Ayyubids
The Ayyubids have the Power of the Nile.
For most of her existence as a nation, Masr (or Egypt as she is known to the Latins) was and still is an economic powerhouse. Notwithstanding the near-lack of timber the lands of Masr may suffer from, there is always one constant in this desert land - and it is the Nile floods, which deposit some of the richest soils in the world for farmers to exploit. And exploit them, the Arab lords of Masr do - for with this food supply, Masr is near-unrivalled throughout Darul Islam in terms of wealth or population size.
Yet, unfortunately, this wealth also comes with problems and unwanted attention.
For all her wealth and the great fecundity of the Nile, Masr is plagued through and through by court intrigues with deadly consequences, corruption, and a population so demoralised and despondent, that even the task of rulership is nearly impossible, made only worse by the current ruler's own impotence, a young man named al-Adid of the Fatimid line. To forestall the ambitions of the Crusaders on Masr, the ruler of Syria, Nureddin, has sent a general, a Kurd by the name of Shirkuh, to seize control of Masr, alongside Shirkuh's own nephew, a young man named Saladdin ibn Ayyub. This Shirkuh was able to do in a coup against al-Adid's advisors with native Masri help, but alas, he did not live long to fully consolidate control over Masr.
Now, it has been a year or so since Shirkuh's demise, and Masr is now in the hands of his young nephew and successor, Saladdin, yet the land is all the more troubled than ever. Abroad, the Byzantines and the Crusader States are now in league with one another, and seek to take Masr's cosatline, along with the great trading port of Iskandariyyah, while back in Cairo, local potentates disaffected with the presence of the Syrians continue to plot against Saladdin, While his late uncle's Syrian followers may provide him with the muscle required to see things through, and the lands of Masr, well tended and furnished with a vibrant system of banking and finance may provide the key to paying for them, Saladdin must move quickly to stabilise Masr and shore up her defences, lest the Crusaders or the more hostile members of al-Adid's entourage strike first ....
Faction overview
- Nile Flooding: Can build an extra 2 farms per Settlement; +10% Food Commerce Limit.
- Tax Farming: Farms generate +2 Wealth.
- Experts in Farming: Start with a granary and receive Granary upgrades for free.
- Monument Builders: Wonders cost 25% less; you may build two per Settlement.
Strengths
Good all-rounder civ with fairly balanced army with various different units and many options, culture-wise with economic and diplomatic factors (Wonders) accounted for.
Weaknesses
Land army not very hard-hitting, no Crossbow Infantry leaves Ayyubids at a severe disadvantage compared to other civs' infantry armies.
If Hindustan and the Selçuküler are known for military might, and Khwarazamshah for cultural and diplomatic prowess, then the Ayyubids - soon to be lords of Egypt, or Masr as she is called by the Arabs - can be said to be an all-rounder, with a strong focus on the economy - mostly being agrarian, for most of Egypt's pre-modern history, but with many areas covered as well. The Ayyubid propensity for generating Food and Wealth opens so many doors for them in deciding what sort of strategy to pursue, whether unilaterally, or as part of a team allied to other players, as the selection of Wonders available to them - be it Deirul Hiqmeh for faster teching up and acquisition of upgrades, the Royal Observatory to aid the military, or the Qubbat as-Sakra for boosts to your economy and navy.
Unlike the Egyptian civ from the vanilla version of RoN, which has no perks for military recruitment or options after the Enlightenment Age, the Ayyubids in Temüjin do not suffer such problems. They have some of the best units available to them, both early on and in the late game with many good units to choose from - being one of the more advanced nations in this mod means that the Ayyubids have excellent naval and artillery support, while their land army also is well-supported by a plethora of decent cavalry units, including heavy cavalry, missile cavalry, as well as camels. The only issue then, is that in comparison to the Asian or Christian civs, this heavy cav component is often outclassed, but makes up for it by affordability. With infantry, however, it is another story - Foot Asakir are best typified as a medium spear unit - clearly better than conventional Spearmen, but nowhere as good as Spear Sergeants, which can often be found in the armies of other major factions. But more problematic perhaps is the lack of Ayyubid access to crossbows - historically not favoured by Arab armies - this leaves the Ayyubids to recruit mainly Archers and then Composite Bowmen, but in ranged combat, affordability and range can often overcome robustness, so the performance of Ayyubid missile infantry - consisting mostly of units armed with javelins and bows - is questionable, to say the least.
