicraft!
But you’re right, Persians, Saracens and Turks acted as ancient and medieval DHL / FedEx with caravanserai. The Ottoman Empire even became the #1 greatest military power in the world in AoE2 & AoE4 time by doing so. And that’s precisely why ‘Caravanserai’ should belong to them, not India!
The most famous and amazing caravanserai in the world are Koza Han (Bursa, Turkey), Ganjali Khan (Kerman, Iran), Zeinodin (Yazd, Iran), Kurkju Han and Buyuk Valide Han (Istanbul, Turkey), Abbasi Hotel (Isfahan, Iran), Wikala Qaytbay (Cairo, Egypt).
Therefore let’s reinforce this important point, Caravanserais should definitely belong to Persia, Saracens and Turks, not ‘Hindustanis’. This is like giving Teutonic Knight to Khmer.
I really wished they had gave the caravanserai to persians instead of Hindustanis. I don’t see them changing such a small detail and even less being a recent addition.
I think the best I can hope for is to have them as a regional building or a rename to just avoid caravanserai being a thing in the game.
I guess we have to see how much of an advantage having Caravanserai turns out to be.
My current impression is, that its mostly a flavor building and as such I’m in favor of giving it to Persians, Turks and Saracens as well. If it turns out to be a serious advantage, maybe for balance reasons they shouldn’t get it (I mean with lots of Gold all three, Persians, Saracens and Turks are real powerhouses, so they maybe shouldn’t have above average trade options?)
Still a spanish ally probably still is better than access to caravanserai, or is it?
Would say Saracens with a spanish ally and caravanserai be OP?
SOTL have video about this. Spanish Trade gives you overall more gold, but Caravanserai makes your trade much harder to raid, because no meele units can catch trade carts, and small raids just get healed. Basicly Civs without good ranged units are unable to do anything. So its boost to gold generation and to safety as well.
it’s more like giving teutonic knights to the poles
first try to balance civs, then try to follow history. that’s why aztecs have trebs
caravanserai describes rest stops along the silk road. yes it’s a persian word, but branches of the silk road went through northern india, so while not ideal i think this is fine
I think the function of this building is kinda weird tbh. It should allow trade carts to garrison inside. Not give them a speed boost. That way its a bit more fair in that if a player is pressuring a trade route at least it stops the trade carts from still working and forces them to be idle while still giving protection and maybe even healing.
Now if instead of Caravan Sarai they actually built roads that would make sense to give a speed boost to trade carts.
And also yes I agree, Caravan Sarai should be a regional unit for Persians, as well. And maybe even Tatars, Chinese and Turks.