Age of Empires III character sheets
"Blood", "Ice" and "Steel" | "Fire" and "Shadows" | "Japan", "China" and "India" | Definitive Edition Historical Battles | Deathmatch/Skirmish AI | Major Civilizations | Other Civilizations
"Blood", "Ice" and "Steel" | "Fire" and "Shadows" | "Japan", "China" and "India" | Definitive Edition Historical Battles | Deathmatch/Skirmish AI | Major Civilizations | Other Civilizations
Characters introduced in the "Historical Battles" portion of Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition.
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Algiers (1516)
Barbary Pirates
For the Revolutionary state, check the Other civilizations page.
- Continuity Nod: The Barbary States are one of the possible revolution options for the Ottoman Empire, explaining why they can use Janissaries via Home City cards.
- Hired Guns: They're able to send Ottoman Janissaries, Privateers and Mamelukes from their Home City.
- Secret Test of Character: The Ottoman Empire can support their army with units, provided they collect 15.000 XP.
Hizir and Oruc Reis
"The third of four brothers, Hizir was born in 1478 on the isle of Lesbos to an Ottoman Sipahi of Albanian origin. In his youth, he began privateering in the Aegean Sea and rescued his elder brother, Oruc, from captivity after the latter was imprisoned by the Knights of St. John. The brothers returned to the seas and made a career as corsairs raiding in the western Mediterranean. In 1516, Oruc and Hizir seized the city of Algiers from the Spanish crown and successfully defended it from reprisals before turning it over to the Ottoman Empire. After Oruc’s death in 1517, Hizir became the Pasha of Algiers and took the honorific title Hayreddin Barbarossa “best of the faith” and “red-bearded’. Further success against various European naval powers led Suleiman the Magnificent to appoint Hayreddin Barbarossa as Grand Admiral of the Ottoman navy and governor of North Africa, Rhodes, and the Aegean isles in 1532. He retired in 1545 and died peacefully a year later."
— Hizir's in-game description
"The eldest of four brothers, Oruc was born in 1474 on the isle of Lesbos to an Ottoman Sipahi of Albanian origin. He began privateering in the Mediterranean at a young age, but was captured by the Knights of St. John, who imprisoned him in Bodrum Castle. After three years, he escaped with the help of his brother Hizir and returned to the sea. The brothers returned to the seas and made a career as corsairs raiding in the western Mediterranean. Oruc lost an arm during one such endeavor, later procuring a silver replacement. In 1516, Oruc and Hizir seized the city of Algiers from the Spanish crown and successfully defended it from a retaliatory force before turning it over to the Ottoman Empire. Oruc took Tlemcen the following year, but was soon faced with an overwhelmingly large Spanish army. He fell defending the city in 1518."
— Oruc's in-game description
- Bash Brothers: They keep each other's backs during the scenario.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: Hizir's backstory reveals that he went from a lowly pirate to Grand Admiral of the Ottoman navy and governor of North Africa, Rhodes, and the Aegean isles, a title bestowed by Suleiman the Magnificent himself.
- Handicapped Badass: Oruc's backstory mentions that he lost an arm during a raid on the Mediterranean.
- Last Stand: Oruc fell during Algiers' own between 1517 and 1518.
- Mook Maker: Hizir can train Barbary Corsairs.
- Red Baron: After the death of Oruc, Hizir took the title "Hayreddin Barbarossa", "best of the faith"/"red beard".
Christopher Da Gama's Expedition (1542)
Queen Sabla's Ethiopians
They use Shotel Warriors, Spearman, Knife Throwers and Javelin Riders.
- Continuity Nod: The Ethiopians were able to train most of the units they use in this stage back when they were playable in Age of Empires II. They have access to the Spearman, Shotel Warrior, .
- Composite Character:
- The Shotel Warrior is the unique unit from the Ethiopians in Age of Empires II transplanted to this game and using the Aztec Coyote Runner as a base.
- Early-Bird Cameo:
- The Ethiopians being a playable civilization before their actual introduction in The African Royals.
- Their Knife Throwers spoke Yoruba before the Yoruba became a native village in the same DLC.
- The Javelin Rider was available as a playable unit in this scenario before being introduced as an unique unit of the Ethiopians and Hausa in The African Royals.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute:
- The Spearman is based on the European Pikeman.
Queen Sabla Wengel
- Spell My Name With An S: She's based on Seble Wongel, but the developers made the common mistake of confusing her with Sabla Wangel Hailu.
Somalians
- Evil Counterpart: Train the same kinds of units as the Ethiopians in this scenario. They can also train Somali Arquebusier.
