As a Pole, I will say that in my opinion Poland should definitely not be included in the group of the most powerful and most needed civs in this game. While the time frame of AoE 2 presents Poles in the times from the emergence of Polish statehood through the period of the Piast kingdoms (before and after the division of Poland into districts) to the Polish-Lithuanian Union under the rule of the Jagiellons, during whose reign the last two kings of this dynasty (Sigismund the Old and Zygmunt August) reigned the golden age of Poland and at the same time the end of the Jagiellonian dynasty. Sigismund August died on July 7, 1571 - The historical Battle of Lepanto with AoE 2 took place on October 7 of the same year. Until the end of the 16th century, three elective rulers ruled. The most recent Historical Battle in AoE 2 is Noryang Point, which took place on December 16, 1598.
So AoE 2 really represents the best times in Polish history. The presence of civ Poles in AoE 2 is nothing shocking, but it is fully justified.
In AoE 3, the matter is more difficult due to the fact that already in the 18th century Poland had no geopolitical significance, as it was under the strong influence of Russia. At the end of this century there were three partitions that marked the end of the Polish state… but it is not so obvious. Talking about 123 years of partitions and lack of independence is loved by Poles (national oddity xD), but a few such raisins are omitted:
- Duchy of Warsaw (1807-1815) - French influence
- Kingdom of Poland (congress) [ Personal union (1815 – 1831), Real union with the Russian Empire (1831 – 1915) ]
So it would be possible to find some reference to the Imperial Age for potential Poles civ.
But keep in mind that in the time frame of AoE 3 it was the history of Poland that was quite interesting - a bit of a drama series xDDD. The heirless Zygmunt August, knowing what threatens the Polish-Lithuanian union, concluded a union on July 1, 1569 in Lublin, which finally united the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into one state - the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, with a common king, parliament, money and foreign policy. Laws, army, treasury and offices remained separate. Podlasie, Wołyń, Kiev region found themselves in Poland. After the death of the last Jagiellonian ruler, Zygmunt August, bad times came for Poland - ##̶#̶#̶#̶#̶#̶#̶#̶ ̶f̶r̶e̶e̶ Free Election.
One could write for a long time about the free election, but the only elective rulers worth mentioning in Poland were the Vasas, who were the only outstanding rulers of the PLC - but they waged devastating wars. Ultimately, the Polish state had to fall apart for both external and internal reasons.
The victory of the winged hussars under the command of Jan Sobieski, although it brought fame and glory, contrary to appearances, did not bring anything beneficial for Poland. In fact, it was the last bark of a dog in agony. Anyway, Jan Sobieski was a dull and average ruler - he became one only because of the prestige after this battle. In addition, Poles showed off their victory and gained the most from it … the Vatican. Because the Poles organized a victory parade there and gave the loot to the Pope - the Poles have not changed since those times xDDD.
In contemporary Poland, the last king, Stanisław August Poniatowski, who was a great reformer and patron of the arts, is demonized. And so the PLC had to die, but he let it die in a coffin (which is cultural childhood). His obvious affair with Tsarina Catherine II is probably the cause of additional hatred for him by contemporary Poles.
BTW. Poles look at their history very emotionally and not objectively - that’s why they can’t learn from their mistakes, contrary to the Polish saying ###### mądry po szkodzie" (Pole wise after the damage). Plus glorifying bad characters and hating people in bad times… but that’s not what we’re talking about here.
Summarizing
Poland should not be on the list of most essential civs. Even among European civs Austria, Denmark and Prussia were undoubtedly more historically significant and interesting. But this does not mean that Poles should be omitted from this game, because they really have a lot to offer.
So, civ Poles should be in this game, but they shouldn’t be the priority. Prussians, Danes, Persians, Moroccans, Siamese, Congolese, etc - these are more of a primorette civs. But this does not mean that there is no place for civ Poles.
I think adding Polish civs in tandem with other East European/Central Asian civs would be a good solution - appropriate from many geopolitical-historical-cultural factors. Poles civ, Ukrainians civ and Tatars civ along with a big update for Russians (I once wrote my suggestion of these changes) - that would be something concrete.