Persia

Difficulty: easy Winning chance: high

Faction: Barbarian
Land fields: 594
Starting population: 900,000
Provinces: 3
Cities: 4
Currency: Diram
Growth material: Stone
Starting treasury: 2,000,000
Starting ships: 3
Starting trains: 3

Historical background

Cyrus II founded the Achaemenid Empire around 550 BC; under Darius I it reached from the Indus to the Aegean and ran a world empire through satrapies, the Royal Road and the residence of Persepolis. After the Persian Wars against the Greeks it fell to Alexander the Great in 330 BC. Seleucids and Parthians were followed in AD 224 by the Sasanian Empire, Rome's great opponent in the east until the 7th century; in AD 260 Emperor Valerian was taken prisoner by Shapur I.

Strategic overview

Persia is the largest realm on the map. Like Egypt it may build every type of warship, it has the most myrrh deposits, and in Mesopotamia a high-tax core province. But it has long borders with the Kushans, Palestine and Parthia.

As a barbarian realm you raise Tribes, up to 5 a month, the last two of them at a surcharge. Your troops are cheaper and more numerous but of lower quality. You can only form a friendship with other barbarian realms.

What to watch

The border with the Kushans is the longest on the map. Peace in the east gives you a free hand in the west.
Palestine is smaller, but Roman and armed with expensive, strong troops. Do not underestimate it.
Your cataphracts are among the strongest units on the map. They need a horse per man, and you have only a few horse deposits.
You have food deposits on plains and oil, but salt in one place only. Keep that field safe.

Provinces

Province	Land fields	Share of province	Starting population
Gedrosia	235	97%	323,500
Mesopotamia	231	100%	407,500
Nabathea	128	100%	169,000

Terrain

Terrain	Land fields	Share
Hill	152	26%
Steppe	126	21%
Plain	104	18%
Mountain	86	14%
Savanna	47	8%
Forest	39	7%
Desert	38	6%
Swamp	2	0%

Resource deposits

Resource	Fields
Food	9
Myrrh	5
Oil	3
Horses	3
Salt	1
Ore	1

Cities

City	Starting building	Province	Position (x / y)
Mersched	Trade centre	Gedrosia	87 / 35
Babylon	Trade centre	Mesopotamia	78 / 46
Naksch-I-Rustem	Trade centre	Gedrosia	91 / 47
Firuzabad	Trade centre	Mesopotamia	81 / 58

Army

This realm's legion types and unit types, with its own values. Compare all troops

Legion types

Legion type	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Infantriestamm	MSI	MSI	MSI	MII	MII	MII	LEI	LEI	LEI	LEI
Kriegerstamm	KRG	KRG	KRG	KRG	KRG	KRG	KRG	KRG	KRG	KRG
Kavalleriestamm	MIR	MIR	MIR	LER	LER	LER	LER	KRB	KRB	KRB
Kriegerstamm beritten	KRB	KRB	KRB	KRB	KRB	KRB	KRB	KRB	KRB	KRB

