Hello everyone!
Here is my rework of the Persians. As you can see, I focus on 1 period in particular. What do you think? Do you feel that the build is logical or full of craps?
Enjoy!
The Sassanids (224-651)
*Behold the portrayal of the worshipper of Ahura Mazda, the god Shapur, king of kings *
*of Eran and Aniran, from divine origins, son of the worshipper of Ahura Mazda, the *
*god Ardeshir, king of king of Eran, from divine origins, great son of the god Papak, *
the king.
Inscription of Shapur at Naqsh-e Rajab
Imperial flag
The simurgh, an imperial emblem (does it remind you something?)
1. History
The Sassanids were a Persian dynasty. Following the Parthians (that they beat to reach
imperial power), they saw themselves as the restorers of the Achaemenid dynasty. From a
corner of the Parthian kingdom, a fire priest became the father-in-law of the daughter of the
“lesser king” of Fars. Some years later, he had this king murdered and he put his son Ardeshir
on this regional throne: the Sassanid dynasty was launched and nothing could stop it.
Ardeshir kept becoming stronger after his father’s death. So strong that he became a threat
for Artaban (the Parthian king). After a couple of years of fights, the two armies met on a
battlefield in Western Iran. The Parthian horsemen, known for their agility (for the horse
archers) and for their heaviness (the famous cataphracts) were stuck in a narrow path,
allowing the Sassanid heavy cavalry to charge head on and defeat their foes, killing Artaban in
the process.
When Ardeshir won, he took all the Parthian kingdom. But more than a dynasty change, it was
a reborn for Persia. The Sassanids developed a stronger and wealthier state, creating an army
capable of dealing massive blows to their enemies, the biggest of them, the Romans and
Byzantines. They pushed the art of horse riding further, they created an infantry far better
than the Parthian one as long as siege weapons, worth of the Hellenistic and Roman
civilizations.
I won’t go through all the Sassanid history but you must know that they captured some Roman
emperors, they conquered many lands and they left behind them so many works of art and
management skills that all the Islamic dynasties from Syria to India had Persian organization
and vizirs after the fall of the Sassanids.
The Sassanids faced the Romans of course, but also the Byzantines, the Huns, the Kushans and
some Turkish and Arabic tribes. The battle for Armenia was long and this land passed from the
Sassanids to the Romans and back to the Sassanids. The later lost territories here and there
before taking them back. The only real threat came alongside with the white Huns who made
some Sassanid kings ######## Finally, Khosrow the first defeated them and brought back the
pride of Persia. The fall of the dynasty came when their wars against the Byzantine empire left
them so weakened that the Arabic tribes managed to defeat them in the heart of their empire.
The Sassanid empire was on the path of the silk road, making it unbelievably wealthy. It also
declared the Zoroastrianism the state religion. The priests of this reformed Iranian religion
became a great part of the new power and they played a massive role in the history of the
Sassanids, at the point that you can’t imagine them without the Magi and the fire altars.
2. Flavor and campaign
A) Language => middle Persian
B) Architecture => central Asia (like Cumans and Tatars) with a unique castle
C) Wonder => The rocky sculpture showing Khosrow the second at Taq-e Bostan
D) Campaign => Khorsow I (531-579)
This shahan shah (king of kings) put the Sassanid empire at one of its highest levels. He
developed the economy and the administration and he went to war all around his lands (that
is great for aoe2). He fought the white Huns as we saw it => Huns. But he also fought in the
west, against the Georgians and the Byzantines => Byzantines and Georgians. He also went to the south, to Yemen to take it => Saracens and Ethiopians. Various opponents, many possibilities.
For the other campaigns, they would only appear in Bukhara of course and in the first Attila
mission.
3. Overview
Cavalry and shooters civilization
A) Bonus
- Free loom => craft was very developed in Iran; the carpets are the most famous example.
- All mounted units gain +4 cavalry armor (for example heavy camels who have +18 bonus
attack vs cavalry only deal 14) => The Parthian wore lamellar armors. The Sassanids outfought
the Parthian lamellar armors by wearing lamellar in addition of chain mail armors. As they were used a lot by
horsemen, I think that it’s a good way of showing this new trend. - Do not have monks but magi
- The technologies of the town center (except for aging up) are researched 50% faster => This
shows the efficient administration that the Sassanids had.
Team bonus: trade carts move 10% faster => As the Sassanids controlled a very important part
of the silk road, they must receive a bonus around this topic.
B) Unique technologies
- Castle age: 350F 350G Azadan (noble that served in cavalry) = all cavalry units get +1 attack
and attack 0.1 faster=> Iranians people were among the best horsemen in the world. They
mastered this art like no other at this time, making their charges a weapon of mass
destruction. That’s why they must have something to reflect that. - Imperial age: 400W 500G Composite bow = Archer line and horse archer line get +1 attack
and shot 0.1 faster => the same goes for the Iranian bows. They were the weapons the most
important for them and they created some of the best ones in the world at this time.
