Background
The Uzbeks follow a long line of Central Asian empires such as the Kipchaks, Mongols, and Timurids. While in the era of AoE3 they weren’t civilization ending juggernauts like their predecessors, the steppe peoples like the Uzbeks, Kazakhs, and Dzungars were still formidable. They clashed with each other and fiercely resisted Russian, Persian, and Afghan encroachment. The Uzbeks led several powerful khanates, the most powerful of which were the Khanates of Bukhara, K_iva, and K_kand. These khanates contained a mix of nomadic steppe peoples as well as the settled inhabitants of the great silk road cities.
Civilization Archetype
Geographically, the Uzbeks are an Asian civilization and for the most part, the Asian suite of buildings and aging up with wonders would fit them well. However, I’d strongly prefer if they did not use the Consulate system in the design because it is by far the biggest contributing factor to the shortcomings in the design of the original Asian civs. In addition to following the Asian template, the Uzbeks could follow a Steppe Civilization sub-type and have shared elements with Islamic Civilizations. They could share hero units like Khans, and have some shared building types. Kazakhs could serve as a second Steppe Civilization.
Home City
Bukhara would be the obvious choice as it is the capital and namesake of the Khanate and later Emirate of Bukhara which was the strongest and longest lasting Uzbek state.
Leader
There are a few good options for potential Uzbek leaders.
Muhammad Shaybani established the Bukhara Khanate.
Imam Quli Khan led the Khanate of Bukhara at the height of its power.
Shah Murad was the first Emir of the Emirate of Bukhara and was highly revered.
Buildings
Steppe Nomad Buildings:
Along with Uzbeks, there could be additional steppe civs such as Kazakhs that share these buildings.
Pasture - Fusion of Stable and Livestock Pen that trains cavalry, Sheep, and Yaks.
Yurt - Like a House but spawns a Sheep when constructed.
Islamic Buildings:
These buildings could be shared with Muslim civs like Ottomans, Persians, Mughals, and Omanis.
Bazaar - Islamic Market equivalent. To set it apart, it could have some mechanics or technologies that subtly allude to their extensive trading in captive humans.
Caravanserai - Tavern equivalent for Islamic civs. It could have perks like garrisoning Villagers or acting as a shipment point.
Mosque
General Buildings:
Castle
Rice Paddy
Town Center
Barracks
Dock
Walls
Trade Post
Native Embassy
Consulate??? - I’d strongly prefer not having this, but if it is a must, British, Russians, Ottomans, and Chinese would be the most obvious alliance options.
Units
Don’t take the stats too seriously, I’m just giving specifics to help outline their general role. Some balance tweaks would obviously be needed.
Barracks Units:
Recurve Bowman
A fast firing archer with a higher than average multiplier against light cavalry. Overall stats and cost could fall somewhere between Yumi and Fulani.
Mergan
Mergan means sharpshooter or archer which would incline it to be a light infantry unit. However, the most prevalent type of guns across Central Asia were matchlock muskets. Therefore, I’ve put them in the role of musket infantry, but given them a bit of extra range at the expense of health. Most of their matchlocks had a bipod making a bayonet cumbersome so most Uzbek warriors carried a sword as a sidearm. To be in line with other sword wielding musket infantry they should have a higher base attack but lower anti-cav multiplier. They could be depicted with a Kalpak hat as shown below. Another potential name for these units could be Cherik (a term for auxiliary warriors).
Sarbaz
Sarbaz were foot soldiers in Uzbek and Persian armies so this unit could be shared with a Persian civ. Uzbek armies were primarily cavalry so they only get a passing mention, but Persian descriptions of them indicate they were agile swordsmen armed with scimitars like shamshir or kilij. I’ve given them a slight bonus against heavy infantry to offset the lack of a rifle infantry unit.
Pasture Units:
Navkar
These were the basic cavalry soldiers of the Uzbek armies. I’ve made them like a slightly cheaper and weaker Hussar.
Batir
Batir is a Turkic and Mongolian honorific title meaning hero or valiant warrior, which was roughly equivalent to a knight. Their depiction could draw on the heavy cavalry of Uzbek predecessors like the Timurids and Kipchaks. They could be decked out in full lamellar armour with a Kipchak face mask and armed with a lance. Functionally, I’ve depicted them as tanky cavalry like a Cataphract, with dual resistances and a bonus against infantry. Something like a Lifidi Knight with a slight lancer bonus.
Mangudai
Mangudai were originally elite bodyguards of the Mongol Khans and they feature as a unique Mongol unit in AoE2 and AoE4. However, the Manghud clan from which they were drawn was still going strong long after the Mongol Empire and became the ruling class of the Noguy Horde and Emirate of Bukhara. The depiction I’ve gone with is a more expensive but faster firing Cavalry Archer.
