Well, I only got into this topic to talk about Italians.
In theory, Age II covers a very broad period… and it can be said that there are civs that cover the High Middle Ages (300 AD - 1000 AD) and the Low Middle Ages (1000 AD - 1452 AD) and some of the modern age (1492-1600 AD), it can be justified that there are civs like the Romans and Huns, at the same time as Ottomans and Spaniards from the time of the conquest.
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The Romans of the recent DLC (Return of Rome) would be the Western Roman Empire, before its fall after the 4th sack of Rome (One of them, the Gothic sack, is in the campaigns, the Hun was avoided, but they followed him 4 more), and the coup d’état of General Odoacer. They are necessary for the “Huns” campaign and that of the Goths.
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The Italians represent the Italian city states, which after the Lombard League, accepted to be only nominally part of the HRE, but in practice they governed themselves and had their own idiosyncrasy, as well as responding alone to foreign attacks, or reaping their own fruits of Trade, especially for the control of the Baltic. Many of these mini-states helped in the Crusades and had frenemy relations with the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantines), especially the Genoese and Venetians.
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The Byzantines represent the Eastern Roman Empire, which during the early Middle Ages invaded Italy and the city states several times. You can see something of this in the Bari campaign.
For AoE IV, for the time the game cover (800 - 1650), I don’t think the Western Romans will enter (they didn’t get past 476). The Byzantines are coming, but in the case of Italy there are several things to consider:
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Medieval Italy.- As several users mentioned, medieval Italy was not a united country, but a series of independent city states, which from time to time gave a tribute to the HRE and the Papacy. Of course, they shared a common idiosyncrasy, which often allowed them to ally themselves against foreign enemies (Lombard League, Italian Wars), or to fight each other (Italian Wars again).
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Mechanics: Build your Italian city state?: Now, the fun thing about AoE4 is the concept of the unique mechanics of various Civs. You could then get the idea of building your Italian city state, with tower houses and medieval and Renaissance Italian architecture for Imperial. They could, like the Romans, have mercenary units, and have a mechanic based on it. They would mainly represent Italian states such as Florence, Milan, Pisa, Lucca.
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Civ variants?: Although in the past there was the problem of whether civilizations could exist with the same architecture or model of units, at least the civ variants solve the problem. Some states in medieval Italy created their own kingdoms or thalassocracies, and would be worthwhile as their own civ. These could be 3 cases:
– Genova.- Representing the Republic of Genoa, I made a concept for the new year of 2022. (The Republic of Genoa: Civilization Concept).
– Venice.- Representing the ############# of Venice, which controls a large part of the European Mediterranean coast, especially in the area occupied by current Greece and Turkey, as well as colonies in Africa and the Middle East. There are already some concepts in the forum. (The Republic of Venice: Definitive and Improved Version)
– Papal States.- Obviously the Papal States. I don’t think they will come out initially, perhaps in a very distant expansion or to fill in if there are missing civ to join the 6 or 5 civ per expansion. Unique Unit: Papal Guard obviously, and the Black Band Guard. -
Sicily?: If anyone is interested, I invite you to make a concept of this Civ, although I find it difficult. The problem is that more than a Civ, Sicily was a colony/viceroyalty/sultanate of several kingdoms that always captured it. During the Middle Ages, it was owned by the Abbasid Caliphate, Byzantine, Normandy, France, Aragon, and then Castile and Aragon. And so it was until the so-called Italian reunification of Age III.