Every Unique Unit Compared to History (Part 2 - AoK civs part 2)

Hello Again,Sorry it took me so long. I had a lot of stuff to do and wasn't able to start this until now. Before we begin I just wanted to say a big thank you to all the support and feedback you gave on the last one (which you can see, here. )

Today we are going to continue the next four Age of Kings civs because last time we could not get through all of them. I will also be trying to dispel some of the myths and misinformation about some of the UUs. So, without further ado, let's get started .

Goths - HuskarlAbility: Infantry with substantial pierce armor, virtually immune to archer fire.

What it Was: For starters, the devs have misspelled the unit's name. It should be called the "Housecarl". Second, Housecarls were not Gothic at all. They were Vikings and Saxons. Although it is true that the Goths did originate from Scandinavia in the Iron Age, they were more similar to the Vandals than the Vikings. The term "Housecarl" originally meant "House servant". However the term later meant to mean something along the lines of "House Bodyguard". They were extremely honor bound and would fight even after their employer died. One of the Housecarl's famous moments was during The Battle of Hastings in 1066, where they fought for the last Saxon king, Harold Godwinson. Although they had smaller numbers, they were far more superiorly armed and trained than the rest of Harold's army. They fought even after Harold's death. The Visigoth kingdom did have something similar to the Housecarl called the

Significance to Goths: Although the Housecarl was Norse and Anglo-Saxon, the Huskarl wields a sword and shield, which were used more by The Goths than The Vikings. The Housecarls are usually depicted with axes. My guess is that The Goths were supposed to represent the rest of Northern Europe (Fun Fact: according to the wiki, the Gothic unique unit was originally going to be the Beserk, which I find actually stupid). However, I think it is more likely that the Huskarl is supposed to represent the Gothic army, based on its bonuses. (the segment below)

How the game relates it to History: The cheap, spammability of the Huskarl probably has to do with the Barbarian's fast, disorganised charges. I remember reading something about Goths and Vandals using plate armor, which was tough to destroy, which probably had to do with the anti archer ability. However I am not too sure about that last one. (Feel free to jump in with your own ideas about it.)

Japanese - SamuraiAbility: Infantry with fast attack.

What it Was: The Samurai were an important social class of Japan. Like the Housecarl, they were extremely honor bound and served as bodyguards. They followed a code called "Bushido", which was very similar to the Chivalric Code for knights. If their employer died they would have to kill themselves. Samurai without an employer were called "Ronin".

Significance to The Japanese: The Samurai were a significant part of feudal Japan, and are considered to be very famous around the world.

How the game relates it to History: Samurai are fast at attacking. This is probably because they were armed with two swords, the daito and shoto. Together they were called the Dashio. They were extremely well trained as well, which is also probably a reason they attack fast. Samurai were also used to attacking eachother, so that may be why they have their bonus vs other UU's.

Mongols - Mangudai

Ability: Cavalry archer with attack bonus vs. siege weapons.

What it Was: The Mangudai, or Mungudai, were troops in the Mongol Army. However their use is rather unclear. Some records say they were "Suicide troops". The aoe2 manual says that they were the Elite Cavalry Archers of the army that would use tactics to wear out their enemies before the fight had begun. However, a United States Army author believes that Mangudai was the name of a 13th-century Mongol warlord who created a selection process to test potential leaders.

Significance to The Mongols: No matter what you think the Mangudai was, it is no doubt very Mongolian, and was used during the reign of the Khans in Mongolia.

How the game relates it to History: I have no idea what the siege bonus is about, and have spent so much time looking for it. My guess is that the Mongols were great at raiding, and could take siege weapons out very quickly.

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Persians - War ElephantAbility: Slow, powerful, strong, and well-armored cavalry.

What it Was: Elephants were used throughout classical and medieval warfare. Riders would sit in a tower on the Elephant's back, and would usually carry spears or bows to reach at enemies from long distances. Elephants were extremely scary to many Europeans who had not seen them before, and Horses would also become extremely terrified of them. Elephants would keep charging at their opponents, and their skin was very tough. They could also run over people easily.

Significance to The Persians: The Sassanian Persians, who aoe2 based the Persians off of the most, used War Elephants quite a lot. Especially during their early days for the sheer psychological terror they inflicted on their enemies.

How the game relates it to History: I mean, its a War Elephant. Its pretty straightforward. Its slowness and weakness to monks make sense, because its an Elephant. And its tankiness and powerfulness also make sense due to it being a literal elephant. The only problem I have with the War Elephant is that it doesn't have a rider, which is not at all historically accurate.

So anyway, thats all the civs I am going to cover for today. Stay tuned for part 3, which will cover the last of the AoK civs. Once again thank you so much for the feedback and support on the last post, it is very touching to see me be accepted as a history nerd.

tysm again!