Persians
A cavalry civilization with powerful War Elephants and strong economy. Great for booming and late-game power.
Civilization Bonuses
Start Resources
Start with +50 food and +50 wood
Town Center/Dock HP
Town Centers and Docks have 2x HP, work 10/15/20% faster
Knights
Knights have +2 attack vs archers
Unique Unit
| Unit | Age | Cost | HP | Attack |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| War Elephant | Castle Age | 200 Food, 75 Gold | 450 | 15 |
Unique Technologies
Kamandaran
Castle AgeArcher-line cost no gold (only wood)
Mahouts
Imperial AgeWar Elephants move 30% faster
Build Orders
Knight Rush
- Fast Castle with extra resources
- Build 2 Stables immediately
- Produce Knights with +2 attack vs archers
- Pressure enemy archers
- Transition to Cavaliers
War Elephant Push
- Boom to Imperial Age
- Build 2-3 Castles
- Mass War Elephants
- Research Mahouts for speed
- Support with Monks for healing
Strategy Tips
Strengths
- War Elephants are nearly unstoppable
- Excellent booming with faster TCs
- Knights counter archers effectively
- Strong early economy bonus
Weaknesses
- War Elephants are expensive and slow
- Vulnerable to Halberdiers and Monks
- No Bracer for archers
- Slow to produce army from Castles
In-Depth Persians Analysis
The Persians are a cavalry and elephant civilization that excels at booming and late-game power projection. Their starting resource advantage, faster Town Centers, and War Elephant unique unit combine to create one of the strongest economic-into-powerplay combinations in AoE2. However, managing their late-game correctly — particularly the War Elephant army against civilizations that can field many Monks or Halberdiers — requires careful strategic adaptation.
Economic Foundation — Faster Town Centers
Persian Town Centers and Docks work 10% faster in Feudal Age, 15% in Castle Age, and 20% in Imperial Age. A 20% faster Town Center in Imperial Age means that in the time a non-Persian player produces 10 villagers, the Persian player produces 12 — a 20% economic compounding advantage on top of their starting resources bonus. This makes Persian booming strategies genuinely powerful: once a Persian player establishes multiple Town Centers in Castle Age, the villager output becomes overwhelming.
The starting bonus of +50 food and +50 wood means Persians can hit their Feudal Age resources faster than most civilizations, often allowing a quicker Knight rush from Castle Age. Persian Knights also have +2 attack against archers — a subtle bonus that makes Knight raids against Archer-type opponents significantly more effective than standard Knight stats suggest.
War Elephants — The Unstoppable Force
The War Elephant is the most individually powerful unit in Age of Empires II by raw hit points: 450 HP, 15 attack, trample damage that hits units around it with each strike. A group of War Elephants moving through an infantry army is almost impossible to stop without either Monks or a concentrated Halberdier mass with micro that avoids getting hit by trample damage. With Mahouts researched, War Elephants move 30% faster — reaching 0.78 speed — making them harder to kite than base elephants.
The critical vulnerability is Monks. A single Monk can convert a War Elephant, instantly turning a 200 food, 75 gold investment against its former owner. Persian players should always have a monk squad following their elephant army to contest enemy monks, or use Heresy (converted units die) from the Monastery to prevent expensive units from being captured. Against civilizations without strong Monk options, War Elephants are nearly invulnerable in large numbers.
Kamandaran and Archer Flexibility
The Kamandaran technology makes Persian archers cost only wood (no gold). This is an unusual niche technology that becomes relevant in very long Imperial Age games where gold runs out. When all other resources are depleted, a Persian player can sustain an archer army using only wood — one of the most abundant late-game resources. This provides an unexpected economic resilience when other civilizations struggle to maintain military production in the gold-scarce end game.