Thus, it can be said that this is a strong and powerful nation to play with like her ancient equivalents in The Hellenistic Era and Hammurabi, with different playstyles catered for - be it rushing, booming, or turtling (if the need arise) with the Ayyubids, there is always a solution available, the question then is one of vision, imagination and ultimately execution on your part.
Unique units and structures gallery
Dromedary Jund
Ayyubid ranged unique light cavalry unit which is slower but tougher, more resistant versus melee cavalry
Bedouin Horse Retinue
Ayyubid unique élite cavalry unit unique to Saracens and Moors, capable of boosting the Armour of friendly units nearby.
Ayyubid unique heavy infantry. Good attack and movement speed.
African Skirmishers
Ayyubid unique light mercenary infantry. Weak but fast-moving ranged, useful especially if used to outrun and flank archers.
Ayyubid unique light mercenary infantry. Moves faster than Archers, but has fewer hitpoints.
Roundship
Heavy ship with powerful attack and range, commonly found in Mediterranean and Baltic fleets. Strong against warships and fortifications alike.
Citadel
As in The Hellenistic Era, the Citadel (alongside its weaker counterpart, the Guard Tower) continues to be the most powerful form of point defence in this instalment in the Kings & Conquerors family of mods.
Nobles' Court
Sumptuous and stately yet foreboding, the Nobles' Court is the ultimate expression of regnal power, consisting of a vast castellated estate around which the nobility of the land must rally around. It is not as cheap as a Mansion nor as easy to come by, but its ability to boost the size of your Territory around it, and the fact that it is immensely powerful as a point defence structure means that a Nobles' Court can be more than capable of defending your borders, whilst training some of the most powerful land units available in all of this mod.
Fortified Barracks
Stronger than a normal Barracks,
this building may be weaker than most point defence structures, but it
is nevertheless a useful way to quickly set up and reinforce a forward
building operation against any enemy counterstrike.
AI leader names
- Saladdin
- Al-Aziz
- Al-Mansur
- Al-Adil
- Al-Kamil
Settlement names
- Al Qahira
- Iskandaryyah
- Damascus
- Aleppo
- Hama
- Balad
- Fustat
- Tartus
- Douma
- Manbij
- Idlib
- Daraa
- Siwa
- Qata'i
- Aswan
- Aqaba
- Amman
- Ar Rutba
- Hamath
- Samawah
- Al Diwanya
- Afak
- Tadmur
- Ayn al-Arab
- Dendera
- Damietta
- Sharm ash- Sheikh
- El-Lisht
- El-Amarna
- Edfu
- Fantin
- Asyut
- Saqqara
- Giza
- Sais
- Atfih
- Kahun
- Hawara
- Ezbet Rushdi
- Meir
- Akhmim
- Sesebi
- Amara
- El-Sebua
- Latakia
- Raqqa
- Deir ez-Zor
- Al-Hasakah
- Karnak
- Qamishli
- Sayyidah Zaynab
- Al-Hajar al-Aswad
- Darayya
- As Suwayda
- Ath Thawrah
- Salamiyah
- As Safira
- Al-Bab
- Maarat al-Numaan
- Jableh
- At Tall
- Mayadin
- Abu Kamal
- Baniyas
- Ar Rastan
- Arihah
- Afrin
- Qatana
- Ashrafiyat Sahnaya
- Talkalakh
- As Sanamayn
- Assal al-Ward
- Khan Shaykhun
- Luxor
Other chapters:
Wolf Among Lions [Steam | XBOX/EE | Gold]
Rise of the Barbarians [Steam | XBOX/EE | Gold]
Imperivm Invictvm [Steam | XBOX/EE | Gold]
Hammurabi: [Steam | XBOX/EE | Gold]
Other mods:
Rise of Kings: Chronicles [Steam | XBOX/EE | Gold]
New World Empires: Swords of the Prophets [Steam | XBOX/EE | Gold]
Warbirth: The Crucible [Steam | XBOX/EE | Gold]
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