I originally posted this in the AoE1 section, but I think that section is dead, and this is for ROR anyway, which I guess is technically AoE2
The Israelites represent the people group of the same name in the Old Testament, who conquered the Canaanites and formed a kingdom with strong local power. During the unification of Israel, it fought the Philistines and other people groups, but after Solomon’s reign, it split into two, Israel and Judah, with Israel having repeatedly bad kings and being exiled and spread into the rest of the world, with Judah being the remaining basis for modern Jews. This civ concept mainly represents the kingdom before that split, so it does not represent Israel under Roman rule either.
The Israelites have the Egyptian architecture set, which both represents their time in Egypt according to the Bible and a simply generic Middle East set, which currently does not exist. The Israelites are an infantry, priest, and siege civilization, with a lot of unique bonuses that give them a strong power spike at every stage of the game.
Looking at their bonuses now:
Civilization Bonuses
- Villagers take up -20% population space
This references how, according to the Bible at least, during the time the Israelites spent in Egypt, their numbers had grown massively, to the point where the Egyptian king was sick of seeing them everywhere. So the Israelites can create more villagers than anyone else to represent this.
- Artifacts can be garrisoned inside Temples for a slow trickle of gold (limit of 3)
This essentially makes Artifacts function like AoE2 Relics, with about 0.1 gold generation per Artifact. It references the Ark of the Covenant being placed inside the Tabernacle (later the Temple), which the in-game Artifact closely resembles. It also can reference Solomon’s reign, since the Temple was built during his reign, and he received a payment of gold from other nations every year.
- Temples available in Tool Age
This references how the Tabernacle was constructed during the Israelites’ nomadic days, and it wasn’t a permanent building, but a tent. The Tool Age Temple would have a unique appearance to reflect this, and to make it fit in better with the other buildings. Priests cannot be trained until the Bronze Age, so the Temple’s only function in the Tool Age is to house Artifacts.
- Infantry units +30% HP, +1/+1 armor
This references Biblical stories of David’s Mighty Men, as well as battles where the Israelites were significantly outnumbered, but still decisively won. Logistics being missing strengthens this theme, as the Israelites cannot get as many infantry units out, but they’re much stronger.
- Catapult line +1 range in Bronze, +1 in Iron Age
There is a Biblical account where the king Uzziah hired engineers to create a new type of siege weapon that didn’t have a word for it. This machine was likely some kind of catapult, which is noteworthy because it took place 350 years before catapults were supposedly invented in Syracuse.
- Team bonus: Slingers +1 attack and range
This references the story of David, who was skilled with using a sling, of course, but slings were also commonly used in the ancient world.
Missing Units
Elephant Archer, Heavy Horse Archer, Scythe Chariot, Heavy Cavalry, War Elephant, Helepolis, Centurion, Trireme, Catapult Trireme.
Missing Technologies
Guard Tower, Ballista Tower, Fortified Wall, Chain Mail for Infantry, Chain Mail for Cavalry, Tower Shield, Logistics, Aristocracy, Urbanization.