C) Unique units
- Savar, a cataphracte. 100F 90G
Castle age: HP 110 Attack 11 Armor 3/2 Speed 1.25 Rate of fire 2.0
Imperial age: elite upgrade 1150F 800G HP 160 Attack 15 Armor 5/4 Speed 1.15 Rate
of fire 1.9
The savaran were equipped with kontoi (a long spear) and masses or swords. Very heavy,
very powerful, they were not meant to run for a long time. That’s why the elite upgrade
gives them more HP, attack and armor, but decrease their speed in the same time
D) Technologies tree
(They miss what is underlined)
Archery range
- Archer => Veteran bowman => Elite bowman. I don’t know how to call them but it’s made to
show the fact that Iranians did not have crossbows. These bowmen would have exactly the
same stats as the normal ones, but with another look. - Skirmisher => Elite skirmisher
- Horse archer => Heavy horse archer
Hand cannoneer- Thumb ring
- Parthian tactics
Barrack
- Militia => Men at arms => Long sword men => 2 handed sword men => Daylamites (Heavy
Iranian infantry). Sassanid had a good heavy infantry, unlike the Parthian. I would also give
their Daylamites the same stats as a normal champion. The name is made to reflect history,
there is no change except for the skin of the unit. - Spearman =>
Pikeman=>Halberdier - Supplies
- Squires
Stable
- Scout => Light cavalry => Hussar
- Knight => Cavalier => Paladin
- Camel => Heavy camel
- Battle elephant => Elite battle elephant
- Blood lines
- Husbandry
Siege
- Ram => Capped ram => Siege ram
- Mangonel => Onager => Siege onager
- Scorpion => Heavy scorpion
Canon- Siege tower
Blacksmith
All the technologies are available
Dock
- Fishing ship
- Transport ship
- Trade cog
- Fire galley => Fire ship =>
Fast fire ship - Demolition raft =>
Demolition ship=>Heavy demolition ship - Galley => War galley => Galleon
- Dromon
- Gillnets
- Careening =>
Dry dock Shipwright
The Sassanids did not have a great navy (to say the least). The dock shows their poor abilities
on water. If you pick a water map, avoid the Sassanids at all costs.
University
- Masonry => architecture
- Fortified walls
- Ballistics
- Guard towers => Keep
Heated shots- Murder holes
- Treadmill crane
- Chemistry =>
Bombard towers - Siege engineers => The Parthians had poor siege. That’s why they never were a huge threat
for the Romans. They struggled a lot to take cities. On the other hand, the Sassanids created
amazing siege weapons, bringing them to another level. That is the reason why they get siege
engineers and a full siege workshop (except for the canons obviously). - Arrow slits
Castle
- Hoardings
- Sappers
- Conscription
- Petards
- Trebuchet
Monastery
- Magi
The unique monk of the Sassanids is a unit very important for the civilization, showing how
great was their role in this old society. They don’t work as normal monks. They would have a
unique look, the ability to grab relics and heal but not to convert other units. For the
Zoroastrians (and all the antic religions besides Christianity), convert people made no sense.
You are from an ethnic group so you have your own religion. No magi would convert a Celt, a
German, a Chinese… to his religion. These monks can’t convert but they have another role.
When you make them bless a working building (town center, mills, mining camp and lumber
camp) the villagers who gather in the building work 7% faster. They would act like the pharaoh
in age of mythology. RedemptionAtonement- Herbal medicine
-Heresy - Sanctity
Fervor- Faith
IlluminationBlock printingTheocracy
Lumber camp
- Double bit axe => Bow saw => Two men saw
Mining camp
- Gold mining =>
Gold shaft mining - Stone mining => Stone shaft mining
Mill
- Horse collar => Heavy plow => Crop rotation
Fire altar: A unique Sassanid building that costs 20W 20G and 5 Stones. It has 800HP and 1/1
armor. You can make them from feudal age and upwards. When you build one somewhere,
the idle units within a 4 tiles range are healed at the same rate as a monk would heal.
4. Conclusion
A rain of arrows, preparing a thunderous charge. The air darkened by them before the unleash
of walls of spears and iron. Welcome in front of a Sassanid army!
For the flavor, I wanted the Sassanids to be a powerhouse civilization that starts to shine in
castle age. Except for the free loom to have something in dark age, their bonuses are really
castle/imperial focused. You could get wheelbarrow in feudal but 90% of the time, it’s a
technology researched in castle age. From there, you can have one of the best booms of the
game. On the military side, I wanted them to be heavily on gold units, to reflect their wealth
and power throughout history. You have many options. They are expansive but if you can
afford them, you become one of the strongest civilizations of aoe2. In trash wars, their hussars
are great, their skirmishers are generic but the lack of pikemen can hurt. If you face a wave of
heavy horsemen and you don’t have gold nor your own heavy horsemen, it’s pretty game over
for you. Also, their options against knights in castle age are not huge. No pikemen and monks
that can’t convert so you must have camels or knights of your own, who become better if you
get the unique technology.
Speaking of cavalry, I wanted to make it really strong for the civilization that had some of the
best horsemen and technologies for them. When you play them, you think:
- Ok now I really have in my hands strong units. Not generic with a free technology, not
cheaper but weaker version of these units. I paid to have above average horsemen; I want
above average horsemen in battles.
As in feudal age, you have nothing special, the fire altars can provide some defense to help
you to resist until the castle age. In castle age, the magi help a lot, but you must build a
monastery first. They would be great on close maps, good on open maps, bad on nomad and
cataclysmic on water map.