- Zerg Rush: They keep outputting all kinds of units in order to destroy Queen Sabla's village.
Chuvash Cape (1582)
Russians
Yermak Timofeyevich
"Vasiliy Timofeyevich Alenin was born on the eastern frontier of Muscovy in the mid-16th century amidst uncertain circumstances. Abandoning the life of a salt merchant for a career of river piracy, his success as a marauder on the Volga and Don earned him the name Yermak. He also gained valuable battle experience as a commander in the Livonian War of 1558-1583. In 1582, Yermak was hired by the Stroganovs, fur merchants threatened by the Tatar Khanate of Sibir. Leading a force of 840 well-equipped men, Yermak plunged into Siberia. The bows and spears of the Tatars were no match for Yermak's muskets and cannon, and Yermak crushed the Tatars at the Battle of Chuvash Cape before seizing their capital of Qashliq. He dauntlessly continued the campaign, but overextended his forces and was slain in battle two years later in 1584. His bold, intrepid actions left a lasting legacy, prompting further Russian expansion into Siberia. Moreover, his victory at Chuvash Cape was a turning point in military history: gunpowder weaponry had ended the 2,000 year dominance of nomadic cavalry armies in the field."
Tatars
- Composite Character: Uses the Chinese tech tree, but are also capable of training Horse Archers, an unit previously exclusive to Ottomans and Russians.
Raid on the Caribbean (1586)
British
Sir Francis Drake
"The eldest of twelve sons, Drake was born in 1540 in southwestern England, but moved to Kent in 1549 to avoid religious persecution. Swiftly rising from a lowly apprentice to captain of his own ship, Drake soon joined a fleet of privateers conducting raids on Portuguese and Spanish holdings in Africa and the Caribbean. During one such endeavor in 1568, Drake's fleet was crushed by Spanish warships, forcing him to escape the enemy by swimming. A decade later, from 1577-1580, Drake circumnavigated the globe, looting several Spanish treasure ships en route, a feat for which he was knighted by Elizabeth I. After Spain declared war on England, Drake led an expedition from 1585-1586, pillaging Spanish colonies in the Caribbean, an act which prompted a Spanish invasion of England. Drake delayed this invasion by sacking the ports of La Coruna and Cadiz before crushing the Spanish Armada itself in 1588, in part due to his ingenious use of fire ships. Eight years later, he fell in a raid on Spanish Panama in 1596."
Spanish
- Composite Character: In addition of being able to train their units, they can also train Conquistadors, previously available in maps with a Jesuit Mission neutral settling.
Fort Duquesne (1754)
French
Claude-Pierre Pécaudy
"Claude-Pierre Pecaudy de Contrecoeur was born in 1705 in Contrecoeur, Quebec. Over the next several decades, he ascended to the rank of captain in the French military before being appointed to lead an expedition into the Ohio River valley in 1753. In 1754, he seized a British fort near modern-day Pittsburgh, renaming it Fort Duquesne after Marquis Duquesne, the Governor-General of New France. He would hold the fort against the British until his retirement from military service in 1756, receiving accolades from his peers and superiors for his shrewd conduct and effective leadership. Returning to his estate in Canada, he spent the next several years in relaxation and was elected to the Legislative Council shortly before his death in 1775."
Haudenosaunee allies
British
Battle of New Orleans (1815)
United States
General Andrew Jackson
"Jackson was born in the Carolinas in 1767 and lived a youth dominated by the American Revolution. Despite his many military accomplishments, and being elected President, Jackson made some morally reprehensible decisions. Not only was he a slave owner who despicably owned over a hundred slaves at the time of his death, but he also infamously authorized the mass relocation of Native Americans from their ancestral lands under the Indian Removal Act. Today, those tragic forced removals–during which thousands of Native Peoples died–are known as The Trail of Tears."
British
The Burning of the U.S.S. Philadelphia (1804, Mexico DLC)
Grito de Dolores (1810, Mexico DLC)
Battle of Queenston Heights (1812, Mexico DLC)
The Battle of the Three Kings (1578, The African Royals)
Moroccans
- Discard and Draw: Their "Granadan Technology" card replaces Berber Archers with Berber Arquebusiers.
- Multinational Team:
- Their Bedouin Horse Archer uses sound files for the Egyptian Mameluke mercenary unit.
- Their Ottoman units, obviously, speak Turkish.
- Their Artillery Foundry units speak Portuguese.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: For the Barbary States, except they can't train Corsairs.
Portuguese