Unit types

No.	Name	Class	MK	HG	Rüpu	EW	SW	Pla	Hil	Stp	Sav	For	Des	Swa	Mtn	FK	RW	Wt.	MP
16	Persische Königsgarde	MSI	IA	65	4	4	70	5	5	5	5	2	5	2	4	—	—	200	32
21	Legionäre des Crassus	MSI	RB	85	5	4	85	5	5	5	5	3	4	2	3	—	—	200	36
30	Persische Infantrie	MII	IB	35	2	3	45	4	4	5	4	2	4	2	3	—	—	200	32
41	Seleukidische Phalangiten	MII	IC	46	4	3	60	4	4	3	3	2	2	2	2	—	—	200	32
42	Masagetische Kämpfer	MII	IC	30	1	3	30	3	3	4	3	2	2	2	3	—	—	200	32
44	Speerwerfertruppen	MII	IB	30	2	3	40	4	3	3	4	2	2	3	3	3	9	200	32
47	Kushanitische Infantrie	MII	IB	40	2	3	40	4	4	5	4	2	4	2	3	—	—	200	32
52	Baktrische Griechen	MII	IB	60	4	4	60	4	4	5	4	3	2	2	4	—	—	200	32
53	Phalanxtruppen	MII	IC	45	4	3	60	4	4	4	4	2	3	2	2	—	—	200	32
56	Kriegselefanten mounted	MII	IC	145	4	3	55	8	6	7	8	3	4	2	2	2	9	600	24
67	Phartische Hügelkämpfer	LEI	IC	39	1	3	30	3	4	4	3	2	2	2	3	—	—	200	32
68	Bogenschützen	LEI	IB	30	1	3	30	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	3	4	14	200	32
69	Schleuderer	LEI	IB	30	1	3	25	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	3	4	12	200	32
76	Pfeilgeschützabteilung	LEI	IB	350	24	3	60	4	4	4	4	4	4	2	3	4	26	200	32
77	Steinschleuderabteilung	LEI	IB	400	36	3	60	4	4	4	4	4	4	2	3	5	20	200	32
79	Jüdische Zeloten	LEI	IA	30	1	2	20	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	—	—	200	32
80	Palmyrische Bogenschützen	LEI	IA	75	2	4	40	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	3	5	14	200	32
84	Persische Aufgebotstruppen	LEI	IC	25	1	2	30	3	3	4	3	2	2	2	2	—	—	200	32
85	Baktrische Infantrie	LEI	IC	25	1	2	30	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	—	—	200	32
86	Phartische Stadtmiliz	LEI	IC	20	1	2	30	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	—	—	200	32
92	Plänklertruppen	LEI	IC	30	1	3	30	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	3	3	9	200	32
106	Sogdische Bergkrieger	KRG	IC	20	1	2	25	3	3	3	3	2	3	2	4	2	9	180	32
109	Stammeskrieger	KRG	IC	20	0	2	20	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	3	2	9	180	32
121	Persische Kataphrakten mounted	SWK	RB	280	14	5	135	12	10	11	12	3	7	2	3	3	14	480	40
123	Persische Clibarnii mounted	SWK	RB	200	12	4	120	8	6	7	8	4	6	2	3	2	14	480	40
125	Palmyrische Clibarnii mounted	SWK	RB	275	8	4	105	8	6	7	8	3	5	2	2	2	14	480	40
126	Sichelstreitwagen mounted	SWK	IA	95	5	4	70	7	6	4	7	1	2	1	1	2	9	480	40
138	Sogdische Adlige mounted	SWR	IA	69	4	4	70	6	5	6	6	2	3	2	2	—	—	450	40
140	Schwerer Streitwagen mounted	SWR	IB	60	4	3	70	5	4	4	5	2	2	1	1	3	9	450	40
152	Persische berittene Speerwerfer mounted	MIR	IB	30	3	3	50	4	3	3	4	2	3	2	2	3	9	420	40
153	Kamellanzenreiter mounted	MIR	IC	40	3	3	50	3	3	4	3	2	5	2	2	—	—	420	40
164	Dromedarkavallerie mounted	LER	IC	25	1	3	30	3	3	4	3	2	5	2	3	—	—	400	40
168	Sakische Reiter mounted	LER	IC	45	1	3	30	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	3	—	—	400	40
175	Persische ber. Bogenschützen mounted	LER	IB	36	2	3	40	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	14	400	40
178	Leichter Streitwagen mounted	LER	IB	40	3	3	45	3	3	3	3	1	2	1	2	3	9	400	40
186	Nomadenstammeskrieger mounted	KRB	IC	25	0	2	20	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	—	—	380	40

MK Moral class · HG Bounty per man · Rüpu Armour points per 25 men · EW Highest experience through training · SW Protection value · FK Ranged combat points · RW Range of ranged combat · Wt. Transport weight per man · MP Movement points · The eight columns in between are the melee points per terrain.