Zamburak
The current depiction of Zamburaks in the game as weak light cavalry is extremely far from reality. Zamburaks actually functioned as highly mobile artillery. Indians already have Howdahs for their light cavalry, so there is room to give them a different function that works better for an Uzbek civ. If they were given a design similar to Rifle Riders, they would fit in very well with an Uzbek civ. They should also deal siege damage to reflect the fact that it is a cannon. Rebalanced costing and a limber animation may be needed to keep them balanced.
Castle Units:
Darbzen
Darbzen are a type of Ottoman cannon that originated as “battering guns” in sieges, but eventually came to also refer to smaller and medium sized cannons. The Turks exported their cannons across the Muslim world as far as Somalia, Indonesia, and most importantly Central Asia. Darbzen could serve as a Falconet equivalent for most or all Islamic civs including Ottomans, Persians, Mughals, Omanis, and Uzbeks. The depiction I’ve given it is that of a tanky Falconet with slightly less range.
Hand Mortar
The Mongols and Timurids used a variety of primitive gunpowder weapons like hand cannons, so giving Uzbeks Hand Mortars could represent this legacy and give them a capable anti-artillery and siege unit. Alternatively, Darbzen could be made stronger at sieging and Zamburaks could be better at anti-artillery so that Hand Mortars are not necessary.
Dock Units:
Being in a landlocked region makes finding a navy very difficult, but the Uzbek Khanates did include the Aral and Caspian Seas, so they would have had access to at least some ships.
Fishing Boat
They had access to fishing in the Aral and Caspian Seas so fishing vessels are perfectly reasonable.
Mes Sal
These were rafts consisting of a wood and reed base atop several inflated animal skins. They were used in the river networks of Central Asia as cargo barges, troop transports, and even makeshift pontoon bridges. These could act as a weaker but more numerous Galeon equivalent that trains and transports units. Since they are constructed mainly from hides, a large portion of their cost should be food.
Camel Boat
Camel Boats consisted of two large boats joined together into a catamaran. They were named as such because of their heavy lifting capacity (just like a camel). These could do the heavy lifting of the Uzbek navy and act as a scaled down Frigate equivalent.
Galley
Uzbekistan borders large seas like the Caspian where proper ships are needed and these could be represented by the existing Galley unit. Turkmen pirates were enough of an issue that Persia needed to construct a naval fleet on the Caspian so the Uzbeks would have presumably had something similar.
Ogurtjoy
A type of Turkmen pirate vessel that raided the Caspian Sea. This could be a separate ship type, but since the source material is so limited, I think it would be best as a card that shipped Privateers and some Turkmen units like Qizilbash.
Foreign Ships
Russia brought a significant naval presence to the area with the Caspian Flotilla and Aral Flotilla. The Persians also had their Northern Fleet in the Caspian. A tech that gives access to foreign ships like Monitors would be a good way to complete the Uzbek navy.
General Units:
Khan
Mounted explorer unit shared with other steppe civilizations. Could share the stun ability of other Asian civs as well as other abilities like the AoE4 Khan.
Bolobomist
Military musicians that boost nearby units. Could function similarly to the Mehter.
Villager
Just the standard Asian Villager.
Wonders
As an Asian civ, Uzbeks would age up with wonders. However, wonders in general could use some tweaking. Rather than aging up with one of a kind monumental constructions, the Asian wonders should instead be iconic, but less specific examples of architecture. These more generic landmarks would be much better fits for the Asian civs, and could possibly even be shared by multiple civs. Below are some examples of architecture that could serve as wonders. These are mainly specific buildings, but similar structures can be found throughout Central Asia. I’m skipping over the function of these wonders, so feel free to provide suggestions.
Great Mosque
Bibi-Khanym Mosque
Kalyan Mosque
Grand Madrassa
Registan
Kukeldash Madrasah
Chor Minor
Silk Road Bazaar
Ark Citadel
Ark of Bukhara
Kunya Ark Citadel
Grand Minaret
Kalyan Minaret
Kalta Minor Minaret
Islam Khoja Minaret
Howz
A Howz is a pool used in Persian gardens and architecture. Probably a better fit for Persia, but they were present in Uzbekistan.
Cards
A few possibilities for unique Uzbek cards. I’ve focused on shipments that give them a connection with their neighbours on the steppe.
Yam Route - Enables Steppe Riders at the Castle and increases building line of sight
Timurid Siegecraft - Ships Desert Raiders and enables Petards at the Castle
Noguy Khanate - Ships Mangudai and improves them
Dzungar Khanate - Ships Zamburaks and improves them
Sibr Khanate - Ships Tatar Archers and enables them at the Embassy
Kalmyk Khanate - Ships Keshiks
Kazan Khanate - Ships Cavalry Archers
Ogurtjoy Pirates - Ships Privateers and Qizilbash
Renegade Russians - Ships Cossacks and a Heavy Cannon
Cavalcade Concealment - Enables Khan to create a dust cloud that conceals units (a strategy used by Timur)
Skull Cups - Gain a large bounty when killing heroes but losing your hero gives a bounty (was done to Muhammad Shaybani by the Persians)
