Really hope it is the Mamluk Sultanate!
The DLC is named as Sultan’s ascend, so let there be a Middle-Eastern civ
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Maybe it will appear, but as a campaign civ…
Then, that needs to be a separate civilization. The Abbasids were conquered by the Mongols, then the Mamluks defeated the Mongols.
Mamluks are very different from the Abbasids, they were nomadic mercenaries that took control of Egypt etc.
They were great cavalry civ.
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The issue is that the civ of the Abbasids goes back to 1517 (that is, it already includes the Mamluk sultanate within them) (the same thing happens with the civ of the Ottomans and the sultanate of Rum)… that’s why I see it as somewhat complicated that they separate them as civ and that I don’t think they will add another civ from the Middle East, except perhaps Jerusalem or the Crusader States… I asked an insider if Jerusalem was coming to the DLC and he didn’t want to give a word, but he gave me to understand It wasn’t too far from there…
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That is sad because the Abbasid was conquered in the 13th century by the Mongols. Before that, they were the owners of the Mamluks in Egypt. But since the Abbasids were gone, Mamluk Sultanates became independent and defeated the Mongols many times, and existed until the 16th century.
Let’s just hope they do something like they did with AOE2’s Indian civ.
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Agree. The Mamluk Sultanate was a BEAST. Baybars = pure badass.
How many armies on planet Earth can claim to have a brutal win rate of 80%+ against BOTH elite Crusader Knights hand-to-hand and the Mongols on open field?
(the Delhi Sultanate, Majapahit, Vietnam etc destroyed Mongol armies too, but it was NOT cav archer-friendly open battlefield like the Holy Land)
Mameluke heavy cav was probably the strongest unit anywhere. Even after the Ottoman Empire invented the gun (Mongol-Tatar cav archers became much less effective), Mamelukes were still a powerful shock force on the battlefield.
Plus, Cairo was overall much more important than Abbasid Baghdad, Paris , London, Moscow. For much of AoE4 time, Cairo was the 2nd most important city on Earth, usually behind Constantinople / Istanbul; at certain times, it even became the first.
The first bombard was invented in Cairo, not Europe or China; and in the 1300s, Mamluks were far more powerful than the English (original AoE4 civ) for example.
The Mamluks (or “Mamluk Sultanate”) should be in AoE4 for sheer military power and wealth for a long period; and the PERSIANS should definitely be in AoE4 because it’s the eternal immortal civilization that basically created civilization and all human rights and was a world power many times in all History.
I find it pretty unlikely, if only because the mamluk sultanate basically only existed for the imperial age and maybe late castle age part of the game period. Similar to how they made the Ottoman Sultanate encompass the sultanate of Rum, the Abbasids encompass the Mamluk sultanate.
For all these reasons, the Mamluks are the most worthy civ choice in an expansion called “Sultans Ascend”, and can never be “included” in Abbasids.
In fact, in AoE4 timeframe Mamluks are objectively a stronger and more worthy civ than Japan, Vikings and English.
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I’m personally rooting for a Persian empire like the Seljuk’s or another Indian empire (since India is always criminally underrepresented) like Chola, Bahmani or Bengal, since the Mamluk’s are already arguably in the game.
They are already covered by Abbasid so it seems unlikely.
From their description:
In Age of Empires IV*, the Abbasid Dynasty civilization spans the years 750-1517 CE and is based on the Abbasid Caliphate and the Mamluk Sultanate*
In this case, it’s only “covered” on paper, on official website. Simply “uncover” this not-covered very different civ by editing few words of text and…
‘voila’! Immense mistake fixed. AoE wins big.
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Yes, the same Abbasid caliphs settled in Egypt under the protection of the Mamluks and ultimately survived 260 years until they were definitively conquered by the Ottomans in 1517.
The issue is that the AoE 2 civs can be divided because they are totally identical to each other…in AOE 4 it is more difficult because you have to give them unique units and technologies and then landmarks…that’s why I don’t think I’ll see more civs of the Middle East (the Abbasids cover the early Middle Ages and the Ottomans the late Middle Ages)…
Perhaps Baibars appears in the Abbasid campaign decades after Saladin…
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Then they really need to focus on Mamluk mercenaries.
They mainly were heavy cavalry units.
But the Abbasids tell it otherwise.
So no one feels like it includes the Mamluk Sultanate.
People want to immerse themselves in their favorite civ, but the Abbasids aren’t really representing the Mamluk Sultanate.
I wish. That would be kinda cool
Not only the military and government system is so different, architecturally it’s also so far apart, with citadel of Cairo, Al-Azhar, fort of Alexandria etc, it’s a another geography, climate, style. Cairo was a powerhouse of the world.
In reality, AoE4’s Abbasid “Dynasty” does NOT include the amazing Mamluk Sultanate,
a VERY powerful civ that invented the bombard and not only defeated, but shockingly crushed and demoralized French, English, Mongols and HRE in AoE4 time. It should be in AoE4, no-brainer
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Descriptions can be changed. AOE2 Goths used fo cover most medieval Italy, Iberia and also Slavs.
Using Abbasids to cover most of the “Arabic” civilizations for the entire span of the game’s timeline is like using the Papal State to cover most European nations.
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Maybe we will get Mamlukes in this expansion. The trailer says 4 variant civs. I have to imagine at least one of those will be some sultanate variation on the Abbasids.
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That would be incredible to have!
The last I heard, there will be two completely new civilizations (Byzantines and Japanese) and four “variants” of existing civilizations. The Mamelukes could potentially end up a variant of the Abbasid civilization (although other Arab dynasties like the Umayyads, Fatimids, Ayyubids, etc. are also possibilities for that civ).
Indeed, those horse archers in the video look like the Mamluk Sultanate!
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